IPS officer Simala Prasad says the profession can go hand-in-hand if balanced in the right way. Currently posted as Deputy Inspector General of Police (Women’s Safety), at Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh), she recently turned author, has previously done small roles in two films, and will next be playing the lead in a feature film where she plays the character of a sub-inspector.
“Meaningful cinema is the need of the hour. I realised that cinema is an important medium to convey important messages to larger audiences. As an officer, when you do good work, it is limited to your location of posting. Books have a wider scope, but cinema has the power of spreading the message and providing solutions to existing problems,” says the 2011 batch officer who cracked the civil services in her first attempt with AIR 51 rank.
SP playing an SI!
She has done small roles in Alif (2017) and Nakkash (2019), and in her next film The Narmada Story as protagonist, she plays a sub-inspector.
“I never wanted to be in my own skin (cop) and was very skeptical, but the script compelled me. An SP and a SI can be in the same department but are very different in terms of rank, background, education, exposure, challenges they face in the workplace, social framework and family settings. Getting into that character of Narmada Raikwar exposed me to a different world which, as an officer, I would have never understood professionally,” she says.
Getting into acting
Simala is not trained as an actor but during her college days in Bhopal has done some theatre. “My film’s director Zaigham Imam, who is basically a writer, came to meet my writer-mother (Padam Shri Mehrunnisa Parvez) in Delhi. He offered me a small role of a minority girl in Alif which was about Madarsa and modern education. We shot the film in Varanasi and I had no idea of acting. He again offered me a cameo in Nakkash with actors Inaamulhaq, Sharib Hashmi and Kumud Mishra. They were an eye-opener for me and showed different worlds and the stark realities of society,” she reveals.
Exploring different mediums
She feels one should find ways to inculcate their hobbies. “You cannot compartmentalise yourself in one single framework. We have very different faces to our personality. If the objective is clear, we should explore different mediums. Earlier this year I came up with a non-fiction book She Goes Missing where I have elaborated my experiences and have analysed them. I did my acting workshops online and to shoot I had to take special permissions.”
On a signing off note she says, “As civil servants we are trained to help people and bring a change. Here I play a cop who wants to fight and bring a change and system. It’s very empowering and gives a very strong message. I want to continue doing meaningful roles that give positive messages in the society.”