New Delhi: Prajakta Koli said she has learned to handle negativity and baseless hate over her 11-year journey as a content creator and now an actress, while continuing to value and welcome genuine criticism.
The ‘Mismatched’ star, who didn’t attend film school or receive formal training, said she learnt everything ‘on the job’ and that feedback helps her understand what she’s doing right or wrong.
“I’ve been a creator for 11 years and now I have become thick-skinned. I’ve just put everything out for so long. But having said that, criticism has always been very important for me. Now, what I do has no blueprint. It’s not like I learned how to become a creator or I went to film school and learnt how to act. Whatever I’ve learnt, I’ve learnt on the job because of that, I cannot work as efficiently,” Koli told PTI.
Koli became popular across the country with her relatable comedy sketches and observational humour videos, which she posts on her ‘YouTube’ channel ‘MostlySane’. She forayed into acting with the hit ‘Netflix’ series ‘Mismatched’ and later made her Bollywood debut with the 2023 movie ‘Jugjugg Jeeyo’.
When it comes to receiving hate on social media, the actress said she is used to it now. “I’ve become used to baseless hate, so it doesn’t affect me that much. I was 21 when I started doing this and I’m 32 now. The most formative years of my career have been at the expense of my audience. And I’m very grateful, because if I get these opportunities or if I have the courage to try something new, it’s because of them. I know that if it works out tomorrow, they’ll support me. If it doesn’t, they won’t leave me. They’ll tell me that this didn’t work out. I trust my community, no matter what.”
Koli, who also starred in the Vidya Balan-starrer ‘Neeyat’ and series ‘Andhera’ alongside Priya Bapat and Surveen Chawla, said walking onto sets with big actors or filmmakers overwhelms her. “I’m always nervous because look at the people I’m working with. But now, I can either choose to keep that up and be like, ‘I can only do this much’. Or I can learn because I don’t have other schools to go to. So, then it’s a stepping stone in general,” she added.
Koli is now seen in comedy drama series ‘Single Papa’, in which she co-stars with Kunal Kemmu as well as senior actors Manoj Pahwa and Ayesha Raza.