Prachi ‘ Bani’ Desai

"ALL THOSE ACTORS WHO'VE LEFT BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE A PART OF A GENERATION LEAP ARE NOWHERE TODAY"

"I DON'T HAVE A FILMI BACKGROUND. BUT THIS IS SOMETHING I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO DO. I DIDN'T KNOW HOW AND WHEN IT WOULD HAPPEN, BUT I WAS SURE THAT I WANTED TO BE AN ACTRESS," SAYS 18-YEAR-OLD PRACHI DESAI, WITH A CONFIDENT AIR THAT BELIES HER AGE COMPLETELY.

Rewind back to when you were 18. In all likelihood, you must have spent most of your time in the college canteen with a few classes attended here and there. Prachi, on the other hand, spends most of her time (practically 15 hours a day) on the sets of her daily soap, Kasamh Se, where she now plays Bani, a mom to five-year-old kids. Such is the price of fame!

Originally from Surat in Gujarat, Prachi studied in Panchgani till her 10th Standard, after which she went to Pune to complete her college. That's where she gave an audition for Balaji. She got a call to come to Mumbai and started shooting for the show subsequently. She elaborates on her acting dreams, "I didn't know things would materialise at such a young age. But the acting bug had bitten way back in school. I basically wanted to run away from studies, because I wanted to be an actress. And actually, I'd auditioned for a show on Star One. When I came to Mumbai, they asked me to give a look-test and audition for Bani (her character in the show), which I got through."

Has she enjoyed her initial acting experience? "It's been great. Since I always wanted to be here, I'm enjoying myself. Yeah, sometimes it gets a little hectic, and I feel so especially because I'm so young. But now or five years later, it was going to be something like this. Also, I didn't like studying much. So if I was studying, I'm sure I'd have always wanted to be here instead," she laughs.

It must be difficult considering she hardly has a life now. It's the sets, home and back to the sets again. Doesn't she miss being a regular 18-year-old? "Of course I do. But I'm getting such a lot in return. I'm in a better position than any of my friends."

And today, Bani is a household name and a face that everyone recognizes. "I didn't expect any of this," she says, surprisingly modest. "I hoped for all of this, but I didn't know it would actually happen. Any actor, small or big, hopes for recognition. I wished for it too. Today, it's like my dream has come true. Sometimes I get irritated though. They don't let me be in peace, I don't have time for myself. But those moments are rare; they only happen if I'm too stressed out or tired. Otherwise, I'm just too happy. No complaints!"

Bani is a typical sacrificing woman, who puts everyone before herself. In other words, she's the quintessential Balaji heroine, quite a piece of fiction in the real world. "But it's playing Bani that has given me fame, money and everything. I don't mind it. And now post the leap; I have become a stronger character Durga, who's all set for revenge. I love the character of Bani. And Durga is no different; she's just another facet to Bani. I like playing both. After a long time, I'm getting to play a slightly different person than Bani. It gets boring to do the same thing day in and day out, so this is a welcome change."

Playing Durga also brings with it the responsibility of playing a mother, which Prachi is not happy about at all. "Well, no 18-year-old would have been happy about that."

And yet she agreed and went ahead with it. "There was nothing like disagreeing to do it. All those actors who've left because they didn't want to be a part of a generation leap are nowhere today. You have to use your brains while taking such decisions. Actually, nobody's heart will tell them to not play the character, because that's what's giving them everything. It did hit me at first. I thought to myself, 'Oh my God, I'm so young. I don't want to play a mother.' But then I realized that's it's just been one year since I've started. After working so hard for a year, just when I'd starting getting all the benefits of the hard work, and was starting to enjoy myself, if I decided to leave, then I would be plain stupid."

She goes on about the same, "Every actor spends more than a year working hard, building up the character and the show, and then getting recognized. Just when you've got the fame and the money and you're finally happy, if you leave, you're left nowhere. Bani would have ended then and there for me. Then what would I have done? Kasamh Se…is my show, and I'm too attached to it. It has to go on."

What was her first reaction when she was told she was going to play a mother? "I was totally upset. Even now, I'm not very happy about the fact that two kids are calling me mummy in the show. But then it doesn't make such a big difference, because I am Bani, and I will be Bani. The kids are very sweet; they're just five. They're too young now, it's only later that I'll feel the pinch," she says, grimacing at the very thought.

Ekta (Kapoor) feels Prachi is quite angry with her for this decision. "I'm not angry with anybody. It's not even about being angry. It's just that no 18-year-old will be able to think with her brains while playing a mom. If I had to play a mom to a 20-year-old, like if we take a big leap right now, I would probably have a different reaction. Since it's just five years, I'm playing it smartly and concentrating on my work. I hate it for sure, but I look at it as my job. I do it and go home."

Is she looking for a change of image now – a break from the sati-savitri image she currently portrays? Perhaps a bolder, younger character? "I wouldn't mind at all. I always wished I could play something closer to my age. Like a college going character. But then frankly, this is the kind of character that works with the audience. I would love to play someone younger, let's hope I have the time to do something good if it comes along."

