Chaitanya Padukone

Being the blue-eyed baby of Ektaa Kapoor can have its ‘side effects’ too. Prachi Desai ( Bani in ‘Kasamh Se’),  who won the ‘Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa’ dance show, was very hurt when detractors of the Balaji camp alleged that  Ektaa had used her clout to  ensure her win over contestant Sandhya Mrudal (who was judge Urmila Matondkar’s favourite). 

“I refuse to react to all these allegations. All I know is that I worked hard and God has rewarded me. Most of my fans were taken aback to watch ‘Bani bhabhi’ doing the salsa and samba. It was all destined,” counters Prachi as she swipes the dance floor at Ektaa’s post-midnight bash to celebrate her win.

It was also observed by cynics that Prachi was not ecstatic when her name was announced, as though she knew the results in advance. “I was so nervous. In fact, even my family members were anxious and jittery. That’s because Sandhya was ahead by just one point. I was praying for a miracle through audience voting,” she justifies adding, “I was too overwhelmed to react. For the first few minutes I was dazed. Even now it has yet to sink in that I have won the ‘JDJ’ trophy.”

Is it true that Prachi now wants to do films? “My ultimate aim is to play substantial lead roles in films. My dream role is that of Paro (played by Madhuri Dixit) in ‘Devdas’. Presently, I am all set to play Farhan Akhtar’s wife in Abhishek Kapoor’s (Ektaa’s cousin ) movie ‘Rock On’. Here, I may not get the  opportunity to dance,” she rues.

Is she open to ‘item-songs’? “No way, item songs don’t excite me. But music videos are on my agenda. I hope I get to dance at times in ‘Kasamh Se’. After all audiences have got used to a swinging Bani now,” she ends.