Shriya Pilgaonkar on Defying Industry Trends with 'Mandala Murders': 'I'm Feeling Fearless In Making Decisions'

In the opening minutes of Netflix's Mandala Murders, the audience is introduced to Rukmini, an enchanting leader of an ambiguous cult, played by Shriya Pilgaonkar. She is on to something, but is it sinister or noble? No one knows yet, as a group of women frantically work against the clock in a cave and a violent mob looms, threatening to upend everything. But it's Pilgaonkar's guttural scream – teased in the trailer and quickly turned into a meme – that sets the tone for the ensuing drama as something ominous knocks.

"If you've seen that scream, it is actually very personal. It felt very cathartic doing that," Pilgaonkar shares. "Because a lot of my parts have had so much restraint, this felt cathartic as a person and as a character. It all just came out."

Pilgaonkar appears in an extended—but impactful— cameo in the Vaani Kapoor-led mythological crime thriller produced by YRF Entertainment and directed by Gopi Puthran and Manan Rawat. Set in the mysterious town of Charandaspur, Mandala Murders follows two detectives who unravel a chilling conspiracy of ritualistic killings tied to a centuries-old secret society. Pilgaonkar is at the centre of it all.

In an interview with THR India, Pilgaonkar, who reunites with YRF almost a decade after Shah Rukh Khan's Fan, talks about her career, Mandala Murders, feeling fearless, and why she believes the power of one's work is "way louder than any PR machinery."

Edited excerpts from a conversation:

Cinematically, viewers are used to seeing you in a certain light, which is why most didn't see this coming from you...

I had conveyed to Shanoo Sharma, the casting director, that I want to be visualised differently and make choices that are going to surprise people. When Gopi sir gave me a visual reference, and he shared the brief and the aura and the energy of Rukmini, I had the biggest smile on my face. The first thing I asked him was how he thought of me for this, because it was an offbeat casting choice. The brief for Rukmini was enchanting, beguiling and I didn't approach that character as an evil character, because that would be too one-dimensional.

She is convinced that she is creating a God, who is going to be their saviour, because of all that their community and those women have gone through. That's her truth. I instantly knew that this is a part I wanted to do, because for so long, I've been wanting to break a pattern of playing kind of, say, morally righteous characters.

Were you offered such parts before Mandala Murders, or a few parts did come up, but were never interesting enough?

Most of the shows on OTT are rooted in reality. Either they are set in a small town with a gritty vibe, or you have the glam, urban landscape. This might be one of the few shows that had themes of folklore, mysticism and fantasy. And what I notice is that when actors have proven to be good in certain genres or their characters have worked, it becomes a pattern where they attract similar work.

After Mirzapur, I noticed that I was getting this funky, small-town girl part, and then after the success of Guilty Minds, I was attracting parts where I'm playing the morally righteous girl fighting for justice. Which is why I had to do something like a Taaza Khabar, where I am playing a sex worker who is feisty, a little bold, and then I get to have like a little romantic track. So these efforts are something I have had to make as an actor to show up for myself and to also show that I can be versatile.

It helps here, because even though it is a cameo, it has been given a larger-than-life mounting, right from the opening shot...

You know, it was a surprise to me that Rukmini was opening the show! The way the makers mounted Rukmini, even with her limited scenes, is something that makes a difference. It is important to give a good performance, but backing that up with strong positioning and mounting plays a huge role in the perception of you as an actor. I have learned this in the past few years.

For my growth as an actor, I've completely relied on my work to do it organically. In the past few years, I have understood the power of positioning and mounting and how that affects casting decisions. Although a part of me still truly believes the power of your work speaking for itself is way louder and stronger than any kind of PR machinery to be relevant and to sustain yourself as an actor in the industry. So the way Rukmini's character was positioned in the show made a huge difference, and that is my responsibility, to make it memorable even with limited screen time.

Positioning is crucial because it makes people take note, yes?

Yes, and how you're looking in these different parts plays a huge role in the kind of work that's offered to you. If today, I had done a lot of work that could be considered "glamorous", then right now, I would be in a full-blown glamorous film. But because I have not done such parts, they don't come my way, even if I may want to explore that. Gopi sir put a lot of faith in me and told me, 'I know, you've not done something like this before, but I want you to tap into the core of these emotions and let loose.' So I don't think I tried to have any control over this character.

What was your approach here? Considering the world, this could have easily turned into a hammy performance.

Actually, if you see, there is a lot of devotion, a lot of bhakti in this. Rukmini was not seeking revenge. The entire crux and the core of Rukmini is her bhakti and her devotion towards Yast. I'm also a deeply spiritual person and my faith in my Devi sadhana is what I tapped into. When I'm praying to Devi, there is immense surrender and connection. So it almost felt surreal, like it was meant to be when I got this part. Of course, in the show, it's black magic! Which is very different but the character challenged me to dig deep. I'm at a phase in my career where I am feeling fearless to make decisions. And my instincts paid off in this one.