Shriya Pilgaonkar
Shriya Pilgaonkar

Shriya Pilgaonkar

Shriya Pilgaonkar Wiki

Shriya Pilgaonkar (born 25 April 1989) is an Indian actress, director, producer who primarily works in Hindi films and web shows. Born to actors Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar, she made her acting debut with the Marathi film Ekulti Ek (2013) for which she won the Best Debut Actress at the Maharashtra State Film Awards.Post her Hindi film debut with Fan (2016), Pilgaonkar went onto establish herself with successful web series such as Mirzapur (2018), Guilty Minds, The Broken News both (2022) and Taaza Khabar (2023). For Guilty Minds, she received the Best Actress - Drama Series nomination at Filmfare OTT Awards. In addition to this, she has been part of various plays and has also directed few of them.

Early life

Pilgaonkar was born on 25 April 1989 in Mumbai and is the only child of famed actors Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar. As a child, Pilgaonkar trained to become a professional swimmer and won several medals while in school. Believing that she might become a translator or a linguist when she grew up, Pilgaonkar also took classes in Japanese when she was a child. Later deciding to take a different route, Pilgaonkar completed her bachelor's degree in Sociology at St. Xavier's College in Mumbai. Pilgaonkar also learned Kathak as a child.

Career

At the age of five, Pilgaonkar first appeared on television in the Hindi serial ''Tu Tu Main Main'', playing a boy named Bittu. Pilgaonkar made her stage debut in 2012 with her performance in Karan Shetty's 10-minute short play ''Freedom Of Love''. The play was a part of the NCPA's Short and Sweet Festival. In the play, she acted, sang, and danced.Pilgaonkar made her big screen debut with the 2013 Marathi film ''Ekulti Ek.'' In the film, she plays the role of Swara. She was offered the role of Swara by her father (Sachin Pilgaonkar) who wrote, directed, and produced the film. Pilgaonkar said, "He has been credited for launching many a talent, including my mother. When he offered me the film, I didn't want a favour. But he corrected me, saying, 'I am not stupid to invest resources without reason'." This movie led her to win many awards, including Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Debut Actress. A critic of ''The Times of India'' stated, "It's the perfect launch for his (Sachin Pilgaonkar) daughter Shriya into films and she does not disappoint."Following her role in ''Ekulti Ek'', she starred in plays, ''Internal Affairs'' and ''Common People''. She then worked in the French film ''Un plus une'', helmed by Oscar-winning director Claude Lelouch. In the film, she played the role of Ayanna, an Indian dancer, and actor.Pilgaonkar made her Bollywood debut in the 2016 film ''Fan''. Pilgaonkar was selected for her role from the audition of 750 girls conducted by Maneesh Sharma, and she considered getting a role alongside Shah Rukh Khan a big breakthrough. In the film, she plays the role of Neha, a Delhi-based call center girl, and Gaurav's friend. After the release of ''Fan'', Pilgaonkar was overwhelmed by the response. Taran Adarsh from ''Bollywood Hungama'' termed her "wonderful".Pilgaonkar played a strong and independent woman Sweety Gupta opposite Ali Fazal, in the series ''Mirzapur''. Saraswati Datar of ''The News Minute'' noted, "Shriya as Sweety put in a great performance, but her role is woefully underwritten and unidimensional." The series was a massive success, and became a breakthrough for her, however she later confirmed that her character wouldn't be returning after the first season. In 2019, she did the film ''House Arrest'' with Fazal.In 2020, she first played Nimmo alongside Sunny Kaushal in ''Bhangra Paa Le'', which received negative reviews. In the same year, she played a social media influencer, Suhani in the first season of ''The Gone Game'' and a RAW agent Divya in ''Crackdown''. She received positive response for both the series, and ''India Today'' stated that she "impresses" as Divya aka Mariam. Her only work in 2021, was the bilingual film ''Kaadan''. Saibal Chatterjee of ''NDTV'' stated, "Shriya Pilgaonkar is mesmerising as the honest-to-a-fault advocate." She then appeared in the second season of ''The Gone Game'' and hosted the web reality show, ''The Great Indian Bride''. In her final role of the year, she played an investigative journalist Radha in ''The Broken News''. Namrata Thakker from ''Rediff.com'' noted, "Shriya Pilgaonkar as Radha steals the show as the fiery, righteous journalist. She has flaws despite being a ethical journalist and that makes her character more humane."In 2023, Pilgaonkar first played the titular role in the short film, ''Sita''. She then played a sex worker Madhubala in ''Taaza Khabar'', with Bhuvan Bam. Manik Sharma of ''Firstpost'' termed her "consistently good" and added that she played the role with "confidence". For this, she won the ITA Award for Best Actress Comedy - OTT. Pilgaonkar later played an independent pregnant woman Siya alongside Mrinal Dutt and Suhail Nayyar in the film ''Ishq-e-Nadaan''. In her final work of the year, she played an outspoken wife Nirmala, in ''Dry Day'' opposite Jitendra Kumar. Rahul Desai from ''Film Companion'' said, "Shriya Pilgaonkar is underutilised in a narrative that’s driven by her character’s tenacity." Pilgaonkar will next appear in ''Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai''. Pilgaonkar will next appear in ''Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai''.

