Prachi Desai at the Anandalok Awards. Picture by Aranya Sen

Be it Bani of Kasamh Se or Sakshi of Rock On!! Prachi Desai has brought a special something to every role. The Balaji bahu who is now Bollywood’s freshest face is going great guns on the big screen. In town for the Anandalok Awards, t2 caught up with Prachi in room 2214 of ITC The Sonar Calcutta....

How does it feel to be in Calcutta again?

It’s always special to be in Calcutta and even more this time because the reason that I’m here is to receive an award… my first award for Rock On!!. This reminds me of the time I received my first award for Kasamh Se. Even that was in Calcutta! Yes, I think this place has been extremely lucky. I hope it continues this way.

What was your first reaction when you were told that you were going to get an award here?

I didn’t believe it (laughs)! I was extremely happy, extremely excited. That was the first time when I won for Kasamh Se. And well, this time I did believe it because I was hoping for something like this. As I said, this place has been lucky and I was hopeful that it was going to give me good luck again.

You must have been asked this loads of times, but how has life changed after Rock On!!?

Life changed ever since Kasamh Se, but careers changed after Rock On!!. Work is different, life is different, everything is different. Right now, my life is just work. It’s just that I do get a lot more time for myself now. I feel I am much more happy now because (with television) I had a life that was very hectic. But I also miss that because I used to be constantly in touch with people everyday. Now, yes, you have to personally make an effort.

Is the adulation post-Kasamh Se different from the adulation post-Rock On!!?

Yes, it is. Not that the way people love you changes. I think the audience that watches television is a little different from the one that watches films. Of course, most of us watch both. I think the younger crowd now has watched Rock On!! and they know me more. All the moms of those kids used to watch me earlier (laughs). With Rock On!!, I am happy that more members of every family know me now. Not just the housewives, but also the kids in the house. I don’t know how different it is in the eyes of the people. I just hope they look at me in the same way.

Rock On!! has obviously been huge but did you have any regrets at any point of time about leaving Kasamh Se?

Regrets, never. Nervousness, anxiety, hesitation, yes. That comes before doing anything, right? I was really leaving a lot behind so anyone would be really nervous before doing something like that. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I was hoping I was doing the right thing (smiles). And most people around me thought it wasn’t the right time because I has just won a dance show (Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa) which took me to a different level and I was leaving all that and getting into a film. But I thought that this was actually the right time because sorry, as a 20-year-old I couldn’t play mother to grown up kids! With Rock On!! I got a chance to play a young wife on the big screen. I was obviously apprehensive about how the audience would take it. I was nervous about the fact that I had just two-and-a-half hours to change the image that people had built of me in two-and-a-half years. But no regrets at all!

Ekta Kapoor doesn’t take kindly to actors leaving her shows, but she was totally supportive of your decision to leave Kasamh Se for Rock On!! amid allegations that she didn’t mind because the film was being directed by her cousin. Would you like to set the record straight once and for all?

Absolutely, I would really like to! I owe a lot to them. I know that they have given me a lot and I have no problems admitting that because I don’t think an actor can get bigger than the production house. Of course I have contributed a lot from my end and so have they in making me whatever I am today. That always remains. But then, they are not going to stop anybody from growing, just like people grow in a company. Smriti (Iraani) has a production house today and her first serial was co-produced by Ekta who supported her a lot. People who get the opportunity will go and if the others want to talk about it, let them (laughs). No one sees the number of people that Ekta is supporting through their production house. It’s just the one or two unpleasant experiences that get highlighted all the time.

You are one of the few to move from television and land a central role in a film. What do you think worked in your favour?

First and foremost, I have age by my side. If I was above 25 or 27, I would not have done it. I would have done the film yes, but would never have left the television show because I need my security. I don’t really know what my state of mind would have been. If I had completed 7-8 years on television, I don’t think the film would have come my way at all because I would have been overexposed on TV. My screen age would be a lot more and so I would not have suited the character of Sakshi in Rock On!!. If any other role had come to me, I am sure it would have been that of an older character because my character on TV had aged a lot in two years. So I was really lucky to get Rock On!! at the right age and the right time.

Coming to the films you have signed, is Abbas-Mustan’s Life Partner complete?

We’ve been shooting for Life Partner (co-starring Fardeen Khan and Govinda) since June. I just got back from an outdoor of the film in Cape Town. Apart from that I have signed another film but that will take some time to be announced.

You recently refused Mahesh Bhatt’s Jashn…

The Bhatts like to make their films at one go and I couldn’t squeeze out any time out of my Life Partner shoots. They wanted me to shoot in Dubai for a long time and I was already committed to Life Partner. But I have grown up watching Mahesh Bhatt films and I love the music of their films. To be the face of beautiful music like theirs is amazing. I am sure that we will work together sometime.

Will you ever return to television?

Whatever I do or say, that destiny is going to decide. I never thought I would leave Kasamh Se, but then Jhalak happened and then Rock On!! happened, and I am here today. Right now I am only doing films and I hope things work out well for me.