EXCLUSIVE | Shriya Pilgaonkar on her series 'Guilty Minds' not being renewed for season 2: 'Don't know what the reasons were, it wasn't even a very expensive show and...'

Shriya Pilgaonkar is making some really interesting choices as an actress. She has acted in both films and OTT and especially on the streaming platform, she has titles like The Broken News, Taaza Khabar, and Guilty Minds, which became one of the best reviewed shows of 2022.

Pilgaonkar’s new web-series ‘Chhal Kapat’ drops on Zee5 today and is a whodunnit where the actress plays the investigative officer. In an exclusive interview, she speaks about this show, her reaction to Guilty Minds not being renewed for another season, and the evolution of content in the last few years.

Edited excerpts from the interview

How did you prepare for this role of an investigating officer?

It’s interesting because Devika Rathore’s character is not like the usual aggressive cop or the usual portrayal you may see, as male cops maybe portrayed. Devika is somebody who asserts her authority even through her smile, even through her silences. And for me, it was very interesting to develop a certain kind of a body language to her and also to understand her inner world because she’s recently been widowed. She lost her husband in an accident recently, and she wanted to move from a larger town to a smaller place.

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She wanted to change her, she she got posted there because she wanted to move away from the big city and the noise. So she is basically at a very interesting juncture in her life. So when you see her when I wanted to play her, I did not want to play her like a typical aggressive cop. So more than watching cop films or trying to copy any mannerisms, for me, it was really about working with my director and writers and creating Devika from scratch.

So do you see any similarities between Shree and Devika?

Devika’s character is very instinctive, very, sharp, and she a good she has a very sharp instinctive sense about people. And I think that is something that I can say is common between Devika and I because, more often than not, I’m also very instinctive about people and situations. Of course, sometimes I’ve been wrong, but, mostly I think I can say that I’m quite sharp with my instincts. So that is one thing that I can say.

And since this is a whodunnit, while you were reading the script or while the script was being narrated to you, were you curious to know what’s going to happen next?

That’s the reason why I decided to do this because whodunit is my favourite genre. And, I’ve grown up watching and reading Agatha Christie, Enid Blyton, Sherlock Holmes, Nancy Drew, and we’ve grown up watching a lot of murder mysteries and investigative dramas. So the reason that I actually even wanted to do this is because I really like the format of seven episodes, 20-25 minutes each. It’s a family entertainer. And the way it’s written, it’s very crisp, and I could see myself wanting to know more because I was hooked.

You have made some really interesting choices as an actor. I want to ask you ever since the streaming platform has seen a rise, how much do you feel we have seen content evolve or change.

It has. There’s no two ways about it. And, see, evolution is a part of showbiz, and they’ll constantly be learning and unlearning. And I’m very grateful that makers have trusted me with really good scripts and nuanced characters, whether it was a lawyer in Guilty Minds or Mirzapur or a sex worker in Taaza Khabar or a journalist. I feel like all these parts that I’ve played have been so beautifully written that I’ve had so much creative emotional fulfilment in my journey playing these different parts. But like I said, we also have to accept that the industry keeps going through its process.

You know, there’s a phase where sometimes there’s too much content that’s not very good out there, and then there’ll be something amazing and inspiring that comes out, and then everyone try to make that. But, eventually, content that really works is content that is authentic, which is original and not trying to be something that it’s not. So I feel like actors like me are very grateful to the OTT space because of the way it paved for us to bring our skills to the table, and the hope is for for work on OTT to also bring in more film work.

You just said that there is a lot of content out there, which is not good, and we have seen multiple seasons of that show. But when it comes to Guilty Minds, as you said, it was original. It was inspiring. It was amazing. It was one of the best shows of 2022, and yet we get the heart-breaking news that it will not be renewed for season two.

I was also heartbroken. I don’t have any answer to your question. I myself don’t know what to say. I don’t know what to say to this. I don’t know what the reasons were, whether it was a business decision because it was not even a very big show. It was not even a very expensive show. So I don’t know, but I also feel like what happens is sometimes shows that people claim that they don’t like, are spoken so much about on social media that eventually people are curious and they go watch it and that gives the numbers. So it becomes cringe watching.

Maybe it has to do with their machinery. I guess somewhere good shows need the support of good mounting as well. And I think somewhere, even the media needs to support it. Even the audience needs to support it. Because the same audience who’s asking for good content needs to also support it with numbers. I was very emotionally attached to that show, and I felt very sad to know that we wouldn’t be doing a season two, and we just have to accept it and then hopefully make others other stuff now. What do I say?

How would you describe the character of Devika?

Devika as a cop is very strong, but in her personal life, she feels disrespected and she knows her husband was very insecure about her. And I think a lot of women in power may be going through the same thing where they don’t they have that respect of at work, but they may not be surrounded by people who are secure and respectful to them in their personal life. So I hope when people watch it, they are inspired, especially women, to stay in their power and to stand up for themselves. That is one thing that is a very interesting layer to Devika’s character

It’s not about just doing this once. I think it’s about creating different characters because the cop in Singham to the cop Rani Mukerji in Mardaani to Delhi Crime to Chhal Kapat, they’re all different versions of people in the system.