EXCLUSIVE: Prachi Desai on playing mother at young age: People asked, ‘How are you going to break out of this?

Prachi Desai is one of the few actors who has successfully transitioned from Television to Bollywood. She started off young in her career the show Kasamh Se, and won millions of hearts. However sooner, Prachi Desai decided to transition towards movies and she successfully did it with Rock On! Prachi Desai played a mother onscreen at 19, however, it did not work in her favor. She was judged, typecast and put in a box, which she took some time to get out of.

In a recent and exclusive chat with Bollywood Bubble, Prachi Desai revealed how she was boxed by the industry for being a TV actor. About playing a mother onscreen at a young age, Prachi Desai said, “I don’t know why at that time, people did not see you as a performer or the kind of actor you are. Or they did not applaud you for the kind of challenges you took up.”

She continued, “I guess in today’s times, that 19-year-old would get all the respect, awards and 5 other films. But, back then when I did it, the question was, ‘How are you going to break out of this?’ As if the responsibility is mine, I make 10 films and I break out of that image and show myself in a different light. That’s actually how tough it was. Already you are not taken that seriously because you are from the Television world, on top of that you do a role which is far beyond your age.”

“Back then, people were not that forgiving also. In today’s time, it is nice, you can do 5 different roles, and if 3 of them don’t work, it is still okay, you will get the credit for the rest 2. Back then, the options were very very few. The only way you decided which film you wanted to do was – which actor starred in it, who was directing it, which production house was producing it, and that is it,” Prachi shared.

Check out Prachi Desai opening up about her journey in TV and Movies here:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Bollywood Bubble (@bollywoodbubble)

The actress also went on to share how the industry and media put her in a mould because she was from the Telly world. “Personally feel that I saw that effect and reflect the kind of roles I was being offered. I was constantly offered the same kind of role in every other film. I don’t know if they did not think if I could do anything else, or if it was just convenient if this person can do something well, then let’s just have him do it over and over again, in all these different films. Because I feel like it makes their work lesser, they don’t have to work hard on you, they don’t have to show you in a different light. You’re just going to come on set and you know what to do, and you’re going to do it well,” she expressed.

She went on, “I have to be honest, I also saw that reflect a lot, in the press, media, the way they write about you. The way the media speaks about you and the press writes about you is so, so important.” Narrating an incident, Prachi shared, “When I won an award as the Best Supporting Actor for Once Upon a Time In Mumbai. However, when I did not receive an award in Kolkata, I read an article about my awards, and it ended with, ‘Thank God for small mercies.’ How do you explain that? What is the small mercy about that? The way that someone keeps constantly writing about you will have an effect on the mind of the audience, they try to place you, and figure where you really stand in there.”

Prachi Desai also revealed that she regrets some of her decisions for the movies and projects. “That was not the right choice I made for myself. But everything around it, and everybody in the project was great. But, those are the choices that I made out of pressure to sign the film ASAP,” she concluded.

ALSO READ: EXCLUSIVE: Prachi Desai on sexism in the film industry: I wait for 12 hours because the man’s close up will be taken first