Mismatched star Prajakta Koli spills on romance, writing, true love, and wedding bells

If you enjoy romance, I think you might like this book. It’s a simple and ordinary story about two very beautiful characters. There’s nothing in it that will make you think, Oh, wow, I’ve never heard this before, but I believe the way it’s told and the characters themselves are what make it special. I hope you give it a read

It’s a story about Aman and Avni. Avni is 23 and studying to be a lawyer. She’s in Mumbai and has had a slightly different, not-so-easy childhood growing up. But now she’s made a world for herself. She wakes up every morning in her little one-bedroom flat in South Bombay. She has lots of plants, so she waters them before heading to work at a bookstore called Bombay Bound, owned by her best friend’s family. She works there for about four hours and then attends university—that’s her life.

Everything’s going great. She has three friends: Martin, Ria, and Maya. She also has a grandmother in Pune, who she talks to every now and then. Life is good and settled—until this unknowingly perfect male main character walks into the bookstore.

His name is Aman, and he’s everything a romance hero is. He’s brooding, tall, broad, impeccably dressed, smells great, has brown eyes and dimples, and is rich and successful. He’s the youngest CEO Rhino Textiles has ever seen—the sexiest man alive and the most eligible bachelor.

The story is about how Avni thinks he’s too good to be true. Her thing is, "Nobody’s this perfect. Like, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. What is wrong with you?" ... It’s about their battle of finding love and making sense of something that seems too perfect.

I think so. I felt the most vulnerable when I was writing the slightly spicy bits.

Yes, but not so fun for the authors. I was just worried when I was writing those bits. I was like, "Everybody’s gonna know what I think and what I like, and everyone’s gonna assume that this is what goes on in my mind when I’m thinking about naughty things." But there’s a different kind of joy in kind of baring yourself when you write.

Yes, they are waiting for 'the one' to walk in. But it’s not the only thing happening in their lives ... I love the fact that there is no one way to go about romance, right? Waiting is one way—meeting someone on a dating app, in a coffee shop, in a bookstore, or when you go to buy my book, Too Good to Be True. But romance can also be something you make happen for yourself. I have friends who’ve woken up one day and thought, You know what? I don’t want this anymore, and chosen a different path.

I think there is no one way to experience or define romance, and I like that we’re talking about it in these terms.

What I take from that is the fact that people are so passionately impacted by the characters. I like that. This is like an amplified version of someone calling me Dimple, and me turning around at a public space. The other day, I met someone at the airport, and they were like, How could you, Dimple? ... There’s this great interview with the late Maggie Smith where she shared a story about being at a store. A child came up to her and asked, "Is it true that you can turn into a cat?" And she replied, "Pull yourself together."

But I love that people feel so passionately about these characters, and I get it. I was heartbroken when I read the last scene—when I performed it, forget watching it on the show. Every time I dubbed the last scene, I cried. I’m a huge Rishi-Dimple fan.

I am that aspirational romantic. I even told the makers, those two came so close! But that’s the point—they are mismatched.

I don’t look at it as a breakup. I don’t. But then again, that’s just me as the fan of the show. I look at it as the first time they’ve seen each other and met each other halfway, where they’re like: "Okay, it’s just not the right time. It’s the right person, but it’s just not the right time."

No, I didn’t. My fiancé, Vrishank Khanal, bought it for me.

Ah, yes, I am.

I don’t have time to be a Bridezilla! I’m already running late, so I’m like, "Let’s get this done." I’ll show up, and we’ll see how it goes from there. Vrishank is very sweet, though, and he’s been taking care of things while my life has been all over the place. He has been amazing.