Meet the real Babli - Piaa Bajpai

It seems like a page straight out of the Rani Mukerji-starrer Bunty Aur Babli. When Piaa Bajpai debuted in Poi Solla Porom, the Tamil version of Khosla Ka Ghosla, it was what she describes as a moment of fulfillment.

Piaa’s journey into showbiz began five years ago, when she decided to move out of her home town Etawah in Uttar Pradesh. “It was far from being easy — the decision, convincing my parents, as well as the years of struggle that followed,” she says. 

“If you know of Etawah, you’ll probably understand the kind of restrictions that the people of this small town grow up with. I, however, always wanted to be an actor. My first step was to move to Delhi, and for that, I got myself enrolled for a diploma course in Computer Science. It took some serious convincing to get my parents to let me live alone in Delhi in the first place. But even when I left, I had promised myself that I would not return to Etawah until I had realised my dreams and proved myself as an actor. Initially, I took up various part-time jobs such as giving tutions, working as a receptionist etc to earn money for a good portfolio,” Piaa explains.

Incidentally, Piaa’s first big break came in the form of an ad film with none other than Amitabh Bachchan, who she considers to be her source of inspiration. “Back in the day, I had come across an article in which Amitabh Bachchan had said — one should never give up following dreams. That motivated me and I still read that when I feel I need that little push once in a while,” reveals the actor. It was director Priyadarshan who shot that ad film and who went on to direct her in her Tamil debut too. 

The rest, as they say, is history. And now, five films down the line, Piaa is looking forward to the release of her much anticipated Tamil film Ko, which also stars Jeeva. “Ko is an interesting romantic thriller. Watch it for sure,” she says, simply.