Prachi Desai (born 12 September 1988), is an Indian actress who works in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

films and television. She started her television career as a lead in the successful TV drama '' Kasam Se'' on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-ba ...

. She made her Bollywood debut in the 2008 film '' Rock On!!''. Her other notable films include ''

Life Partner The term significant other (SO) has different uses in psychology and in colloquial language. Colloquially, "significant other" is used as a gender-neutral term for a person's partner in an intimate relationship without disclosing or presuming ...

'' (2009), '' Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' (2010), ''

Bol Bachchan ''Bol Bachchan'' is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film directed by Rohit Shetty and produced by Ajay Devgn & Dhillin Mehta under Ajay Devgn FFilms and Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Limited respectively, with Fox Star Studios se ...

'' (2012) and '' I, Me Aur Main'' (2013). She is also the endorser, spokesperson, brand ambassador and the face of Goa Tourism and

Neutrogena Neutrogena Corporation, trading as Neutrogena, is an American company that markets skin care, hair care and cosmetics owned by parent company Johnson & Johnson and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.Lux Lyra. In an interview of April 2021, she opened up about her casting couch experience for a big film.

Early life and background

Desai was born in

Surat, Gujarat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is no ...

, to Niranjan Desai and Ameeta Desai. She has one sister named Esha Desai. Desai studied in St. Joseph Convent School,

Panchgani Panchgani, called Paachgani (पाचगणी in Marathi), is a hill station and municipal council in Satara district in Maharashtra, India. Panchgani attracts tourists throughout the year. It is also known for having many residential educati ...

and completed her schooling until ninth grade in Surat. She completed her higher studies in Sinhagad College in Pune.

Career

Prachi Desai 'Bol Bachchan' team on the sets of Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah 06

Television career and breakthrough (2006-2008)

In 2006, Desai got selected to play the lead role in

Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television producer, film producer and director who works in Hindi cinema and soap opera. She is the joint managing director and creative head of Balaji Telefilms Limited, which was founded in 1994. ...

's television drama, ''

Kasamh Se ''Kasamh Se'' (English title: ''The Promise'') was an Indian soap opera produced by Ekta Kapoor of Balaji Telefilms. The show aired on Zee TV from 16 January 2006 to 12 March 2009. The story is about three sisters: Bani, Piya and Rano. It w ...

''. She was cast as Bani, opposite TV actor Ram Kapoor. It was her acting debut.The show won her several awards, including the Indian Telly Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role. Desai then entered ''

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa'' is an Indian Hindi-language reality television show and the Indian version of BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and ''Dancing with the Stars''. The show pairs celebrities with professional dancers. Each couple performs pred ...

'', the Indian version of BBC ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 j ...

'' on 7 September 2007 with choreographer Deepak Singh. Desai was eliminated on 10 November 2007, but entered the contest again via a wildcard entry and ultimately won the competition. Desai was awarded the Dancing Star of ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa''. Desai also appeared in two episodes of the Star Plus television series Kasauti Zindagi Ki in a cameo. She portrayed a student at Prerna's school.

Film debut and success (2008-2016)

Desai then made the transition to the film industry in 2008. Her first film was '' Rock On!!'' (2008), directed by Abhishek Kapoor, where she played the wife of Farhan Akhtar. Desai had to leave ''

'' to act in ''Rock On''. Her next film was ''

'' (2009) with Tushhar Kapoor,Genelia D'Souza,Fardeen Khan,Govinda and Amrita Rao. In July 2010, she appeared in '' Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai'' with

Ajay Devgan Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

Emraan Hashmi Emraan Anwar Hashmi (; born 24 March 1979) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hashmi debuted in 2003 with the crime thriller film '' Footpath'' and subsequently appeared in films include '' Murder'' (2004), '' Kalyug ...

and

Kangana Ranaut Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works in Hindi films. Known for her work in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfar ...

. In 2010 she shot with Rajeev Khandelwal for Vikram Tuli's film called Main Jokerr which was to be released in 2011 but film never released due to its title problems. In 2012, she appeared in '' Teri Meri Kahaani'' in a cameo role. Desai then appeared in a lead role in ''

'' opposite

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan and the grandson of poet Harivansh Rai Bach ...

, along with

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...

and

Asin Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She ...

. The film proved to be Desai's biggest box office success until date. Desai next appeared in '' I, Me Aur Main'' (2013) with John Abraham and Chitrangada Singh. She did another film, '' Policegiri'' with

Sanjay Dutt Sanjay Balraj Dutt (born 29 July 1959) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, Dutt has won several accolades and acted in over 100 films, ranging from romance to comedy genres, though u ...

. In 2014, she appeared in an item number for ''

Ek Villain ''Ek Villain: There's One in Every Love Story'' is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor under Balaji Motion Pictures. Based on a script written by Tushar Hiran ...

'' in a song called "Awari". In 2016, Desai played former cricket captain Mohammad Azharuddin's wife, Naureen in his biopic film, '' Azhar'' opposite Emraan Hashmi. She again played the wife of Farhan Akhtar in ''

Rock On 2 ''Rock On 2'' (also known as ''Rock On!! 2'') is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film directed by Shujaat Saudagar, and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani. A sequel to the National film award winning film ''Rock On!!'' (20 ...

,'' a sequel to '' Rock On!!''. The film was released on 11 November 2016.

Hiatus, return and further career (2017-present)

Desai returned to the silver screen after almost 4 years with the Zee 5 film 'Silence...Can You Hear It?' released on 26 March 2021 also starring Manoj Bajpai, Arjun Mathur, Sahil Vaid, Vaquar Sheikh and Barkha Singh. She also performed in a music video, Rihaahe with Mr.World 2016

Rohit Khandelwal Rohit Khandelwal (born 19 August 1989), is an Indian model, actor, television personality, winner of Mr India 2015 and the first ever Asian to be crowned Mister World in the 2016 contest. Early life Khandelwal was born in Hyderabad. He is a ...

which released on 22 June 2021. The song was sung by singer Yaseer Desai. The song was well appreciated by the audience. On 24 June 2022 she was seen in Hindi film Forensic,a remake of Malayalam film co-starring Vikrant Massey and Radhika Apte, where she played the role of Dr.Ranjana. At Amazon Prime Meeting in 2022 it was revealed that Desai will be making her Telugu debut with supernatural web series Dhootha with Naga Chaitanya and Parvathy. She is even committed to star as a lead actress in the dark fantasy movie - Kosha, which is directed by Amman Advaita and produced by Abhay Raj Kanwar.

Filmography

Cast of 'Bol Bachchan' interview at Mehboob studio 07 Prachi Desai

Films

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Prachi Desai graces Lakme Fashion Week 2018, Day 5 (16)

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Prachi Living people 1987 births People from Surat Actresses from Gujarat Indian television actresses Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Gujarati cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Reality dancing competition winners International Indian Film Academy Awards winners Zee Cine Awards winners Gujarati people