For Pratibha Ranta, choosing acting was less about picking a profession and more about pursuing a dream she had nurtured since childhood. Growing up in Shimla with no direct connection to the film industry, she knew that the decision to pursue acting would be difficult for her family to understand. Despite their initial concerns, Ranta remained determined to move to Mumbai and explore a world she had until then known largely through the screen.The actor, who made her Hindi film debut with Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies’, is now seen in Nikkhil Advani’s series ‘The Revolutionaries’. In a conversation with Variety India, Ranta opened up about the resistance she initially faced at home, her determination to pursue an unconventional career and how she eventually convinced her family to support her choice.
Pratibha Ranta says becoming an actor was a ‘rebellious thought’ in Shimla
Speaking to Variety India, Ranta recalled that even considering a career in acting felt unconventional while growing up in Shimla.“Just to think of becoming an actor, for a girl from Shimla, was a rebellious thought,” she said.Her aspirations began taking shape long before she entered the entertainment industry. Ranta recalled imagining herself as an actress while spending time at her family’s farmhouse, even though she had little understanding of what pursuing a career in films would actually entail.“I was imagining a life for myself sitting in my farmhouse and thinking of being an actress. My family thought I’d lost her mind.”With no relatives or acquaintances in the film industry, her family’s concerns were also rooted in uncertainty about the profession.“They don’t know anything about it. They were very scared,” she recalled.Rather than immediately moving to Mumbai, Ranta understood that her first challenge was convincing her family that she wanted to pursue a career outside the conventional path.“I don’t know how, but I had some confidence. I thought, I just need to go to Mumbai and see how it feels. But my first task was to convince my family that I don’t want to have a conventional career.”Ranta’s determination to pursue acting was rooted in an interest in the performing arts that had been part of her life since school. She participated in dance and theatre, experiences that eventually made acting feel like a natural career choice.“I wanted to do something different that excited me. I’d always been very inclined to the performing arts. Growing up in my school, I used to participate a lot in dance and my plays. It’s always been an important part of my life. It was difficult for my family to understand that. I had to make them sit down and convince them.”Her persistence eventually paid off. As Ranta began establishing herself as an actor, her family’s initial apprehension gave way to acceptance and pride.“Then things changed. Obviously now everybody is happy. They want to send everybody to this field. I really like that change,” she said.The change has also influenced others in her family. Ranta revealed that her cousin sister has chosen to pursue modelling, something she is happy to see.“I am really happy that they are finally getting to do what they always wanted to do.”
Pratibha Ranta explores a different side in ‘The Revolutionaries’
Ranta’s willingness to move beyond conventional expectations also informs the choices she is making as an actor. In Nikkhil Advani’s ‘The Revolutionaries’, she plays freedom fighter Pratibha Lahiri, a character about whom relatively little historical documentation is available.That lack of extensive documentation, Ranta explained, gave her and the team greater creative freedom to explore the character’s nuances.“Right now I’m in a place where I’m trying to explore and test my versatility in every part that’s coming to me. ‘The Revolutionaries’ brought a very fresh energy in me as a performer. There’s just one specific piece of information about Pratibha. So, we had a lot of freedom to bring in nuances. There’s a lot of research that’s gone into studying other women revolutionaries in that age,” she said.
Pratibha Ranta’s journey from ‘Laapataa Ladies’ to ‘The Revolutionaries’
Ranta has steadily built a varied body of work since entering the industry. She was part of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar’ before earning widespread appreciation for her performance in Kiran Rao’s ‘Laapataa Ladies’, where she played Jaya/Pushpa.