It is always interesting to see civil servants pursuing their passions and honing their creative talents, alongside their official duties. IPS officer Simala Prasad is one such bureaucrat who is not just a diligent police officer but also a talented Bollywood actor who has proved her mettle through two films so far.
Indian Masterminds spoke to Ms. Prasad, who is Superintendent of Police in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh, to understand her foray into cinema.
A THEATER FANATIC SINCE CHILDHOOD
An art and theatre fanatic since childhood, Ms. Prasad never missed an opportunity to go on stage and showcase her talents in front of an audience. Due to her father being an IAS officer, she had to switch schools a lot, during her early years, owing to her father’s frequent transfers.
But one thing that she never let go of was her passion for dancing and acting. She grabbed every opportunity that came her way, to dance and act on stage. She even joined theatre school to sharpen her skills.
“I liked participating in extracurricular activities and took part in all the annual functions held by my schools. I loved being on stage and my love for dance and acting grew gradually,” shared Ms. Prasad.
THE SOURCE OF INSPIRATION
The officer gained immense inspiration from her mother, Mrs Mehrunnisa Parvez, who is a popular Indian writer of Hindi Literature and has been honoured with the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri, in 2005, for her contributions to Indian literature by the Government of India.
“Writing and theatre go hand in hand. I attended numerous theatre performances in Bhopal and Delhi with my mother when I was young. She had a lot of friends who hailed from both fields. I enjoyed the company of these theatre artists and adored the way they worked, which ultimately increased my passion for art,” she shared with Indian Masterminds.
HER FIRST BREAK
It was through her mother that Ms. Prasad met the director of her first film, Mr. Zaigham Imam, who is also a writer in the film industry. He told her about the requirement for an actor in a film that he was working on.
“He told me about the role and asked me to give it a try. I agreed to do it since I love acting. It was an amazing experience for me. Of course, one has to accommodate a lot of things while acting in front of the camera, being an officer, but overall, the process was amazing and I loved every bit of it,” she shared.
As soon as the director narrated the script of his film Alif to her, Ms. Prasad loved the concept and said yes to the movie. Her character in the film is that of the sister of a child who studies in a madrassa and wants to become a doctor. When the child is sent to school, the fundamentalists oppose it, which also affects her character’s life.
The film had its world premiere at the Indian International Film Festival of Queensland in Australia in 2017. Along with this, the film has also won the Best Screen Play and Best Child Artist awards at the Bioscope Global Film Festival. You can watch the film on Disney+ Hotstar.
After her debut film, Ms. Prasad also starred in the 2019 film Nakkash, which is the story of a gifted craftsman who believes in no religious boundaries and his talent becomes a symbol of accord in all the communities. The film was praised by one and all and is available to watch on Amazon Prime’s Lionsgate subscription.
TIME MANAGEMENT
It is not easy for civil servants to take out time from their hectic schedules to pursue their passion. But where there is a will, there is a way. When you really love doing something, you take out time for it somehow. Even though Ms. Prasad is unable to indulge in promotional and acting events which usually help in improving an actor’s skills, she hones up her skills by watching top-notch actors perform and observing their work.
Her director, understanding her hectic schedule and tough job profile, also manages to work in a way that benefits both – the officer’s timings and the schedule of the film.
“He scheduled it in a way that I just had to be on the set for 10 days during the shoot of Alif and it was just a 3-days schedule for Nakkash. It wasn’t a long break from my job, so I was able to do it freely. Otherwise, if he needed additional shots, he shared a few references that I had to follow and movies which I had to watch, after which I shot my scenes on my mobile phone when I had time in hand, and mailed it to him. It’s a kind of long-distance shooting,” she told Indian Masterminds.
FUTURE PROJECTS
Ms. Prasad was almost about to star in her third movie in 2021, but unfortunately, she couldn’t take out time for shooting as the elections were scheduled during that time and since duty comes first, she didn’t take leave from her job for her acting commitments.
However, we might soon see her acting skills once again as she has another movie in her bag, the shooting of which might begin by the end of this year or early next year.
