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A struggle with stereotypes

Last Updated 21 November 2016, 18:34 IST
Actor Prachi Desai says she goes through a constant struggle in trying to break the ‘girl-next-door’ stereotype associated with her. Before making her big-screen debut in 2008 with ‘Rock On!!’, Prachi played the righteous eldest sister on Ekta Kapoor's ‘Kasamh Se’ and the actress feels the audience hasn't been able to see her beyond that frame.

“After ‘Rock On!!’, just like it happens with everyone, I got stereotyped. First of all, because I came from a television background and secondly, because I didn’t play a glamorous, larger-than-life character. I wasn't launched in one of those extremely big-budget films where I was elevated to that position. After that (‘Rock On!!’), it was extremely difficult for me to change the perception of  being the ‘sweet simple girl next door’ and get roles which were my age,” said the actor.

Talking about another slot she stereotype she has often been slotted under, Prachi said that due to her role of a wife in ‘Rock On!!’, filmmakers perceived she was quite a bit older and hence offered her more mature roles.

“I was 19 when I did ‘Rock On!!’ but I’ve had the strangest reactions from some of the biggest filmmakers where they met me; they were often surprised that I looked so young. I still get offered roles where I am intense and subtle but in real life I think I am the opposite of that.

“But that’s an outsiders struggle. Whether it is a Kangana from ‘Gangster’ or Vidya Balan from ‘Parineeta’, it takes time to find your best scripts and roles. You just have to keep working hard,” she said. Prachi, who has reprised her role in the recently-released sequel to ‘Rock On!!’, now wants to do an out-and-out love story.

“I am very keen to take on interesting roles because this is the time when people are also open to do new things, chose different topics which also makes us fearless to take on different subjects. Personally, I would like to do a love story,” the actor said.
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(Published 21 November 2016, 16:55 IST)

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