Will Prachee be accepted as Kesar?

Will Prachee be accepted as Kesar?

The actor has replaced Nandini Singh in the show

RESHMA S KULKARNI

She may come across as a very docile person but talk to Prachee Shah for a few minutes and you realise that the lady has determination of steel. Be it refusing to play a prop in a hugely successful tele-soap or be it doggedly practising Indian classical dance in an era where salsa or jazz are favoured, Prachee has now stepped into the shoes of Nandini Singh in Star One's Kesar. Wasn't Prachee sceptical about stepping into another actor's shoes? "No. With due respect to Nandini's popularity, I had no such apprehensions. For me, it was a role that I liked." But what about the difference in the off-screen personalities and images of her and Nandini? "It's true that we are totally different personalities, I didn't see any reason why it should irk me. I knew that as long as I did my job well, people would accept me" reasons Prachee.
It has been a long time since Prachee has worked with Ekta Kapoor. In fact, she left Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi on Star Plus, post the generation leap. "I could do leave because Ekta was very understanding about my refusal to play a grandmother. It's not as if I mind aging on screen; in fact, in Kesar, I play mother to children who are of my own age. I accepted Kesar because I was convinced about the role."
Prachee's eyes light up at the very mention of dance. "I have got a chance to perform at festivals like Ellora Festival and Kalidas Mahotsav. Apart from performing, I love to teach dance. Currently, I am teaching two young girls and it's a treat to be part of the process of helping them learn the nuances of kathak."
Not too long ago, Prachee was in the news for having Yukta Mookhey under her tutelage. Why haven't we heard about any more celeb students in her fold after that? "It's just that nowadays most of the celebs come with an expectation to master kathak in a way such that they should be
able to deliver a performance within six months; a trend that I don't subscribe to and hence prefer not to take on any such students, whether celebrities or not," admits Prachee.
So, if Prachee is so passionate about dance why isn't she participating in any of the reality dance shows? "As much as we'd love to participate in such shows, I feel sad about the fact that these shows prefer to promote Western dance forms rather than Indian. I have nothing against Western dance and have in fact, even learnt the same but I feel that it's not fair to forget our roots so blatantly" says Prachee.