GIRL ON THE RISE

From characters rooted in reality to empowered roles what's Shriya Pilgaonkar's game plan?

-  SAMREEN TUNGEKAR

“The thing is…acting was never my ‘plan’. But performing always came naturally to me. It can be something as simple as elocution or theatre, or debate. Eventually, it’s comfort on stage, comfort in front of an audience, and certain leadership qualities that you notice in yourself. Eventually, when I did become an actor, I could put two and two together and understood that I always had the performer’s instinct in me,” quips actor Shriya Pilgaonkar.

As the daughter of stalwarts Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar, Shriya was never one to be predictable about her career choice – she spent a large part of her childhood training for swimming championships, became a state level swimmer, and did many other things before opening herself up to this very ‘performer’s instinct’ she talks about. “I think I have allowed the performer in me to unravel at her own pace. I enjoyed academia, I thought of becoming a teacher, or maybe going into civil services. But instead of strategising, I kept an open mind to everything. And through all of it, something that never changed was my love for stories and my passion for storytelling. Growing up, my father would tell me new stories every night, which he would make up for me,” she shares.