Serial Transformer

From being tv’s much-loved bahu to hotting up instagram with her chic bob, actor prachi desai has come a long way in the last eight years. She chats about why reinventing herself was the best thing she ever did.

- Nandini Banerjee

The quintessential girl next door no more, Prachi Desai began her silver screen journey at the young age of 17 with the popular TV series Kasamh Se, where she portrayed the lead role of Bani. The success of the serial made her a household name! But not one to live in the rut, she bid adieu to TV at the peak of her career to pursue the elusive Bollywood dream—that too at just the age of 19. Her debut in Rock On!! made people take notice of her for both her acting chops and refined looks. But ironically, while Prachi never believed in walking the same line twice, the roles she was offered repeatedly—though meaty and pivotal—boxed her in the demure zone.

Breaking the box

At an age when most girls were worried about clothes and boys, Prachi already had a successful career in place. Her mature demeanour and pleasing behaviour translated into the decorous characters that she portrayed onscreen. She admits, “I am a classic case of typecasting! Initially, I did roles that were much older than my age, and that got stuck in everybody’s mind. And when I did break out with Rock On!!, I kept getting offers for similar characters. I would now like to play some light-hearted roles.” However, the actor is optimistic that the breakthrough is just a corner away. “It’s that one role that changes your life forever and I am waiting for it,” she adds. Not just the directors, the audience too falls for the typecasting trap. So while you may think of her as an ocean of calmness in real life as well, Prachi claims to be quite hyper and far away from being calm. “I am obsessive! I need everything to be done to perfection and that makes me restless sometimes. I am trying to balance that now,” she confesses.

Changing lanes