Esha Deol Embraced Early Snobbish Tag Before Returning In Pratap On November 20

Bollywood did not know what to do with a blunt young woman in the early 2000s. Magazines slapped a label on Esha Deol almost immediately: snobbish. It stuck across glossy print spreads for years. Yet Deol never scrambled to hire publicists or soften her edges. She turned the slur into a fortress.

"I read a lot about it initially," Deol said, reflecting on her early years under the relentless gaze reserved for the daughter of Dharmendra and Hema Malini. Print commentators routinely confused an guarded exterior with arrogance. She let them. "There were all the magazines and all where a lot of them would say, 'Oh, she's very snobbish.' This was a word which I came across very often."

The hostility did not bother her. It gave her peace.

"People who knew me, knew me," Deol said. "And, if I look like one, in a way it's good. So, not too many people come and approach you and talk to you. It worked in my favour."

An Unvarnished Dynamic on Set

Co-star Amit Sadh noticed that uncalculated directness immediately while filming their upcoming drama Pratap. In an industry choked with curated talking points and defensive media training, Deol offered zero spin. Sadh saw an actor entirely stripped of pretense.

Sadh pushed further, calling out the entertainment industry's habit of penalizing women who decline to play diplomatic games during promotional circuits.

"I admire strength in people," Sadh said, pointing directly to Deol during their joint discussion. "So I admire that about you. She's honest even in interviews. It's not like she's trying to be politically correct. She answers with so much grace."

Deol offered a four-word shrug: "This is who I am."

"I think that's so beautiful," Sadh responded. "It is so beautiful. And if you are getting intimidated by this, then there's a flaw in you."

Inside the Gritty Blueprint of Pratap

The duo will test that off-screen chemistry inside a grim police procedural. Pratap, directed by Sachin Saraf and produced by Pradeep Rangwani under the UV Films banner, drops Sadh into the uniform of Pratap Ranade—a hard-edged encounter specialist whose life crashes sideways when he lands behind bars.

Deol plays his wife, Poonam Ranade. The narrative anchors its domestic weight on her shoulders, tracking her fight through emotional collapse and personal survival while her husband sits in a cell. Saraf surrounds the leads with seasoned character heavyweights, casting Seema Biswas, Tigmanshu Dhulia, and Milind Gunaji across key supporting roles.

Pratap lands in cinemas nationwide on November 20.