Shriya Pilgaonkar on headlining 'Guilty Minds': 'Was ready for heavy lifting'

Actor Shriya Pilgaonkar says working on the latest Prime Video series "Guilty Minds" was a "transformative" experience as besides allowing her to front a project it also offered an opportunity to go an extra mile as a performer.

The actor, best known for her appearance as Sweety Gupta in "Mirzapur" season one, believes even though she had a popular character, the arc wasn't explored much in the 2018 show.

"Although I love my character in 'Mirzapur', there was a lot I could do as Sweety Gupta, but the script didn't allow me to explore my character a lot.

"The project ('Guilty Minds') has been extremely transformative for me, as a person, as an actor. The show allowed me to discover so many things about me as an actor, which otherwise I hadn't got the opportunity to do enough," the 32-year-old actor told PTI.

In the legal drama "Guilty Minds", she stars as lawyer Kashaf Quaze alongside Varun Mitra's lawyer Deepak Rana in the lead.

The 10-episode series is created and directed by Shefali Bhushan and co-directed by Jayant Digambar Samalkar. The show follows Kashaf and Deepak -- while one is the epitome of virtue, the other is associated with a leading law firm, dealing with all shades of grey.

"The audition scenes itself were so interesting, it didn't feel like much of an effort to learn the lines. They were emotionally charged scenes. It is so rare for an actor, especially for me on the stage, to have encountered a part that felt like heavy lifting.

"I am one of the characters, who is carrying this on her shoulders. I have been waiting for that. So when this project happened, there was this weird calmness. I knew I was ready for it." She described her character in "Guilty Minds" as a "beautifully complex" part.

"... Here, the range of what my character is going through, not just in courts but outside, her relationships with her parents, friends, partner... All these things shook me up in a beautiful way," Shriya, daughter of actors Sachin and Supriya Pilgaonkar, said.

"Guilty Minds", which was released on Friday, furthers Shriya's OTT presence after projects like "Mirzapur", "The Gone Game" and "Crackdown".

Though she has also appeared in films like Netflix's "House Arrest" and last year's "Haathi Mere Saathi", the actor said the digital space is great for actors as it is devoid of any "hero-heroine" demarcation.

"The medium is empowering for the actors because it is empowering the writers. I don't get bothered by screen time. So if a part comes to me and if I am told it is 10 days of work, I will still read it because people today are looking for characters. This whole concept of a typical hero-heroine is fading away," she added.