Shriya Pilgaonkar reveals struggles despite being a star kid; 'No phone calls were made'

Starting her career with Mirzapur to showcasing her ace talent in Guilty Minds, actor Shriya Pilgaonkar has been taking baby steps towards stardom while creating her niche. After showing her exemplary craft with the last courtroom drama Guilty Minds, the versatile star is preparing for her next series The Broken News. Being a daughter of two great stars,  Supriya and Sachin Pilgaonkar, the actor has had her own share of struggles.

During a recent exclusive chat with Republic Media Network, the actor who believes in swimming wild and free when it comes to her passion for acting, revealed how she had to struggle initially to attract the right kind of work. The star kid, who has created a name within a short period, threw light on some of the hurdles that crossed paths. 

Shriya Pilgaonkar reflects on her initial days of struggle to attain stardom

Shriya took a stroll down memory lane and explained how 'patience and faith' kept her going despite facing a low phase in her career initially. She said,

"My struggles initially was to attract certain kinds of work. There were no phone calls made or any sort of thing like that. So I feel like my first film Fan where I had a small role, was appreciated. To a certain extent, the film did not do the numbers they expected the film to do, so automatically, it affected the kind of work that was offered to me."

Adding, the 33-year-old star admitted uncertainty in the profession and how things changed for her after the entered showbiz. Talking about the same, she said, "I felt initially lost after Fan released as filmmakers were offering work to established actors, and at that point of time, we didn't have OTT or anything. So I felt I wasn’t new enough to be given a debut film and nor I was that super famous where I was getting those films. There was a phase when directors were not trusting me with the work as they couldn’t place me."

With the smashing success of Mirzapur, things started changing for the actor, and her career graph started to gain momentum. The gangster drama where she played the role of Ali Fazal's love interest, Sweety Gupta, not only won her critical appreciation but International recognition as well. The success and the outpour of love just proved to be a turning point for her. 

Feeling fortunate to have been cast for the series, the actor explained, "Thankfully, after Mirzapur, the success of the show, things changed. Not immediately, but step by step. I think in terms of being known as a character, this is what every star wishes for. I feel like Sweety Gupta, my character name in Mirzapur struck an emotional chord with a lot of people. And it was a beautiful and fun character. I also feel that something about Sweety touched the lives and hearts of the people in such a way that I continued to be known as Sweety Gupta irrespective of what other parts I do".

Before Mirzapur, the actor confessed that people only knew her through some of her work in the Marathi cinema. "But I think if you do not just think of pan India films but even globally I have traveled abroad and in the strangest places I have met people who have watched Mirzapur. So for me, just that feeling of having connected to people all over that sort of feeling came after the success of Mirzapur and the love," opined Shriya who has also been a part of the 2019 International series Beecham House. 

Crediting her success, the actor revealed that she never took advantage of her supremely talented parents and their legacy. Shriya, who feels responsible for her career and journey in Bollywood, says she has never operated from a place of entitlement and always preferred to go her way.  

"I have to create my path and follow it. I have to create my niche, my own Shriya. I won’t ever try to be anyone else. I am going to try to be my own best version and which is why I think I never got bogged down. For me I must say one thing though, it was like being a star kid is not in my control, but being a good actor is. So for me being known as an actor who is respected and the only way to do that was through my work and working on myself," she concluded. 

IMAGE: Instagram/shriya.pilgaonkar