Shriya Pilgaonkar | Following in the footsteps of her parents Sachin & Supriya Pilgaonkar, Shriya is making waves with her debut web-series Mirzapur and Gurinder Chadha’s British TV series Beecham House. Sangeeta Yadav chats up the newbie
How excited are you about the upcoming webseries —Mirzapur?
Completely! Mirzapur marks my debut in the digital space. It is a gangster drama produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani and stars Ali Fazal and Shweta Tripathi. I play Ali’s love interest, Sweety Gupta, who is uninhibitated, fearless and speak her mind.
What was the biggest challenge for you?
Since it is based in Mirzapur, to get into the skin of the character and play the role convincingly, I did a lot of workshops to get the dialect correct. The second challenge was to ride a Bullet (bike) with Ali Fazal sitting behind me. Though it was a small scene, I didn’t want a body-double to do the shot. I spent a month learning to ride a bike to overcome my fears.
You are also acting in Gurinder Chadha’s British TV series Beecham House.
This is the first time I am doing a period drama and my full-fledged international project. Working with Gurinder is a delightful experience. Beecham House is a period drama set in 1795 during the British rule. I play Chanchal, a young spirited girl with a mysterious past. She is adventurous and aspiring. Chanchal also goes fights demons within her.
Do you feel the pressure of being a daughter of popular actors —Sachin and Supriya?
Yes, I do feel the pressure of being a starkid but I don’t let it affect my work. But no matter how many doors open for me because of my parents’ name and fame, eventually it is going to be my hard work and talent that will take me places. Whatever I do, the path that I have chosen, I have to prove things for myself. I take the pressure positively. The good is that my parents never let me get affected. They are my best friends with whom I discuss anything nd everything. Since I come from a family of actors, I am aware that you have to be mentally strong. You can’t crumble because you have had a disappointment.
You started acting at a very young age.
It was just a small role in Tu Tu Main Main (TV) which I did just for fun. I was not driven towards acting as a child. It gradually happened — in the last five years — when I started participating in short plays and also did a Marathi film titled Ekulti Ek with my father. My work was appreciated. I also got the opportunity to act in a French film directed by Oscar winning filmmaker Claude Lelouch titled Un plus une. Then I got my first Bollywood break in Shah Rukh Khan starring Fan. Since then, there was no looking back.
Did you face struggle?
Yes, I do struggle even now in giving auditions and playing the role convincingly. An actor’s struggle never ends. Moreover, struggle should not be looked upon as a negative term because every actor is greedy and wants to keep doing good work and evolve, the struggle will always be there. The more ambitious you are, the more you push yourself and better your skills with hard work. Also, waiting is an important part of an actor’s life as it teaches us to be patient.
How has your experience been in this industry?
You can’t be strategic in this field. You just have to keep working and whatever opportunity you get, you need to give your best. The industry is a combination of talent, luck and opportunity and any choice that you make is a gamble.
You don’t know the fate of the project. You have to rely a lot on your gut feeling and that is what I always do. I would like to take up projects where I can show my versatility and play a character which is not passive. We have a lot of interesting parts written just for women. For me, the story and content are the most important criteria to pick up projects.
What is there in the pipeline?
My film—Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai by director Anubhav Sinha should be out by early next year. I am playing a rookie journalist. I recently did another show which is based in Mussoorie where I am playing an investigative reporter.
