BeingSexy Is Cool:Prachi

Her innocent eyes cast a spell on the Indian tele viewers, as she played a gullible middle-class girl in Kasamh Se, who became the sacrificial lamb to save her sister.

As she shed tears by the gallons, the young lady won not just the sympathy, but also the couch potatoes' hearts with effortless ease. But, on her way to popularity, Prachi Desai had to carry "the baggage of being a demure bahu" for quite sometime. Farhan Akhtar's film Rock On!! established her as a coy society hostess, but now she is ready to shed the demure tag for good. As she does a Bobby, ala Dimple Kapadia in her forthcoming film Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, Prachi speaks to NT about skin show, starry connections and married co-stars...

Up, close with serial kisser
Those, who have seen the promos of Once Upon...,will vouch that Prachi literally scorches the scene as she cozies up with Emraan Hashmi. Ask her if she was scared getting up, close with the serial kisser, and Prachi says with her trademark giggle: "Honestly, I was little wary initially because of his image, but once I started working with him, I realised that he's a real chilled out guy, who makes you very comfortable." And how chilled out was she doing a make-believe lip-lock and showing plenty of skin? "Initially, I was worried whether people will accept me in this new avatar and whether I will look good on screen, but I completely trust Milan Luthria, the director. He gave me a month to tone up, so now being sexy is cool!"

Changeover time!
This makeover is not relegated to just one film, declares Prachi and adds, "My next project Joker is a very young and dew-fresh kind of film, where I'm playing someone my age! After playing a wife and mom convincingly at 17, now I'm ready for some young and hip roles." In Joker, she's pitted against Rajeev Khandelwal, another television star, and he's said to be quite finicky about his roles and characterisation. Will it be tough matching wits with him? Not one to take pangas with her co-stars, she says, "It's nice to have a perfectionist for a co-star because it motivates you to give your best. And after Aamir, Rajeev has to be very careful since he has no godfather!"

'I would've been the hero!'
Rajeev may not have a godfather in the industry, but there have been rumours aplenty that her friend Ekta Kapoor has been promoting her career for a while. To this, the lady says with a laugh: "I don't know whether it's a positive or a negative thing to have a friend like Ekta, but I do know that Ekta can't get me films. She and her mom Shobha ji are running a big business empire and they will not go knocking on producers' doors on my behalf! And if that was the case, I would have been the hero of the film and our entire jing-bang would have featured in Ekta's film! People should stop taking my talent for granted!"

'Whither younger men!'
With some good projects in her kitty, when does she plan to jazz up her love life? Ask her this and she laments: "I'm mostly working with older and married men. Even Rajeev Khandelwal has got engaged now! Let me start working with some younger dudes, then I will have plenty of romantic tales to share!" And what about sharing her special connect with Nagpur meanwhile? "I've been coming to Nagpur frequently, and I love the warmth that Nagpurians exude! Next time I come to the city, I would love to meet lot more people and spend a couple of days there!"