You know, when we were growing up, there was always this school head girl, who we had an immense crush upon. Prachi Thaker reminds me of that. With a glowing girlish charm about her, an honest voice in whatever she speaks, and the go-getter ability imbibed, Prachi Thaker has proved her mettle at every opportunity life has thrown at her. Be it modeling, designing, and more importantly acting, Prachi has given her fabulous best, marking her own niche. The Gujju girl has practically arrived in the city.
Prachi Thaker has exhibited her confidence and winning poise in multiple platforms before launching into the film industry. Her enviable achievements include winning, Miss University Gujarat and Dabur Asli Amla Star Ki Khoj in 2011, Becoming Miss Spectrum NIFT Hyderabad in 2013. From there, she went on to star in one of the biggest Telugu short film hits ever, ‘The Silent Melody’, playing a deaf and mute lead, with such sincerity that she immediately struck a chord with the Telugu audience. She became a sensation overnight, for her portrayal, which translated to movie offers. Her first movie feature ‘Pataas’, brought her much acclaim and she picked up her first IIFA nomination for Best Supporting Actress on the way. We got talking to Prachi Thaker about her journey and she had some really great things to share :
First things first: Where Prachi have you been? After such wonderful YouTube presence via ‘Silent Melody’, the audience found a wonderfully talented actor in you. How do you think your journey shaped up from there on?
I haven’t gone anywhere. I was busy graduating and finishing off my studies, actually “The Silent Melody” happened when I was still doing my graduation, and I am happy that my first short film my first attempt on acting was appreciated by the audience and I would like to give credit to Mr. Prasanth Varma that it was his trust in me that helped me justify the role and also I think “The Silent Melody” was a stepping stone which helped me in getting further offers and my journey towards Tollywood started.
Your latest short film trailer for ‘Chemistry’ by Sillymonks, looks like a simple love story? How would you describe it? Any particular thing you liked about it. More SillyMonks projects in future?
My latest short film “CHEMISTRY” is a simple love story of a college student which I guess few students may relate to, and I am not playing a deaf-mute role in this, I have dialogues so yes along with my expressions, dialogue delivery is also playing an important part. Along with the audience I am also eagerly waiting for its release and hopefully, people will appreciate it as much as they appreciated my first short film.
We saw you last, in Pataas in a gripping role of a deaf-mute philanthropist. For which, you got nominated for an IIFA. Deaf-Mute roles seem to be your forte. Comment.
After silent melody, I got a call from NTR production for this sister character alongside Kalyanram garu, at first i was bit hesitant because it was the same deaf mute role which I had to play and I was looking for some new challenges but then after listening to the story and the importance of role I thought to give it a try just for the big screen, and luckily that too the audience appreciated and I was really surprised by my nomination on ‘IIFA Utsavam’ podium as it was my first feature movie in Tollywood, it really motivated me. 🙂
..Now to your journey – Where does the story of Prachi start. You are a qualified designer from NIFT, where did then movies or short films start to take off?
Before joining NIFT I had participated in many state & national level pageants and had won a few of them so from there my modelling journey started, after joining NIFT I used to do photo-shoots during holidays for different Saree brands, along with my study of textiles I took this up as my hobby and then after I started getting offers for short movies, but my primary focus was on my studies and so I have to let go of many projects to avoid any disturbance in my submissions & attendance.
You’ve shot for advertisements as a model, and made movies as an actor, which one of these do you think is more difficult? And how different are the two industries and Who have been your mentors in them?
It is true acting takes a lot of your time to understand the character feel its emotions, but photo-shoots too requires the same amount of patience as you have to stand with heels and pose and change back to back, but I personally feel that if you enjoy your work you won’t feel any difficulty or fatigue, both the industries are interrelated, movies create trend which is then marketed by the advertisements to reach till people so it’s a kind of loop. I come from a non-filmy background so it is a bit difficult to make your mark initially, and thus, I take my each and every experience to be my mentor also during free time on sets I observe senior artists perform and it’s of great help!
The Sorting Hat – If you were to choose 3 more pursuits apart from the presently being an actor, what would they be? And why?
I Love to dance! If not an actor I would have started my career in dancing as I used to be a dance tutor during summers in Ahmadabad in the same academy where I learned my freestyle. Another pursuit could have been a Chartered Accountant because I hold a degree in commerce and I too shall have walked the path of my father. But I am not at all a studious person and lastly, I always wanted to be a designer. I like dressing up people and bring something creative in a way a person carries itself and it’s a fact that clothes are never going to get out of demand! 🙂
Over the years, you’ve joined a long list of actors/actresses from Northern regions. How was your experience working here in Hyderabad? And do you consider yourself a Hyderabadi as yet? What were problems of adjusting here that you faced in the industry?
Hyderabad has treated me really nice! I love hanging out at different places here. The only difficulty I faced was probably because of the language. It took me time to understand Telugu and I faced major communication gap because of it initially, and yes I do consider myself as a Hyderabadi Gujarati but most importantly Hindustani. 🙂
Now for some fun things, One role that you wish you did in the last 3 years?
I really liked the role of Ramya Krishna garu in movie Bahubali – The Beginning.
If you were to pick one actress to play you in ‘Silent Melody’ the movie version, who would you pick?
Kajal Agarwal would also have justified the role in Silent Melody as I think her eyes are really expressive.
What’s that one Hyderabadi dish that you crave for? And where do you order it from?
In street food I like Bonda!! I am a vegetarian so I like Hyderabad veg biryani and bonda! Also, I crave for Kubani ka Meetha, I always order it from 4 Seasons!
If you could Time Travel and go back to 2012, what are the three things you’d change in your story?
If I could time travel then I would have definitely learned Telugu before coming to Hyderabad for studies. Secondly, I would have asked my family to come along and get settled in Hyderabad. And lastly, I would have joined theatres in 2012 itself!!
Describe Prachi Thaker in 5 words.
Crazy person with an openness to challenges..! ( Not exactly five but yeah! )
What does the future ball say for Prachi? Where does she see herself going to? Future topics that we should be excited about.?
As of now, I m working as a freelance designer and I am accepting any good projects on the way. Soon, I am willing to start a label which promotes the hand-loom & traditional Indian textiles, as I think people should have awareness about it as it’s our national treasure and it’s scarce. Fashion is not only new designs or silhouettes but aiming to rediscover the lost tradition in a way which creates a cultural appeal.
Any advice that you would like to give to the budding artists that want to make it big in this preferred arena? Any Do’s And Don’ts that they should look out for?
The only advice I can give is just to be confident and do not let any loss demotivate you, also seize the good opportunities but also take care that you are the one responsible for the decisions you make. 🙂
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So, that was Prachi Thaker, speaking about her life and all things that make her a wonderful person. Oh, before we leave, A little something for you. The wonderful short film that defined Prachi Thaker. ‘The Silent Melody’ for you :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOfxPS2n8o
Until next time then. Ciao !
( Cover Image Source : Ragalahari & Prachi Thaker )
