'Both, Gurinder Chadha and I, enjoy history: Shriya Pilgaonkar

After Shriya Pilgaonkar auditioned for the British TV series Beecham House, she didn’t hear from them for quite some time. “One day, I was suddenly called to their office and I thought I was going for a meeting, but they started taking measurements for the outfits!” she recalls with a laugh. Directed by Gurinder Chadha, the period drama set in 1795 was shot across London and Rajasthan and was an engaging and interesting process for the Mirzapur actress. Shriya tells us more about the show and her role...

Was it daunting to be a part of an international production?

I have done a French film earlier, but this is my first British series and one of the primary parts. In that sense, I was a little nervous about it, especially because it’s a period drama and this is the first time I’m speaking English on screen. Everyone had to undergo voice lessons and diction training workshops because the English spoken in a period drama is a little different from how one would speak otherwise. It’s slower and the sentences are fuller. I wasn’t daunted as I was excited about the experience. Also, it was a diverse cast and crew from all over the world and I was really looking forward to that setup.

Tell us a bit about the show and your character.

It’s a drama about family, relationships, love and loss. These are universal themes. Hence, they’re quite relatable. My character is an intriguing one. There is not much known about her. She is a young girl who comes to the house as the caretaker to John Beecham’s baby and ends up falling in love with his brother. She is ambitious, adventurous and loyal. A part of her wants to explore the world and she is always torn and conflicted about what she wants to do. What makes her more intriguing are the choices she makes. She is unafraid and uninhibited.

(Gurinder Chadha and Shriya)

How was it to work with Gurinder Chadha?

She really represents diversity in the true sense because she is able to keep her team together, which I think is the most important quality of a director. She has a good understanding of the script and working with actors. Both of us enjoy history. There was so much energy on the sets and she deserves credit for that.

What’s next?

I have a film titled Bhangra Pa Le with Sunny Kaushal and Anubhav Sinha’s Abhi Toh Party Shuru Hui Hai. Then I have Haathi Mere Saathi, a trilingual with Rana Daggubati. It’s my first Tamil-Telugu project. There is also a project for an OTT platform.