Prajakta Koli: By the end of the day, we’d lose our voice

Adarsh Gourav describes her as a ldquoball of energyrdquo and we couldnrsquot agree more Prajakta Koli has the energy to do it all mdash from making YouTube videos that made her an internet sensation to featuring in films and most importantly spreading the good word There is no denying her youth icon status with the impact she has had with her conversations about mental health body positivity education and climate change Now the actorinfluencer talks about her first audio series Desi Down Under on Audible which she had signed before Marvelrsquos Wastelanders her connection to Australia and the need to pick up swimmingEdited excerpts from the interviewHave you been Down UnderI went to Melbourne for a work commitment I havenrsquot been to the places wersquove talked about in the show I wish to visit Australia because I didnrsquot see much of the country during that tripWas it easier to imagine the showrsquos setting because yoursquove been to AustraliaI didnrsquot feel the need to make that connection because in the studio Mantra Mugdh director made it a visual affair for us He travelled to Sydney before we started recording and captured the sounds from Bondi beach of people playing chilling or fighting on the beach and of conversations at the airport The world was created for me when I started recordingCan you tell us more about the series that revolves around three lifeguardsDesi Down Under is about friendship between three people love so beautiful that it scares you and healing It is about getting out of your comfort zone and seeing what you are capable of I fell in love with it even before we began recordingDo you have any experience in surfingI cannot swim to save my life If I did swim I would be the one in need of saving laughs While recording Mantra told us to put our mind and body into it I would have my headphones on with my eyes shut and make these sounds to indicate that we are visualising the wave I have never surfed in my life and was blindly following what Mantra was telling me That said Irsquod love to try surfing When people ask the one lifesaving skill I should have I say swimmingHow was the experience of recording with Adarsh Gourav and Taaruk RainaTaaruk and I didnrsquot record together because our dates never matched Mantra allotted one day where Adarsh and I recorded all our important scenes together I remember the first time we were recording a tough scene I have never seen anyone switch so quickly We were having a regular conversation and the next moment Adarsh jumped in the deep end Another thing I learnt from him was how aligned he is with everyone Hersquod meet me midway in a scene and was collaborative He would listen to what Mantra was saying and chip in what he thinks the character might do It was a beautiful way to see collaborations happen From him I also learnt when to stop Hersquod know when his body was giving up Some scenes were extremely physical although it is an audio medium By the end of the day we would lose our voiceYou have had major career shifts How do you decide what you wish to do next and make that switchIt is a joint effort based on several factors The first factor is how I am feeling doing what I do because I love my job I am still learning and making mistakes but overall I love my job The next factor is what my team has to say I will always bounce thoughts off my family friends confidants and my audience For example I started speaking about climate change early last year Until then I used to speak about education body positivity and mental health When the opportunity came my way through UNDP United Nations Development Programme I sat down with my team to figure if I could do this I rely heavily on all of them when it comes to workAlso ReadLearning from the legend