“I Wish ‘I Me Aur Main’ Was My Debut Film” – Prachi Desai In Conversation With Koimoi

Your director Kapil Sharma actually confided in us that you completely relate to the character that you play in the film. What would you say to that?
I would call it a huge relief for me to actually play a character like Gauri because it has so much of me in it and is also someone who I can totally relate to. I finally get to play my own age in this film. It was really exciting because at no point did I feel that I have to learn these dialogues or go ahead and be somebody else. When I think about Gauri, I don’t think as if what this girl would have done had she been in  this situation, but I always reacted the way that Prachi would have handled the situation. In the process it just got better having John Abraham as a co star! He made the job easier for me.

From doing a Rock On to a Once Upon a Time in Mumbai and Bol Bachchan, and now I Me aur Main, there has been a variation in roles that you are choosing, which in the process is taking a longer time. Is that a conscious decision?
I would blame that on the opportunities that came to me. I don’t know whether I am fortunate or unfortunate that these are the only few films which came to me and I just chose the best out of that. I began at a time when I was still so young. I was only 19 when I did Rock On! and I played the role of a wife, which was way beyond my age. And after my television stint as Bani, everyone started offering me roles on similar lines. Nobody wanted to experiment or take a risk with me and they just kept giving me the same kind of roles. That’s why I did only one film a year and I made sure that the right film came my way. And all the other films were fantastic and it came over the right time. Especially Bol Bachchan was something I really was too keen to be a part of because I felt it was high time that I did a massy entertainer like that. And I have always been saying this in every interview; I wish ‘I Me Aur Main’ had come to me immediately after Rock On or I wish it was my debut film because this is me and this is who I am. So it would have done wonders for me back then.

Your last film Bol Bachchan was one that cruised to the 100 crore club. So with I Me Aur Main, is there an added pressure to deliver?
I think the films are extremely different. Those as in Bol Bachchan and others are completely on different lines and I don’t feel that there is any pressure for that on us ever. When I did Bol Bachchan, the entire team was unaware that the film would be a 100 crore film but yet we all did the film. It is more of wanting to be in a particular role, and a preferred set up. With Bol Bachchan, I really wanted to do that kind of a film, a little bit of a comedy. With I Me aur Main, all I think about is how fantastic my role is and what I get out of this film. So I don’t think about the film’s collections. If it crosses the 100 crore mark, that’s the cherry on the cake. But that’s never an intention to be a part of any film.

But then you are playing a second fiddle to Chitrangada. So do you think that would be a risk in your career?
Frankly, that’s for the viewers to decide because when you have a story out there, I can’t really take anything else into account. I cannot give up on any film, thinking that oh, I am the second fiddle or the supporting actress in the film. I personally never think of it as an actor. I decide on doing any film myself only on the basis of the role and the story. I will be really silly and foolish if I had felt that oh god, Chitrangada Singh comes in the promo first and I come second. I have never been seen like this before and this is one role that I am really looking forward to. I would go and grab opportunities at the right time rather than thinking of other things which do not matter.

So as an actress, what are your expectations from the film?
I obviously hope that the film would do great. This is one role that I can hope to expect a lot out of it. This is definitely my best so far and like I said, I wish I had got this film little earlier in life. I really feel that this film would really open many doors and opportunities for me. It is closer to my age and it might as well make people believe that. So that from the next time, I get offers which I really want to do.