Dhaval Roy (DNA; November 10, 2017)

Prachi Desai may not have played a musician in Rock On! but in her next outing, Kosha, she plays a vocalist and rhythm guitarist in a blues band. And, to get the characterisation perfect, the Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai actress has picked up the guitar in real life, too. Prachi says, “I wanted it to feel real; I wanted to truly lose myself in the music much like my character does in the film. It’s no use if you’re performing and are worried about syncing your movement to the song.”

And thus began her guitar lessons from none other than the director of her film, Amman Advaita, who, Prachi tells us, is a nifty guitarist himself. So, right from the pre-production days, Prachi started practising the six-string with the filmmaker. Once they commenced the shoot, “A bunch of us would sit back in the morning after a hard night’s shoot, jam and have fun, so much so that it became a problem waking up the next day,” the actress smiles.

Strumming on
Though Prachi used to strum for a few hours each day earlier, her busy schedule has meant that the practice sessions are infrequent now. She informs us that she has learnt to play the song that she performs in the movie and a few other favourites. So, does she plan to continue playing after the film is wrapped up? “Yes! Playing the guitar has been quite liberating. I want to keep learning the instrument and hopefully master it someday,” says the actress who found Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett in the film Runaways inspiring when she was younger.

All for the role
Before this, to do justice to the role, Prachi had injured her hand while shooting for a scene. “Actually, I was supposed to be punching a bag that was kept for my protection but I punched it away and started to punch the ground. Nobody noticed and I didn’t want to stop. I had so much to gain that the pain wasn’t a problem,” she says. Holds true for her guitar practice, too, since like any beginner, Prachi has also had sore fingers after playing. “They still get sore but it was needed and completely worth it. You’ll soon see,” Prachi offers. Incidentally, it was Abhishek Kapoor’s Rock On! that made her popular as a Bollywood actress when she moved from television to the big screen. Gung-ho about her turn in this film, she says, “I wish rock music never leaves me. At the end of the day, all artistes are people who are hurt or broken in some way and it’s sometimes easier to channel the pain rather than happiness. That’s what the blues were made to cure,” she says. Keane, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, INXS, The Killers, and The Horrors are some of her favourite bands.

Good times ahead
Currently, Prachi has Kosha to wrap up. That apart, she plans to make the most of a break in the film’s shoot and squeeze in a holiday abroad along with a work trip. “It has been strenuous, so this will be a great breather. Besides this, I am binging on Stranger Things! My sister, who is a writer, will be here visiting me soon from Australia, so, all in all, it’s great,” she signs off.

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 1, 2017)

The way my career started off was silly. I decided to go for an audition for the fun of it and even lied about my age. I was 16, but since it was a rule to be 18, I said I was. I auditioned for a chick flick set in a college. A few months later, I got a call asking me to come down and take a look test for a TV show for a 9 pm prime slot. I had no idea that I would come to Mumbai, and then never go back to Pune. That show was Kasamh Se. The day my life changed was the day my character marries Mr Walia (who was played by Ram Kapoor).

I was told a night before about this plot development. I was petrified playing a bride at 17 but Ekta Kapoor, and everyone else possible called to pacify me and assured me it was for the good of the show. Our TRPs shot up with that one episode, and we became the number 1 show. The fan mail increased and I knew life changed. It was impossible to step out after that, as people would flock me everywhere. I remember I was in Surat visiting family for Navratri one year and there were people standing on my balcony, trying to get in. That incident scarred me so badly that I never went back to live there. I felt like an exotic animal in a zoo. During my board exams, news channels followed my car till Pune and got pictures of me appearing for the exam. That was unreal and I didn't know how to handle it.

Thankfully, I had someone like Ram as a co-actor who would pamper me like a kid. He called me Bunny and it is only because of him, I stayed calm and pulled through the show with such confidence.

Also explains why she missed the film’s music launch on Saturday
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 19, 2016)

In Rock On (2008), she was the one to bring back ‘Magik’ into the lives of band members who split after a fight. In the sequel to her debut film, Prachi Desai supposedly plays a miniscule part. She fuelled rumours about being miffed with the makers for giving her the short shrift when she went missing from the Rock On 2 concert on Saturday evening to mark the film’s music launch.

Prachi, however, chooses to laugh off the buzz. She insists she was under the weather and couldn’t make it to the event. “I am down with viral fever, so I missed our kickass rock concert. Whoever came up with the rumour that I have a five-minute role must have seen our film before we did. I like the rumours because they are so entertaining,” she says.

Defending her blink-and-miss appearance in the film’s teaser, she retorts, “Every single film is whatever it is projected to be. There are movies that shove the main leads in your face through promos and songs. But when you go to the theatre, a girl probably has just a 12-minute role. That happens a lot in Bollywood.”

Promotions depend on how the director and producer want to whip up a certain perception about the film, she adds. “Screen length cannot be gauged from promos and trailers. They are pure marketing tools. A character or an actor might be highlighted because of their market weight. If starting today, (co-producers) Farhan (Akhtar) and Ritesh (Sidhwani) decide to show only my promos, I might look like the lead. I am used to not getting author-backed role, but have always been appreciated, nevertheless.”

How was it sharing her playing field with another female actor, Shraddha Kapoor, who has big hits and big- ticket films in her kitty? Prachi says, “Shraddha is one of the few actors who comes closest to my age group. We really get each other without many words. Be it at promotions, at our Shillong schedule or cast parties, we have had a whale of a time together. She is easy to get along with; she is the co-star I have had most fun with.”

Prachi Desai who plays Azhar's first wife in an upcoming biopic, says that the latter is fiercely private but a very modern woman
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 29, 2016)

DNA (April 4, 2016)


The first time Prachi and Naureen met, they hit it off and spent hours chatting over over tea and cup cakes! There after Prachi spent four hours everyday with Naureen. The love story of Naureen and Azhar moved Prachi and helped her understand the wife’s part in her celebrity husband’s life.

In fact Prachi and Naureen share a striking resemblance to one another in reality. Naureen has become so close to Prachi that she’s given her a nickname too — Prats. Prachi says, “I’m just humbled by Naureen’s gesture. She is such a down-to-earth soul and I wonder why destiny was so unkind to her. We bonded well and I really look upto her for the strong woman she is. I’m in touch with her till this date and every time I’m in Hyderabad I make it a point to visit her. sets. Naureen’s narrated all her childhood memories and it was refreshing to hear about them.”