Clad in blue trousers and a T-shirt, curled up in an easy chair and smiling pleasantly, there is a ready air of expectancy about her. She's not exactly self-effacing, though her tastefully done-up office and the kitchen gives her a homely air. Presently seen only in Thoda.., Prajakti determinedly tells you she's a producer first and then an actress. And she has reached a stage where she can be choosy and play only central characters. Which is why she limits the number of serials she takes on.

Right now she is busy producing Is Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, a family story set against a political backdrop. They are yet to zero in on the cast and Prajakti is undecided whether she will act in it. Though managing both would mean less timeand more tension, she feels. She says that production is a 25-hour-day job where everything has to be clockwork. "I have this tendency to be stressed over every small thing," she laughs. Her involvement in a project is complete to the point of checking out every episode. "Everyone's suggestions are important. It is a giving and learning process for me," she says.

And learning is what Prajakti has been doing for the past eight years. Her acting was limited to occasional stage performances in school and college.

After a brief stint in modelling, stage beckoned again. She joined Hindi theatre with plays like Abhi To Main Jawan Hoon and Chakra. After two years of theatre came the break in TV with Imtihaan, followed by Sailaab and Thoda Hai..

Now, she says she has matured as an actress. "I feel I am more in command as an actress in Thoda Hai.. than I was in Sailaab. More sure about the role, as Kavita is a fairly real character," she says. And that is exactlywhat seems to have got the viewers hooked to the serial. There is a studied casualness in her movements and simple gestures like naturally rearranging her dupatta while walking around the house which adds a lot of credibilty to her performance.

Having worked only in Ravi Rai's serials -- Imtihaan, Sailaab and Thoda Hai... -- Prajakti denies being finicky about her directors. "I am choosy about my time. I was never the kind who is in a hurry to go places. I believe whatever has to happen will happen," she says. As for working with the Ravi Rai team, "it is more like a family", she feels.

The "family" atmosphere is stretched to the extent that they cook on the sets of Manisha Bungalow, while shooting for Thoda Hai.. "We are cooking rotis. As the shot is ready, we wipe our hands, go give the shot and come back to resume cooking," she says. Every time they show the kitchen in Thoda Hai.., there is actual cooking going on. So much so that the artistes arrive on the sets with vegetables ormeat!

Production was something that developed on sets as well. "I told Raviji of my wish to produce a serial. He asked me to arrange for the location. Once that was done he wrote the script and we shot Sailaab. Just like that," reveals Prajakti.

But not everything is left to fate. She researched a lot for her next production Janam, directed by Ravi Rai. The serial is about an unwanted illegitimate girl child who grows up in an orphanage. And to know the psyche of these children, Prajakti visited orphanages. "It is not as if they accept the fact that they have no family. Somewhere, along the way, you would be emotionally crippled without a family," she says. Family seems to be the key word in Prajakti's life. A mother of a 16-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, and a dog called Pittu, Prajakti believes they are a "large, happy, messy family". At home, unlike the Kavita on screen, she lives in trousers and shirts. The salwar kameez look couldn't be further from reality. She laughs at thethought of spending money on salwar kameezes. "What a waste!"

she exclaims, "I would prefer to spend that much on a saree. It is always a better value for money." That's the home-maker in her talking.