Shriya Pilgaonkar had two back-to-back series that released this year. It began with Shefali Bhushan’s legal drama Guilty Minds in which she essayed Kashaf Qaze, a bright and talented lawyer. In her second series titled The Broken News, which was an Indian remake of the acclaimed British series Press, Shriya played Radha Bhargava, a leading journalist in a news organisation. Now, the actress is ready to put her acting skills to test again with another upcoming series with Bhuvan Bam called Taaza Khabar in which she’ll play a sex-worker.
In an exclusive interview with News18 Showsha, the Fan actress talked about breaking away from the OTT image, women representation in OTT space, her learnings from 2022, her endless wishlist of film-makers and actors that she wants to work with and more. Read on:
You tend to do a lot more OTT content compared to mainstream movies? Is that a conscious choice from your end or is it that the whole OTT ecosystem titillates you more as an actor?
My priority is always the story. So If I like the script of the story, the second thing is what is the medium. Is it a film? Is it a series? Is it a short film? Because to be honest, today if it’s a film or a series that is not as important as the content. When you have so much content out there for me it’s very important to be a part of something that I feel can stand out, that people are going to watch. So I am actively doing more film work because I also want to balance that. But very naturally the scripts I got in the OTT space just gave me much more to do. I am shooting a film with Emmay Entertainment in Bhopal. It’s not been announced so I can’t tell much about it. And I also shot for another film called Ishq-e-Nadaan. So I am also doing more film-work because what I don’t want for sure is to people just box me into that category of an actor who is only doing OTT. So for me the whole point is to explore versatility. So no it’s not a conscious decision.
Do you think OTT has given better representation to female actors and characters compared to mainstream movies?
I just feel like the scope to explore and understand a character so much more in the OTT space only because of the format and the sheer talent we have. We just have more time. But yes in terms of writing, in a film of of course you’ll be restricted to giving that graph to certain characters only. Because beyond two and a half hours, you’re not gonna have that much time. So the narrative is very different. OTT has been game changing for me because its characters like Sweety, Kashaf, Radha Bhargava or Madhu that has given me scope to prove myself as an actor. Unlike the 90s where I feel like there were certain caricaturish parts reserved for women, it has just evolved in such a beautiful way now. Also there are so many women now in the creative space as writers and directors and that makes a lot of difference.
What was the biggest learning you had this year as an actor?
This is something that is ingrained in me that whenever I do any project, I always tend to detach myself from the outcome of it. Because I feel like I want to enjoy the journey, don’t want to know what’s gonna happen. I don’t to attach expectations because if it doesn’t go the way you want to, you gonna feel bad about it. I feel like that letting go gave me so much. Because this year gave me so much more than I expected. My one big learning is that my patience paid off and that me following my instincts. More than anything else it’s about quietly doing my work and eventually that is what is noticed and what is recognised because I am not someone jo bina matlab ka main dhindora peetungi cheezon ke baare mein. I like my work to speak for itself. Focusing on your work authentically will pay off rather than getting distracted by anything else.
Which film-maker or actor do you really want to work with and why?
I would really love to work with Sriram Raghavan, Anurag Basu, Zoya Akhtar, Avinash Arun. As for actors, we have some fantastic actors. Infact, I would like to work with Alia. I feel like when women asked this question they tend to name only men. I would also like to work with Tabu ma’am. I think Ranveer Singh is a fantastic actor, super versatile. Adarsh Gourav is brilliant. I think there is an endless wishlist. I am feeling more ambitious than I’ve ever been because this year has been so motivating and encouraging for me, I feel like people have trusted me with such incredible parts and shows that I feel a sense of responsibility to make sure that I am a part of exciting projects that are going to make a mark in one way or another.
Now you’ve also been a producer and director even prior to making your debut as an actor. So do you have plans to revist those roles in future?
100%. But I think mentally I am more focused on acting. But I think there are some ideas that I am working on and that will happen when it happens so I don’t want to speak much about it. But I most definitely have some ideas in the back of my mind that I want to explore. And today there is so much space to create and there are enough examples of actors today who are juggling this different roles together. You don’t need to strictly do one thing. But for me the opportunities are so much more that I definitely will be exploring that. But right now I am just going with the flow of the momentum as an actor because I still think there’s a lot more focus I want to put in there? But yes when I feel like I want to be behind the camera, I most definitely will do that. But that will happen when? I don’t know.
What are your plans for 2023? Tell us something about your upcoming projects?
There is going to be a season 2 of Guilty Minds and Broken News. I have a film Called Ishq-E-Nadaan which stars Neena Gupta, Lara Dutta, Mohit Raina and some other wonderful actors. I also have another unannounced film which will happen soon and there will also be Crackdown which is directed by Apoorva Lakhia, an action series where I get to do action. I think I like my life to surprise me because there’s no fun in knowing all the time. So I am looking forward to it. And what’s exciting is 2023 begins with Taaza Khabar in the first week itself. So I am excited to see that response and that how it goes. So hopefully the energy of 2022 will spill over to 2023.
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