Shriya Pilgaonkar, who was last seen playing a police officer in ZEE5's Chhal Kapat The Deception, recently revealed the project she considers to be the turning point in her career. In an exclusive interview with NDTV, the actress shared that Mirzapur "changed the momentum."
Shriya, who played the role of Sweety Gupta in the show, said, "Although I made my Hindi film debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Fan, I think it was Mirzapur that really changed the momentum of my career in terms of the success of that show. It was like doing a big commercial film, right? It's still extremely popular. I'm known as Sweety Gupta to a lot of people."
Reflecting on the other key moments that shaped her journey as an actor, she shared, "And after that, I think if I were to speak in terms of the scope that a part gave me, Guilty Minds - I mean, my character of the lawyer Kashaf Kazi in Guilty Minds - gave me a lot of critics' love and I think it just gave me scope to show what I'm capable of, and every actor really wants that. You know, when you have that much meat and that much scope to really play around, explore yourself, unravel those layers. But I've been very, very fortunate because all the parts I've played have had a certain graph and have been memorable in their own way."
The actress added, "And people know me as those characters and I think there is no bigger compliment than people calling you by the names of the characters - so whether it is Sweety from Mirzapur or Madhu from Taaza Khabar - when people call me that, I think that makes me feel very good."
"But I would still say that, you know, it's been 10 years since I started acting, but I still approach my work with the energy and passion and hope of a debutante, because there is so much more that I want to do and I want to prove. And I feel like I'm more ambitious than I've ever been," Shriya concluded.
ICYDK, in Chhal Kapat The Deception, Shriya plays a fierce cop. As part of her prep for the role, she interacted with several real-life police officers in Uttar Pradesh, including ADG Padmaja Chauhan. She also learned about 1090, a women's redressal helpline run by the state police.
Directed by Ajay Bhuyan, the series features an ensemble cast including Kamya Ahlawat, Ragini Dwivedi, Tuhina Das, Yahhve Sharma, Pranay Pachauri, Smaran Sahu, and Anuj Sachdeva. It is produced by Juggernaut Production and premiered on June 6 on ZEE5.
Shriya is the daughter of veteran actors Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar.
