Pragya takes on 2021 with the big guns
Pragya takes on 2021 with the big guns
THE ASIAN AGE
While she’s been making all the right noises on social media around fitness goals, Pragya Jaiswal has bagged two big-ticket flicks — the Salman Khan-starrer, Antim: The Final Truth, and a film with Balakrishna.
As we start our interaction with Pragya, she talks about how 2020 tested everyone, putting them through different challenges — physically and emotionally.
“But there was so much to learn, too,” she adds. “In hindsight, 2020 has been a great year to be able to retrospect, introspect, get closer to oneself and be ready for what’s coming in our lives. All said and done, 2020 also prepared me for these two big-ticket films, and I am looking forward to working on them.”
A TWENTY-TWENTY TRANSFORMATION
Even as the actress asserts that 2020 has been a great year for her, a look at her pictures on her social media will show that she indeed seems happier than ever before. “There were so many things I enjoyed, including cooking and baking, none of which I could do earlier because of work,” she explains. “So I feel like the year transformed me into a different person. It’s been a beautiful metamorphosis, too. I have started becoming appreciative of things. I am now living in the moment and happy and grateful all the time. So the energy is coming from within.”
Adding to the bliss, 2021 has proposed the actress a beginning of great things to come. And with two films with the biggest names in the film industry — Salman Khan and Balakrishna — in her kitty, the Kanche star cannot be grateful enough for the opportunities that have come her way.
“I am learning and enjoying the process. But I feel the journey is so much more important for me and I am truly making the most of it,” she adds with a smile.
WISE DECISIONS
Interestingly, Pragya hadn’t signed any films since her 2018-release Achari America Yatra. But the actress cheekily cuts into our analysis with a smile, saying, “I think we can disqualify 2020 because no one was working either.”
She points out that she’d reached a juncture in her life when she realised she needed to be wiser with her decisions regarding her choice of scripts. So, she says, she resolved in 2019 to not sign any project unless it was inspiring and intellectually stimulating.
“I was waiting for the right project. I had a strong feeling that something great would come my way if I wait rather than do something just for the heck of it,” she states. “It was indeed a bold decision because it meant that even if I had to wait, I was game. I am very grateful that my prayers are answered, and I feel that these two films were worth the wait.”
DOWN WITH COVID BUT NOT OUT
Adding to the challenges of 2020, in October, Pragya and her parents contracted COVID-19.
“Although it was only for three weeks, it was rather challenging especially because it was even worse to watch my parents suffer the disease,” she remembers. “But after finally recovering from it, I dived into shooting for Balakrishna sir’s film.” Post her recovery, she derived her energies from work, which she ascribes to the character she plays in the Balakrishna’s film and the people she’s working with.
For Pragya, life post the recovery has been amazing. “I recovered in mid-November, and I started shooting for the Balakrisha sir’s film immediately. I had really no time to think about my sickness or the after effects of COVID-19,” she explains.
I was just happy to have antibodies in me and that I didn’t have to fear while shooting. And I just take it as a blessing that I got done and dusted with COVID before I started shooting so I could focus on trying to give my best shot every time. I haven’t lived with my parents for many years because I was travelling for education. Now that I am finally living with them, I am eternally grateful for their support