Prachee Shah Paandya, who was recently seen in ‘Chhatriwali’, has been one of the most popular actresses on television who made a successful transition to films. Despite being massively popular on TV, she moved on and decided to concentrate on films alone. She has been since doing small character roles in films and has received considerable fame even in that.
Talking to Prateek Sur, Prachee Shah Paandya speaks up about her career, her success in TV, why she moved away from TV, her film ‘Chhatriwali’, its taboo topic, and lots more. Excerpts:
You’ve been mighty popular in the last two decades, but why do we see you so less in today’s time? Are you not getting good roles like you were getting in the 2000s?
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Thank you! I have been popular for the last two decades. I guess those were the television days after which I moved to doing films. Of course, I've been getting very very good offers in the past few years. I've done really good films. So, I guess it's not that I've not been getting offers but maybe I'm a little bit choosy.
‘Chhatriwali’ is a very small yet impactful character that you’re playing. How did the role come to you?
Yes, it’s a very impactful role and I played the role of Nisha bhabhi in ‘Chhatriwali’. The role came to me through a casting agent through which of course I went through the script and asked them for a detailed script and that's how I got the role.
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The movie tries to normalize a very taboo topic of sex education in Indian societies. Do you think in today’s times, things have changed a bit? Are today’s parents more open to talk about sex education with their kids?
Yes, I do feel that in today's times, parents and children are slightly open. I wouldn't say it's really changed. It's still a taboo topic. People do feel very shy about it and yes to a great extent, maybe in metropolitan cities, if I'm not wrong, it's slightly better, but I still feel in the interiors on a large-scale level, no not really, I don't think things have really changed much.
Indian families usually don’t like to talk about sex education and consider it a taboo topic at home. If I’m not wrong your daughter is also just stepping into her teens, which is an age where kids start getting curious about things. How open or frank as a parent are you when it comes to talking about safe sex and sex education at home with your daughter?
Yes, you are absolutely right. My daughter is 14 and at home, we are pretty open. We really have discussions with her as if we are kids. We kind of make her life a little easier by bridging the gap of course. In fact, she watched the film with me and she loved the film and in fact, it kind of gave her much more insights about a lot of things which she knew but she didn't have clarity about. They do have sex education-related workshops in school. So, today's generation kind of knows it all. I guess they read a lot and there is so much out there on social media and on Google that they already have information but sometimes I feel we parents and teachers and counsellors can actually throw great light on the subject by talking to them and getting their doubts cleared. They think they know but probably they don't really know the technicalities of it. So yes, I do try and speak to her as much as I can and she is pretty pal-ly with her dad as well. So, we have a pretty open conversation at home. We are actually trying to keep pace with gen Z as you say.
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What next can we see you in?
There are a lot of things in the pipeline. I’m hoping 2023 definitely gives me a great foray into the OTT world. I can't talk about that until I'm allowed to. But yes, I do have a fabulous kathak solo performance coming up for the Kala Ghoda festival. It is the biggest musical and art cultural festival in Mumbai and I'm really looking forward to presenting my solo kathak there.
