Prajakta Mali

Prajakta Mali (born 8 August) is an Indian actress known for her work in Marathi film and television. She was born in Pandharpur and brought up in Pune. She started her career with Star Pravah's Suvasini in 2011. Later, she appeared in Zee Marathi's Julun Yeti Reshimgathi in 2013. Currently she is hosting Sony Marathi's Maharashtrachi Hasyajatra.

Early life
She studied B.A. and M.A. in Performing Arts in “Bharatnatyam” at Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune University. She was also awarded a scholarship by the Ministry of Culture for higher studies in Bharatnatyam.

Early work and Julun Yeti Reshimgathi (2001–2015)
Prajakta participated in dance reality shows from an early age; at the age of 14, she won the Hindi dance show, Kya Masti Kya Dhoom (2001), which aired on Star Plus. She made her acting debut with an uncredited role in Shah Rukh Khan's starred Swades in 2004. Subsequently, she appeared in a small role in Gandhi, My Father. In 2008, she made her Marathi film debut as a child actress in Sanjay Surkar's Taandala - Ek Mukhavta, she played the young version of Asawari Joshi's character. The film didn't have any dialogue for Mali. Following this, she made her television debut with Firuni Navi Janmen Mi, produced under Kothare & Kothare Vision. In 2011, she played the energetic young girl, whose world centers around her family, in the Marathi daily soap Suvasini, produced by Smita Talwalkar’s Asmita Chitra Productions.

In 2013, Mali got widespread recognition for her role as Meghana Kudalkar Desai opposite Lalit Prabhakar in the Julun Yeti Reshimgathi aired on Zee Marathi. The plot revolves around how the two become inseparable and face every obstacle together to be madly in love with each other. Next, she was a contestant on the fifth season of the dance reality show Eka Peksha Ek —Apsara Aali. The same year, she was seen in an important role in the critically acclaimed comedy drama Kho-Kho, directed by Kedar Shinde. The following year, she played the role of Bijli in the ensemble film Sangharsh.

Pivotal role and critical acclaim (2017–present)
After a gap of two years, in 2017, she was seen alongside Prabhakar and Sonalee Kulkarni in Prakash Kunte's romantic drama Hampi. Mihir Bhanage of The Times of India called her performance "convincing". Ulhas Shirke of Marathi Movie World wrote, "She does extremely well to invite the audience attention with her bubbly character for almost the next half an hour" and further concluded, "will surely help her to find better roles in Marathi films." The film was successful at the box office. Next, she appeared as a protagonist in Zee Marathi's comedy show Naktichya Lagnala Yaycha Ha, which had many special appearances by well-known Marathi celebrities, including Subodh Bhave, Siddharth Chandekar, Prasad Oak, Gashmeer Mahajani, and Swapnil Joshi.

In 2018, Mali portrayed the girl next door character in an ensemble comedy drama Party opposite Suvrat Joshi. The film was not so well received by critics and audiences. The same year, she made two guest appearances in Ani... Dr. Kashinath Ghanekar and Ranangan. In the former, she enacted the role of Asha Kale in the superhit song "Gomu Sangatina" from the 1975 Marathi film Ha Khel Sawalyancha.

The next year, she once again paired opposite Joshi in the black comedy film Dokyala Shot, a remake of the Tamil film Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (2012). The story is based on a true story that involves a young man who experiences retrograde amnesia after a cricket incident two days before his wedding. She played the Tamil girl, Subbulakshmi Iyengar, who falls in love with Marathi guy Abhijit. The film was a critical and commercial success. Critics appreciated her southern role but felt it was limited.

She hosted Marathi television shows Maharashtrachi Hasyajatra for Sony Marathi in 2018 and Mast Maharashtra Travel Show in the year 2020 for Zee Marathi. Mali portrayed a negative role in the critical and commercial hit Pandu (2021), directed by Viju Mane. Mihir Bhanage of The Times of India described her as "a surprise package." She won Maharashtracha Favourite Kon for Favourite Villain. The film grossed ₹5.9 crore worldwide.

In 2022, her first release was Digpal Lanjekar's directorial historical action drama Pawankhind, based on the life of Maratha warrior Baji Prabhu Deshpande. She played the real-life character of Shrimant Bhavanibai Bandal. The film was a huge commercial and critical success, becoming the fifth highest-grossing Marathi film of all time with earnings of ₹58 crore (US$7.3 million) worldwide. Her next release was the family drama Luckdown Be Positive, opposite Ankush Chaudhari. The film revolves around a married couple and the problems that arise due to lockdown. Preeti Atulkar of The Times of India ascribed Chaudhari and her chemistry as "remarkable" and wrote, "They look convincing as a couple on screen." She had a guest appearance as Naina Chandrapurkar in the musical romantic Chandramukhi, where she was seen in the song "Sawaal Jawaab" alongside Amruta Khanvilkar. Her last release of that year was critically acclaimed Y. It was screened at the Pune International Film Festival and MAMI.

The same year, she made her digital debut with the political thriller Raanbaazar, which was streamed on Planet Marathi OTT. The story revolves around the two escorts, who become entangled in a dangerous web of politics, power, and conspiracy. Mali portrayed the cheerful and generous prostitute from Kamathipura who works at a seedy brothel. Initially, she was reluctant to play a play sex worker, but her actor friends Prasad Oak and Amruta Khanvilkar convinced her to take the challenge. For her role, she had to gain 11 kg of weight and practice eating masala gutka. The series was one of the most anticipated and critically acclaimed series of the year. Kayur Seta of Cinestaan wrote that "Mali goes completely against her image and gives a great performance as Ratna." Shaheen Irani of Ott Play called her "powerful" and wrote, "She plays her role to perfection, and to an extent, you get drawn to understanding her fun-loving character that is also very influential." It emerged as the most watched Marathi web series, with more than 10 million views.

Entrepreneur - Prajaktta Mali

In January 2023, she started her traditional jewellery brand - PrajaktaRaj. Affordable jewellery with traditional designs, has made the brand very popular in short period of time. Taramandal, Chitang are the most unique and Trending jewellery you can shop online, on the brands website.

Films

 * All films are in Marathi, unless otherwise noted the language.