After the five-year-old kids on the set, Prachi is by far the youngest. The characters playing her younger sisters (Roshni Chopra and Arunima Sharma) are actually ten years older than her. She must be quite the pampered child on the sets. "Not really. Here, everyone is treated equally. When you're an actor, whether you're five, ten or 18-years old, you're given the same treatment. Like the little kids who are working with us now, it's not like they get to go home early just because they're younger. The same rules apply to me as well. It's a job after all."

There is also much speculation in the media that Roshni Chopra and she don't get along. "I don't know why I keep getting asked this question. The fact is we're totally professional with each other. We barely have any work together, maybe one scene a day. As for the others, like Ram (Kapoor) and Arunima, who I work with more often, I'm very comfortable with them. We have a great time on the set. I don't know Roshni personally. I know the others personally because we spend the whole day together. Why just Roshni, there are many actors I don't know well, because we hardly work together. In those few hours that we spend together for one scene, we catch up as much as we can."

But she's still close to Arunima, right? She takes a moment before answering, "On the set, I'm not really that close to anyone. I can't be because of my age. I'm not able to connect with anyone, since they're so much older. I can't get along with them like I would with any other teenager. They get bored with the things I want to do, because they're all family people now. And I'm not a family person at all."

What's her equation with Ram like, considering she spends most of her time with him? "Amongst everyone I'm working with, I get along best with Ram. He's a very chilled out person and really sweet. I spend practically the whole day with him, and still I never get bored. He's very naughty and mischievous, quite like a small child. And Ram never lets me feel the age difference."

And how does it feel to work with the biggest superstar on TV, Ronit Roy? "It's only been a little while since Ronit and I have shot together. But it's just as fun working with him as it is with the others. He's a very jolly person. And it's very important to have such a person around on the set. I tend to get a little grumpy sometimes, or tired, and it's people like Ronit and Ram, who don't let you feel down with their liveliness. You feel energetic and charged up, which makes you enjoy more."

Prachi is also being touted as Ekta Kapoor's new favourite. She accompanies Ekta everywhere, and is said to be the apple of her eye. "For me, Ekta has become family. It's been one year now. I didn't know her much in the beginning. But now she's family to me, and I'm close to everyone in my family," she says astutely.

The relationship that Prachi shares with her Balaji family and her mentor Ekta Kapoor, is truly special. "When I'd just arrived, I didn't know anybody. But now, most of my friends are from Balaji. My group is only Balaji people. And I take Ekta's advice very seriously. Anybody would actually. Anything that she says is something to think about."

Prachi also maintains that Balaji is the place for her to work in the future as well. "I'm a complete Balaji loyalist. This is the first production house I've worked with, and it's given me so much. So there's no reason why I'd want to work someplace else. If I get a great offer from outside, I'd think about it. But I will never leave Balaji for that. It wouldn't be right. If it comes to doing two things at a time, and I'm allowed to do it, then why not? But it has to be a mutual decision, maybe after Kasamh Se ends."

Kasamh…is the be-all and end-all of Prachi's current existence. But post the show winding up; would she give the big, bad world of films a shot? "I haven't thought about it. When I decided to be an actress, I never had the big screen or small screen in mind. I just wanted to act. I would watch both films and TV serials, but I was crazier about TV. Because when you're studying in a hostel, you don't get the time to go out and watch films, it's easier to get access to TV."

Doesn't she have the typical ambitions to become a big heroine? "I think everybody does," she replies honestly. "But when you get in touch with reality, it's all about your boundaries. The boundaries, which you don't want to cross. I'm very, very shy. I'll have to be much bolder, which I'm not yet. Anyway, I'm just 18 now, so I have a lot of time to think about this."

So what would we find Prachi Desai doing on a day she's not working? "I love meeting up with friends, because otherwise I never get the time to do so. Maybe others would want to go back to their family, but I would rather sleep or shop or catch up with the few friends I have here. If I pack up early, I run to catch a film or go out for dinner. Shopping is generally a little bit out of the question, since I get quite mobbed now."

Fan frenzy is all part of the package deal, isn't it? "That it is," she agrees. "Recently, when I went home to Gujarat to meet my grandma, people just rushed into my house. It wasn't something I expected would happen at all. I wasn't happy about it. I don't even want to go back there. When you get mobbed, it's scary. When people are jumping at you, it's feels like they're going to tear you apart. I enjoy the fame of course. But not this part."

Prachi may be all of 18, but I have to ask her about a special someone in her life. "This is another question everyone always asks me," she says, a smile on her face. "I just tell them one thing, at the moment if I was in college, maybe I would have been having a boyfriend. But now I'm working and I'm working like no 18-year-old does. I spend most of my time on the set. And on the set, there is nobody that interests me. Everyone's too old!"

Since work is all that matters right now, Prachi only hopes that Kasamh Se keeps doing well. "I don't want the show to end; it should do better than what it is already. As for me, I want to do something young, where I get to play someone my age. That's my only wish!" With your luck Prachi, that wish shouldn't go unanswered!