The Girl From Laapataa Ladies, Heeramandi

'I joined Heeramandi's shoot right after completing Laapataa Ladies.' 'When I landed on the Heeramandi sets, I was like, "Oh my God!" because this was for the first time I was seeing such a huge set in my life.'

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It’s a remarkable breakout year for Pratibha Ranta.

She encountered a sliver of fame with Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies and then some more in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar.

For the 23-year-old actor from Shimla, her transition to the big league is preceded by television.

“I used to carry this big bag and roam around Aaram Nagar (in Andheri, north west Mumbai, where most auditions happen). It had different sets of costumes -- Indian, Western, sportswear, whatever was required for the auditions. I would knock doorto-door, asking if any audition was happening,”

What new changes are you experiencing after Laapataa Ladies?

The film has brought a very beautiful change in my life. It has given me the opportunity to grow as an artist.

I am reading different scripts, and choosing what to do and what not to. Now whatever scripts are coming my way, they are the same level as Laapataa Ladies.

Also, the script used to come with ‘for casting’ written on it. But after Laapataa Ladies, the scripts have ‘For Pratibha Ranta’ written on them.

It means that they must have discussed about me and that’s why the script is coming to me. It really means a lot to me.

How was the transition from Laapataa Ladies to Heeramandi’s opulent sets?

I joined Heeramandi’s shoot right after completing Laapataa Ladies.

When I landed on Heeramandi’s sets, I was like ‘Oh my God!’ because this was for the first time I was seeing such a huge set in my life. And the costumes were so brilliant!

If you are a part of an SLB project, it is a given that you will witness something larger-than-life. The best thing is that you will get to know Sanjay sir’s vision and how he functions.

Each scene, each line is well thought out by him.

Mazaa aa gaya!