Following her Hindi film debut with Fan (2016), Pilgaonkar went onto establish herself with successful web series such as Mirzapur (2018), Guilty Minds and The Broken News (both 2022) and Taaza Khabar (2023). For Guilty Minds, she was nominated for the Best Actress Award at the 2022 Filmfare OTT Awards. She has also acted in and directed various plays.[4]
At the age of five, Pilgaonkar first appeared on television in the Hindi serial Tu Tu Main Main, playing a boy named Bittu.[7] 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.[8]
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'."[5][8] This movie led her to win many awards, including Maharashtra State Film Award for Best Debut Actress.[8][9][10][11] 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."[12]
Following her role in Ekulti Ek, she starred in plays, Internal Affairs and Common People.[5] She then worked in the French film Un plus une, helmed by Oscar-winning director Claude Lelouch.[8] In the film, she played the role of Ayanna, an Indian dancer, and actor.[8][13]
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.[13] In the film, she plays the role of Neha, a Delhi-based call center girl, and Gaurav's friend.[7][14][15] After the release of Fan, Pilgaonkar was overwhelmed by the response.[7]Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama termed her "wonderful".[16]
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."[17] 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.[18] In 2019, she did the film House Arrest with Fazal.[19]
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.[20] She received positive response for both the series, and India Today stated that she "impresses" as Divya aka Mariam.[21] Her only work in 2021, was the bilingual film Kaadan.[22]
Pilgaonkar had four web releases in 2022. She first played Advocate Kashaf in Guilty Minds, alongside Varun Mitra, which won her critical acclaim.[23]Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV stated, "Shriya Pilgaonkar is mesmerising as the honest-to-a-fault advocate."[24] 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.[25] Namrata Thakker from Rediff.com noted, "Shriya Pilgaonkar as Radha steals the show as the fiery, righteous journalist. She has flaws despite being an ethical journalist and that makes her character more humane."[26]
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.[27] 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.[28] Pilgaonkar later played an independent pregnant woman Siya alongside Mrinal Dutt and Suhail Nayyar in the film Ishq-e-Nadaan.[29] In her final work of the year, she played an outspoken wife Nirmala, in Dry Day opposite Jitendra Kumar.[30] Rahul Desai from Film Companion said, "Shriya Pilgaonkar is underutilised in a narrative that's driven by her character's tenacity."[31]
Pilgaonkar will next appear in Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai.
Other work and media image
Pilgaonkar in 2018
Filmfare's Tanisha Bhattacharya noted, "Pilagonkar's performances in shows from diverse genres have raised the bar of what she has to offer as a gifted artist."[32] Udita Jhunjhunwala of Scroll.in stated, "Shriya has evolved into one of the most dependable actors in web series."[33] Pilgaonkar was placed at the 40th position in Times's 50 Most Desirable Women List of 2020.[34] 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.[35] She has been a celebrity endorser of brands such as Rin, Vivel and Mom's Magic, with her mother Supriya Pilgaonkar.[36][37]
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.[13] In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, she said, "Once I felt confident, I directed Painted Signal, a short film, and Panchgavya",[5] a documentary which she co-directed with Hana Kitasei. It examines the plight of cows as they wander around Bikaner in Rajasthan.[38] She also co-directed and edited the short film Dresswala with Siddharth Joglekar, which was an official selection at the 2012 Mumbai Film Festival.[39] Both Painted Signal and Dresswala received average responses from critics and were screened at international film festivals.[13]
