Shriya Pilgaonkar

Just because “ my parents are in the industry, I did not take acting for granted! ” - Shriya Pilgaonkar

The super talented Shriya Pilgaonkar talks about her Voot Select webseries Crackdown, her illustrious parents, her journey as an actor and more…

You belong to an illustrious family (actor Sachin is her father and actress Supriya Pilgaonkar is her mom) … what was your parents’ reaction when you decided to enter the film industry?

My parents have always encouraged me to explore different things and growing up, I was heavily into sports, I was a professional swimmer, but at the same time, a lot of things interested me. I was always singing, I was into dancing, I’ve been a Kathak dancer, I was constantly taking part in elocutions, debates, I also enjoyed studying to be honest I was quite a nerd. So I was still trying to understand what I wanted to do but I always had a performer’s instinct and I really enjoyed being on stage and I enjoyed stories whether it’s in the form of a poem or the form of a book, films, cinema. After I graduated from St. Xavier’s College, I started assisting as well, I was making short films and documentaries, and eventually a friend of mine happened to cast me in a short play and in the process of rehearsing for that play, I actually discovered my love and joy for acting. Just because my parents are in the industry, I did not take acting for granted. I never have come from an entitled space in that sense. I feel like I just wanted to explore and discover its own way, which is why I did a lot of theatres, and then of course I did a Marathi film, then I ended up doing a French film and Fan with Shahrukh Khan was my first Hindi film. I’ve always wanted to explore working in different film industries, I love working in different languages, and I’ve also always aimed to work internationally, not just in India which is why doing a project like Beecham House which was a British series I did, directed by Gurinder Chadha, for me that was also a project that was very exciting to be a part of. So I’m always trying to do different things, new things, not just limit myself in any way. Even in lockdown, I shot a series called The Gone Game which was entirely shot in lockdown so, yeah, I’m really enjoying exploring, trying different things and my parents have just been there for me, the guidance has meant a lot and they’ve shown me, rather not through their words but through their actions. They’ve always said not to take success or failure to heart, to always carry yourself with grace no matter what. It’s important to emotionally equip yourself, when you’re in this industry because there are bound to be ups and downs because it’s always a combination of talent, luck and opportunity. They’ve let me be, they’ve let me make my mistakes and you know that’s how one can carve a niche for oneself. Once my father said to me that somebody came to him and said, “Oh, aap Sweety Gupta ke papa ho” - Sweety Gupta is my character from Mirzapur, so I think as parents these are little things that make them happy when people appreciate my work and come to them. That really matters to me. Of course I have a long long way to go, but whatever it is, I’ve been taught to handle things, ups and downs gracefully. So hopefully, I’ll do them proud.

“I did a Marathi film, then I ended up doing a French film and Fan with Shahrukh Khan was my first Hindi film.”

Why did you pick Crackdown?

Well I’ve always wanted to explore action as a genre and its something I also enjoy watching as an audience, Apoorva Lakhia, our director’s forte is action and when Crackdown came my way, I really enjoyed reading the script not just because I would get an opportunity to do action but I also really liked my character and just the fact that I was playing two different personalities in Crackdown - that was another incentive for me to be part of it. I knew I would be seen in completely different light as opposed to the kind of work I have done before and as an actor, you want to be able to surprise your audience by doing something else, and unexpected. So that is the reason why I wanted to explore and work on Crackdown.

Any off-screen anecdote while shooting you can share with us?

Although we were shooting a subject that was very serious, the entire cast - with Saqib and Apoorva and the rest, we’re all a crazy bunch. We had a wonderful time shooting together, the energy on set was so positive and there hasn’t been a single day where I haven’t laughed. I think it’s just my director Apu has a way to be so sarcastic and brutally honest about everything. You know he makes fun of people to their faces, he will just entertain everybody and just say the funniest things in an impromptu way, he has a funny sense of humour, so they kept us entertained. We were shooting in Kasauli and Chandigarh in the winter, and I think that also played a huge role in the cast always huddling together after a scene, it was just good weather to shoot in so, yes, we had a wonderful time and we’re all foodies so Apu would often get local food for us since he grew up and studied in a hostel in Sanar, which was close to where we were shooting. He showed us around, took us to his favourite places to eat, so it really was fun, and a really good set where actors would hang out even after their shot, so I really enjoyed it.

Could you tell us about your character?

In Crackdown, I play Divya Shirodkar, she’s a girl who comes from a very simple family in Bombay and she works at a salon, she lives with her brother, he is the only family she has. And because of her uncanny resemblance to a wanted extremist, she is forced to be part of a mission and has to go undercover and you know a lot is at stake because it’s the question of the security of the country. So Divya basically finds herself torn between her scenario and what she has to do as a larger cause. I thought it was very interesting because like I said, without giving any spoilers, she has to transform herself into a completely different person in order to do the mission, and for me as an actor, that was a challenge to pull off two completely different parts. And Divya to me is somebody who’se vulnerability is her strength and she’s an incredibly courageous girl and we see how she transforms herself through the show.

“For me, the aim is to sort of have a balance between doing film work and working on the OTT space because I think there are some wonderful subjects that are being written now.”

Could you tell us about your future projects?

I have a film and a series in the pipeline, I can’t talk much about them yet since they’ve not been released but I’ve already started shooting for it. I’m looking forward to my Tamil Telugu debut film with Rana Daggubati, it’s called Haathi Mere Saathi, that’s the Hindi title and that’s with Eros, it’s up for release, of course depending on the Covid situation, they will have figured out a way. It’s very close to my heart and it was a very special experience, you know since I’ve loved watching a lot of the Tamil Telugu films, Malayalam films, they have some fantastic content, and even Haathi Mere Saathi talks about living in one with nature. It’s about a man’s journey and his fight to save the land that belongs to the elephants and to save it from encroachment, it’s a very relatable subject and it was a wonderful experience for me to be working on that film, so that is something I am looking forward to. I also have a film that I shot with Anubhav Sinha called Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai, we shot it two years ago in Lucknow, and that film is up for release but it’s still in production and some bits are still left. I’m looking forward to a series also so for me the aim is to sort of have a balance between doing film work and working on the OTT space because I think there are some wonderful subjects that are being written now. But of course, nothing can take away the charm of working in a film, off course, to watch yourself on the big screen, but as a writer’s medium, as a performer, in the OTT space, there is so much scope to live a character and to really explore that as an actor - so I would want to always do both and to explore all kinds of genres.