Acting career

Pilgaonkar made her stage debut in 2012 with her performance in Karan Shetty's 10-minute short play ''Freedom Of Love''. The play was a part of the NCPA's Short and Sweet Festival. In the play, she acted, sang, and danced.After her performance in ''Freedom of Love'', Pilgaonkar made her big screen debut with the 2013 Marathi film ''Ekulti Ek.'' In the film, she plays the role of Swara, the daughter of Arun Deshpande (Sachin Pilgaonakar) and Nandini (Supriya Pilgaonkar). She was offered the role of Swara by her father (Sachin Pilgaonkar) who wrote, directed, and produced the film. Pilgaonkar said, "He has been credited for launching many a talent, including my mother. When he offered me the film, I didn't want a favour. But he corrected me, saying, 'I am not stupid to invest resources without reason'." She also added, "Experience-wise I am a beginner but I think it's a wonderful time to be in the industry. There is so much happening, so much changing. I feel proud that I am doing my first film with my father." This movie debut led her to win six awards. Among them was the Maharashtra State Government Award for Best Debut Actress, which she received at the 51st Maharashtra State Film Awards. The film received average to positive reviews from critics. A critic of ''The Times of India'' gave the film 3/5 stars, stating "It's the perfect launch for his (Sachin Pilgaonkar) daughter Shriya into films and she does not disappoint."Following her role in ''Ekulti Ek'', Pilgaonkar participated in other stage and film projects. She was approached by theatre veteran actor Akarsh Khurana to star in ''Internal Affairs'' and ''Common People''. After appearing in both, she received an opportunity to work in the French film ''Un plus une'', helmed by Oscar-winning director Claude Lelouch. In the film, she played the role of Ayanna, an Indian dancer, and actor.Pilgaonkar made her Bollywood debut in the 2016 film ''Fan'', written and directed by Maneesh Sharma and produced by Aditya Chopra through Yash Raj Films. Pilgaonkar was selected for her role from the audition of 750 girls conducted by Maneesh Sharma, and she considered getting a role alongside Shah Rukh Khan a big breakthrough. In the film, she plays the role of Neha, a Delhi-based call center girl, and Gaurav's friend. She was shooting for both the films ''Fan'' and ''Un plus une'' at the same time. After the release of ''Fan'', Pilgaonkar was overwhelmed by the response. Of the reception of the film, she said, "Honestly, I did not want to have any expectation because it was a small role and we had two Shah Rukhs in the film but I am so happy that everyone took notice and has acknowledged my performance."In 2018, Shriya played the role of Sweety Gupta in the Amazon Prime India show Mirzapur. The show was a massive success, and Shriya soon became a popular face among the masses. Shriya later confirmed that her character wouldn't be returning after the first season. In 2020, she appeared on two Voot shows: The Gone Game and Crackdown.

Early work (2012-2017)

At the age of five, Pilgaonkar first appeared on television in the Hindi serial ''Tu Tu Main Main'', playing a boy named Bittu. Pilgaonkar made her stage debut in 2012 with her performance in Karan Shetty's 10-minute short play ''Freedom Of Love''. The play was a part of the NCPA's Short and Sweet Festival. In the play, she acted, sang, and danced.Pilgaonkar made her big screen debut with the 2013 Marathi film ''Ekulti Ek.'' In the film, she plays the role of Swara. She was offered the role of Swara by her father (Sachin Pilgaonkar) who wrote, directed, and produced the film. Pilgaonkar said, "He has been credited for launching many a talent, including my mother. When he offered me the film, I didn't want a favour. But he corrected me, saying, 'I am not stupid to invest resources without reason'." This movie led her to win many awards, including Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Debut Actress. A critic of ''The Times of India'' stated, "It's the perfect launch for his (Sachin Pilgaonkar) daughter Shriya into films and she does not disappoint."Following her role in ''Ekulti Ek'', she starred in plays, ''Internal Affairs'' and ''Common People''. She then worked in the French film ''Un plus une'', helmed by Oscar-winning director Claude Lelouch. In the film, she played the role of Ayanna, an Indian dancer, and actor.Pilgaonkar made her Bollywood debut in the 2016 film ''Fan''. Pilgaonkar was selected for her role from the audition of 750 girls conducted by Maneesh Sharma, and she considered getting a role alongside Shah Rukh Khan a big breakthrough. In the film, she plays the role of Neha, a Delhi-based call center girl, and Gaurav's friend. After the release of ''Fan'', Pilgaonkar was overwhelmed by the response. Taran Adarsh from ''Bollywood Hungama'' termed her "wonderful".

