I am waiting for the right options

Prachi Desai says she’s often typecast as the girl-next-door but she wants to portray various characters on screen

Actor Prachi Desai (right) says she is aware that despite having portrayed various characters on screen, she is still perceived as the sweet girl-next-door by the audience. However, the 28-year-old is unruffled. “I personally know that I have a lot more to offer on screen. In fact, I’m not the same person as the characters you see me portray – I don’t know who in today’s day and age is like that. They are just the roles that I portray,” says Prachi, adding, “And if I can do the roles convincingly, then it’s just the actor in me who deserves a pat because I just do it with so much ease.”

In fact, to prove her point about portraying various roles, Prachi even talks about the seductive item song Awari that she put up in Ek Villain (2014). She feels that every actor has a USP and that becomes their image or how they are perceived. “I feel when you do something right, you are repeated in that kind of role over and over again. That happens to most actors and obviously it’s a no brainer that it has happened with me as well,” says Prachi who’s been part of films such as Rock On (2008), Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010), Bol Bachchan (2012) and Azhar (2016).

Prachi says acting is more than just a job for her and she is extremely passionate about it. “I love my job and I love acting, which is what keeps me going. If you just take a little peek into the real me, then you’ll see that there’s definitely far more shades to me as a person,” she says, adding, “I don’t think anybody is onedimensional. We are all multi-dimensional. Just because it’s my job and I like doing it, doesn’t mean it defines my image as a person. But there’s so much more that I can do. It’s just a matter of opportunity I think.”