Outsiders are not taken seriously in Bollywood: Prachi Desai

Mumbai: Ruing that outsiders are never taken seriously in Bollywood, actress Prachi Desai says it is only now that the industry is opening up to her despite she being working for last five years since her debut film ‘Rock On’. "I think the industry is opening up to me. And it is high time it does. I am truly not the person I have been made up to be. I feel that industry can be unfair sometimes. When you are an outsider, people don`t take you seriously," Prachi told reporters. "I personally think that you need an extreme push for people to promote you and bring you to a certain level," Prachi said. Prior to `Rock On` in 2008, Prachi, 23, had a successful stint on television with her debut soap `Kasamh Se`. Later, a dance reality show catapulted her to stardom which landed her a few offers in Bollywood. "For the kind of roles I was offered, I was not interested in them. When anybody starts of, you don`t want to be doing roles twice your age," the actress said. "The reason for being offered roles much older than me was because these are the kind of characters I have done before in television as well. I got it from `Rock On`...I played a young wife but nobody saw me as funky or the real me. The way I am," she added. "People wanted to stick to that, nobody wanted to experiment with me. They just thought they wanted to capitalise with what they had seen me as. "If I had taken those (older roles) up, my shelf life would have been two years and then I would have been over. I knew I had to wait for roles apt to my age to come to me," she said. Prachi would now be seen in a light hearted movie ‘Bol Bachchan’, a romantic-comedy directed by Rohit Shetty. She would be seen alongside Abhishek Bachchan, Ajay Devgn and Asin Thottumkal in the film, slated for release on July 6. "I think this is a good year for me. But now after doing films like `Bol Bachchan` and `Once Upon a Time in Mumbai`, I think I have come into that commercial zone. This is when you get other opportunities. It`s not been that long but it could have been a faster process," Prachi said. In ‘Bol Bachchan’, Prachi plays the role of Ajay`s sister and would be seen romancing Abhishek. Her next movie ‘I me Aur Main’, a romantic-drama, is opposite John Abraham. Releasing on July 28, the film is produced by Goldie Behl and Shrishti Arya. "After `Bol Bachchan` I have this film `I me Aur Main` with John. It is one opportunity for me where I can change people`s perception about me. It is such a vivacious role. "I don`t think people have normally also seen me like that. It`s a bohemian role. That role gives me an opportunity to switch in people`s mind," Prachi added. PTI