Sachin Pilgaonkar reveals he was shocked when daughter Shriya asked him for the script after he offered her debut film

Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) Veteran actor-filmmaker Sachin Pilgaonkar has recalled the moment he offered his daughter, actor Shriya Pilgaonkar, her first film and was left speechless by her response. 

Rather than immediately accepting the opportunity, Shriya asked him to give her the script so she could read it before making a decision.

The revelation came during a special episode of the quiz reality show, Kon Honar Crorepati, hosted by Madhuri Dixit. Sachin and actor Madhurani Gokhale joined Madhuri for an engaging conversation as they came to promote their movie, Kaapus Kondyachi Gosht.

During the conversation, Sachin recalled watching Shriya perform in a ten-minute play after she invited him and her mother, actor Supriya Pilgaonkar, to attend. Her performance impressed him from the very first scene, making him recognise her potential as an actor. He mentioned that it was this experience that prompted him to offer her a role in a film he was planning to make.

Recalling the moment, Sachin shared, “The first time I saw her perform, she was in a play that was just ten minutes long. She had invited Supriya and me to watch it, and in her very first scene, I knew there was something in her. On the way home, I told her, ‘Shriya, I feel like making a film, and I would like you to act in it.’ That thought came to me only after watching her work. Before that, it had never occurred to me.”

However, Shriya’s response was not quite what he had expected. Instead of immediately agreeing to the offer, she wanted to read the script first. Sachin recalled being taken aback by her straightforward approach initially.

Recalling her reply, he added, “She immediately said, ‘Give me a script. I’ll read it and let you know.’ I fell silent. I thought, ‘She is my daughter, after all.’ She read the script, liked it and did the film. She won several awards for her very first film. After that, she made her own path. She earned her own place.”

The film that Sachin was talking about was Ekulti Ek, a Marathi drama released in 2013, written, directed and produced by Sachin. The father-daughter story marked Shriya’s debut as a lead actor on the big screen.

Although Shriya is the daughter of two established actors, she has steadily built a career of her own across films and digital entertainment.

She made her Hindi film debut opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Maneesh Sharma’s Fan in 2016, in which she played Neha, a friend of the protagonist Gaurav.

Her other film credits include House Arrest, Bhangra Paa Le, Haathi Mere Saathi, Kaadan, Ishq-e-Nadaan and Dry Day.

She has also explored a range of roles on streaming platforms, featuring in popular series such as Mirzapur, The Gone Game, Crackdown, Guilty Minds, The Broken News and Taaza Khabar. More recently, she appeared in the series Mandala Murders and Chhal Kapat: The Deception.

–IANS

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