Prachi Desai, Shaking Off The Girl-Next-Door Image

Prachi Desai wants to shake off the sweet girl-next-door image.

- Rukma Saluja

With Rock On !! 2 gearing for release, Prachi Desai is relaxed and full of her experience of shooting the sequel to the highly acclaimed box-office success Rock On!! (2008). With the actors from Rock On !! reprising their roles, there had to be similarities and differences. Debutant director Shujaat Saudagar has handled that brilliantly, she says. By hinting at a small change here and there, he managed to get the actors to show the gradual maturing in time lapse. And that is so much in keeping with the personal growth of the actors.

Rock On!! was special to Prachi for so many reasons, not least because it was her first foray into Bollywood after a successful stint on TV with the hugely popular Kasamh Se. This was a movie ahead of its time and in terms of the way it was treated. There was no single hero or heroine, no villain, it was based around rock 'n roll, was about relationships, the director, Abhishek Kapoor, was new and Farhan Akhtar was facing the camera for the first time. To reprise that role in a sequel is a coming home of sorts for Prachi and yet, there have to be changes, a progression that can't be too far from the original. “There are some things that have to be reflected, showing those changes, all through the acting, as they are not scripted. Those are the nuances that you bring to the table. But once the cameras rolled, I slipped into Sakshi's shoes effortlessly.”