Breakthrough (2018-2020)

Pilgaonkar played a strong and independent woman Sweety Gupta opposite Ali Fazal, in the series ''Mirzapur''. Saraswati Datar of ''The News Minute'' noted, "Shriya as Sweety put in a great performance, but her role is woefully underwritten and unidimensional." The series was a massive success, and became a breakthrough for her, however she later confirmed that her character wouldn't be returning after the first season. In 2019, she did the film ''House Arrest'' with Fazal.In 2020, she first played Nimmo alongside Sunny Kaushal in ''Bhangra Paa Le'', which received negative reviews. In the same year, she played a social media influencer, Suhani in the first season of ''The Gone Game'' and a RAW agent Divya in ''Crackdown''. She received positive response for both the series, and ''India Today'' stated that she "impresses" as Divya aka Mariam. Her only work in 2021, was the bilingual film ''Kaadan''.

Advertising

Pilgaonkar has modeled and is also known in the advertisement world. She has worked with celebrities such as Shahid Kapoor and Vikrant Massey, acting in advertisements.

Career progression (2022-present)

Saibal Chatterjee of ''NDTV'' stated, "Shriya Pilgaonkar is mesmerising as the honest-to-a-fault advocate." She then appeared in the second season of ''The Gone Game'' and hosted the web reality show, ''The Great Indian Bride''. In her final role of the year, she played an investigative journalist Radha in ''The Broken News''. Namrata Thakker from ''Rediff.com'' noted, "Shriya Pilgaonkar as Radha steals the show as the fiery, righteous journalist. She has flaws despite being a ethical journalist and that makes her character more humane."In 2023, Pilgaonkar first played the titular role in the short film, ''Sita''. She then played a sex worker Madhubala in ''Taaza Khabar'', with Bhuvan Bam. Manik Sharma of ''Firstpost'' termed her "consistently good" and added that she played the role with "confidence". For this, she won the ITA Award for Best Actress Comedy - OTT. Pilgaonkar later played an independent pregnant woman Siya alongside Mrinal Dutt and Suhail Nayyar in the film ''Ishq-e-Nadaan''. In her final work of the year, she played an outspoken wife Nirmala, in ''Dry Day'' opposite Jitendra Kumar. Rahul Desai from ''Film Companion'' said, "Shriya Pilgaonkar is underutilised in a narrative that’s driven by her character’s tenacity." Pilgaonkar will next appear in ''Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai''. Pilgaonkar will next appear in ''Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai''.

Other work and media image

Udita Jhunjhunwala of ''Scroll.in'' stated, "Shriya has evolved into one of the most dependable actors in web series." Pilgaonkar was placed at the 40th position in Times's 50 Most Desirable Women List of 2020. Pilgaonkar has modeled and is also known in the advertisement world. She has worked with celebrities such as Shahid Kapoor and Vikrant Massey, in advertisements. She has been a celebrity endorser of brands such as Rin, Vivel and Mom's Magic, with her mother Supriya Pilgaonkar.In addition to being an actress, Pilgaonkar is also a director and a producer of short films. In 2012, she went to Harvard University for summer school, which led her to work on her own short films. In an interview with ''Mumbai Mirror'', she said, "Once I felt confident, I directed ''Painted Signal'', a short film, and ''Panchgavya''", a documentary which she co-directed with Hana Kitasei. It examines the plight of cows as they wander around Bikaner in Rajasthan. She also co-directed and edited the short film ''Dresswala'' with Siddharth Joglekar, which was an official selection at the 2012 Mumbai Film Festival. Both ''Painted Signal'' and ''Dresswala'' received average responses from critics and were screened at international film festivals.
Source: Wikipedia

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