Pravina Deshpande, who has done films like Ready, Ek Villain, Monsoon Out, Khamosh Adalat Jari Hai, Jalebi, Bose: Dead/Alive, Avrodh, and Rocket Boys, to name a few, feels grooming is very important. She said, “A well-groomed person stands out by the way they carry themselves—confident and self-assured.”
“I don’t subscribe to the saying that the first impression is the last impression,as my opinion has often changed over time. However, being professionally groomed leaves a lasting impression as it shows attention to detail. I did theater years ago. A play called Thank You, Mr. Glad won me the Best Actress award at the state level, where I played a very young pregnant girl when I was 18 years old. This role gave me a lot of insight; I visited a maternity home often and observed women at different stages.This training laid the foundation for my confidence when I entered television years later,” she added.
She feels it’s nice to be presentable, and added, “One should feel good about themselves for the confidence. People also want to see you in a certain way, but one shouldn’t be pressured by it”.
She stressed that sometimes the glam look creates a virtual barrier with others, adding, “For me, I value connectivity and many times I am casually dressed. At one such time in an exhibition, someone said, “I know you people have to camouflage yourselves, but I recognized you ma’am. I love your subtle way of acting.” That’s the best part of being a character actor, not getting pressured to look up to date all the time.”
She believes a person’s outer appearance becomes irrelevant once you spend some time with them. She said, “I have a family friend who calls me Didi. We grew up together.He has a big burn mark on his right cheek. An intelligent, well-read orator with a good sense of humour, now a doctor, you don’t even notice the mark when you talk to him. When in college he used to say, ‘This mark is my identity. I will never get plastic surgery done.’ That was profound.”
And she doesn’t judge others, even if her vibe doesn’t match theirs. She said, “Even if I feel uncomfortable with not-so-good vibes, I hang on. It takes too many things to make a person behave a certain way. But on a day-to-day basis, having good vibes is very essential for me.. that’s happiness."
So whom do you consider to have the most good-looking personality? “The most good-looking personality to me is Smt. Sudha Murty. She has it all: the charm,intelligence, good education, humor, oratory skills, bravery, a symbol of woman power, and homemaking skills too.Her values, culture, empathy, compassion, warmth, authenticity, and humility..wow. The way she gave her first speech in the parliament, मेरा तो दिल ही जीत लिया.. (she won my heart),” Pravina added.
