Prachi Desai
Born	Prachi Desai September 12, 1988 (1988-09-12) (age 21) Gujarat , India
Other name(s)	Prachi Bani Walia Bani
Occupation	Model, Actress
Years active	2007 - present
Spouse(s)	None
Official website

Prachi Desai (born September 12, 1988) is an Indian film and TV actress. She is best known for her role as Bani Walia in the Hindi television drama Kasamh Se which aired on Zee TV. Prachi is the endorser, spokesperson, brand ambassador and the face of Neutrogena products in India.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Kasamh Se 4 Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2 4.1 Scorecard 4.2 Dard-e-Disco 5 Awards 5.1 2006 5.2 2006 5.3 2007 5.4 2007 5.5 2008 5.6 2008 6 Television Appeareances 7 Filmography 8 External links

[edit] Biography

Prachi was born in Gujarat, India. She studied in St Joseph Convent, Panchgani and completed her schooling till 9th grade in Surat. Then she went to Pune for higher studies. She studied in Pune in Sinhagad College. Her first film wasRock On!!, where she played the wife of Farhan Akhtar. Prachi had to leave her very successful role of "Bani" in Kasam Se to act in Rock On. Her next movie is Life Partner. She is currently working on Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, a film to be released in mid 2010. It stars Ajay Devgan, Emraan Hashmi and Kangana Ranaut.

[edit] Career

Acting was her passion since childhood - her father and uncle had done various Gujarati plays - but she started with a short modelling workshop. She went to Pune for higher studies and had almost finished her junior college when her pictures were sent to Balaji Telefilms and she got a call for an audition for Kasamh Se. She had just turned 17 when her career began on Kasamh Se and left her studies for a while. She is now continuing with her correspondence course. She has also starred in her first movie Rock On !! which was released on August 29, 2008 and Farhan Akhtar as her co-star.

[edit] Kasamh Se

Kasamh Se is the serial that Prachi Desai starred in and got her fame on Zee TV. She has captured many a hearts with this program acting as innocent but strong willed Bani Dixit (now Bani Walia). Prachi left Kasamh Se on April 15, 2008 and was replaced by Gurdeep Kohli after being burnt and drowned in episode 564. Kasamh Se ended March 12, 2009. In the last episode, Prachi Desai made a special appearance as the former Bani. Kasautii Zindagii Kay was aired on Star Plus which was a TV serial in which Prachi did a cameo for 2 days as a school student in Prerna's school. Prachi Desai was her character name in Kasauti Zindagi Ki. In the serial she works as a student who tries to go with her lover far away without the permission of her parents and was caught by the serial's heroine who complains this to her and her lover's parents.

[edit] Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2

Prachi then entered Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the Indian version of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, on September 7, 2007 with choreographer Deepak Singh. Prachi impressed the judges every week, but was ultimately eliminated on November 10, 2007. However, she entered the contest again via the Wildcard entry on November 23, 2007. Prachi then landed a spot in the Grand Finale of the dance show on December 15, 2007 and won the 1st place against her other contestants. Prachi Desai was awarded the Dancing star of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2. However it has been alleged that she was made to return as a wild card entry in spite of her elimination due to a direct intervention from her close personal friend Ekta Kapoor which compelled the producers of the show to change the international format of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.

[edit] Scorecard

• September 28: 19 points

• October 1: 23 points

• October 12: 25 points

• October 19: 28 points

• November 2: 23 points

• November 9: 28 points

• November 16: Wildcard

• November 23: 24 + 30 points

• November 30: 30 + 30 points

• December 7: 27 + 29 points

• December 14: 28 + 29 + 28 points

[edit] Dard-e-Disco

It was later announced by Sony Entertainment Television Asia that Prachi would compete in a tribute show to Jhalak competition called Dard-e-Disco alongside with other former Jhalak contestants which aired on Sony Entertainment Television Asia on December 31, 2007

[edit] Awards

[edit] 2006

The Sixth Indian Telly Awards:

• Couple of the year - Prachi Desai and her co-star Ram Kapoor won the award for their on screen chemistry in the show.
• Fresh New Face of the Year (Female) - Prachi shared the award with Zee TV's star, Rajshree Vaidya (Saloni of Saat Phere.

2008 sabse favourite kaun-Best Newcomer

[edit] 2006

15th KALAKAR Awards:

• Best Actress - Prachi Desai (Television) in the 15th Kalakar Awards was held on January 14, 2006 at Science City Auditorium, Kolkata

[edit] 2007

Sansui Television Awards:

• Best Actress - Bani Walia For Kasamh Se

[edit] 2007

• The Seventh Indian Telly Awards: Best Actress - Bani Walia For Kasamh Se
• Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 2 winner. Declared on Sony Entertainment Television Asia
• Zee Rishton Ka Utsav 2007 Favourite Bhabhi-Nanand Rishta.Bani shared with Jigyasa

[edit] 2008

Best Actress - Prachi Desai for The Global Indian TV Honours

[edit] 2008

Best Actress at Sansui Television Awards (2008) (Popular Category) for her portrayal as Bani Walia in Kasamh Se.

Sabse Favourite Kaun-Best newcomer

[edit] Television Appeareances

• Kasamh Se (2006) Bani Dixit/ Bani Walia
• Kasautii Zindagii Kay (2007) Prachi Desai
• Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 2 (2007) Herself with Deepak Singh
• Yeh Hai Jalwa (2008) Herself
• Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 3 (2009) Guest

[edit] Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes	Co star
2008	Rock On!!	Sakshi	Hindi	Nominated, Filmfare Best Female Debut Award Debut Movie	Farhan Akhtar
2009	Life Partner	Prachi	Hindi		Tushar Kapoor
2010	Once Upon A Time In Mumbai	Mehjabeen	Hindi		Emraan Hashmi

[edit] External links

• Prachi Desai at the Internet Movie Database