Mismatched's Prajakta Koli: ‘In romance, I'm a lot more like Rishi than Dimple’

Prajakta Koli (left) in the Netflix web-show Mismatched.

It has hardly been a week since Season 2 of Mismatched released on Netflix, and people on the streets are already asking Prajakta Koli about the possibility of Season 3. “It’s managed to connect with people across age groups,” says the popular content creator and actor who plays the character of Dimple Ahuja in the coming-of-age Web-series. Koli, whose YouTube channel MostlySane has around 6.76 million subscribers, says she is trying to strike a balance between content creation and acting projects. Edited excerpts:

How was it like to go back to playing Dimple again? Did you feel the pressure to deliver because it is the second season?

I think as actors we had it much easier. Most of the pressure was on our writers and director because they were on the forefront of things when the season got sanctioned. They took the audience's feedback into account and used it so well in the writing of Season 2. By the time the show reached us, a lot of the fighting was already done. Also, I am so attached to Dimple that I was more excited than anything else to be back on the sets of the show. I think the excitement took over the nerves. It was challenging for me to dig deeper into knowing who she is and learning new things about her.

Dimple is a techie, very driven, and doesn’t wear her heart on her sleeves the way Rishi (Rohit Saraf) does. How close are you to Dimple?

I think I am more Rishi than I am Dimple. I am extremely filmy and I romanticise everything in my head which is not always a good thing. What I do relate with in Dimple the most is how relentless she is with every emotion of hers. If she is focussed on work, it’s just that. If it is her heart, then it is just that. I really look up to her ambitions. She is not scared of being who she is; doesn’t care as much about what everyone else thinks and I quite admire her for that.

There are so many Young Adult shows these days but they don’t always click. Why do you think Gen Z has connected so much with Mismatched?

I am a huge fan of rom-coms, teenage dramas and chick flicks. For me, it was nice to see a show where I could see people like me or people I know or might have known. It’s a show where you remember having friends like these or having a crush on a guy or a girl like them or trying to stay away from these bullies who were not very nice to you in college. I don’t know how the writers and their team have done it but the magic for me as a Mismatched fan is the beautiful marriage of relatability and aspiration. It’s very believable that there is this girl who is not very likeable, is so flawed and so annoying at times but there is something about her that clicks. But at the same time you see Rishi and Dimple together and it is so aspirational. It makes you want to fall in love. I think that’s what sets us a little apart.

Before Mismatched Season 2, you have had a big Bollywood release with the Varun Dhawan-Kiara Advani-starrer Jugjugg Jeeyo. What are the sort of roles you are seeking now?

Honestly, I don’t have a rule book with that. I didn’t even know I was seeking anything until Dimple came to me. I really wish I had a more planned approach towards this but I don’t. I feel as long as the character has a motive, strikes a chord with me and the audience, I would like to do it.

You started as a content creator with YouTube but you haven’t had any formal training in acting. How much do you think being a content creator has helped in preparing you for acting in movies/shows?

I think a huge chunk! My first bit of me being on stage was as a dancer. That’s where my whole fear of being on stage or being in front of the camera was completely taken away and I saw myself transform every time I was on stage. I felt that same vibe when I started doing theatre in college. In radio, I learnt a lot about voice modulation and to speak in a certain tone for certain emotions. When I came to YouTube, I learnt how to differentiate characters and how to add and build on certain personality traits in a character. After that, going to an Akarsh Khurana (co-director of Mismatched) set was a whole university in itself. So, as clichéd as it sounds, I think everything has prepared me to reach here.

You have 6.76 million subscribers on your YouTube channel. That's a huge responsibility. You have often used that platform for various causes that are close to your heart. When did you realise you are actually making a difference?

I remember speaking about body positivity on World Mental Health Day in 2016 in October. That’s when I had people reaching out to me and I realised I have a voice. It wasn’t just me going on a video not knowing whom I’m talking to. Everyone was actually speaking to me through comments, emails, messages and DMs. That was when I realised for the first time that they are not just listening; they are up for a conversation. Ever since then, every conversation I have made socially on the channel has been extremely organic and I am very proud of that.

Will content creation take a back seat with you taking up acting projects?

Not at all. In fact, I did take some time off YouTube because I realised that as a creator I have reached a point where I wanted to challenge myself a little more and try different ways of storytelling. I’ve been picking into the writer side of being a creator for a few months now but I don’t think I can ever stop making videos. That is where I love being in general. Also if I stop making videos, it’s like cutting the golden goose! (Laughs)