Shriya Pilgaonkar on Mirzapur: The Movie: ‘I’m going to enjoy watching it on the big screen’

Shriya Pilgaonkar returns as Sweety in Mirzapur: The Movie, the big-screen extension of the hit OTT franchise. The actor says reuniting with the cast felt like a party, while recalling Sweety’s enduring popularity and the show’s unexpected cult following

Mumbai: It all felt like a big party, says actor Shriya Pilgaonkar, who returns as Sweety in *Mirzapur: The Movie*, the cinematic extension of her popular crime series *Mirzapur*, and she hopes fans will be as welcoming of the film as they have been of the show.

The film, which debuted in cinema halls across the country on Friday, marks the first big-screen outing for the *Mirzapur* universe, which began as a streaming series in 2018 and went on to become one of India’s most successful OTT franchises over three seasons.

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Pilgaonkar, who has reprised her role as Swaragini “Sweety” Gupta, the love interest of Ali Fazal’s gun-toting gangster Guddu Pandit, from the show’s first season, called the movie an “experiment”.

“I hope it does well. We’ve no idea how it will be received, but there’s anticipation, there’s love, and for me, coming back to it after season one, and reuniting with the cast, has felt like a party. So, I’m going to enjoy watching it on the big screen,” the actor told PTI in an interview.

*Mirzapur: The Movie* brings back the lawless world of Mirzapur, where the battle for power continues amid a barrage of bullets, betrayals and bloody rivalries. The movie is set in 2018, hinting at an untold chapter from the first season of the show.

Besides Pilgaonkar and Fazal, the movie also brings back the show’s core cast, including Pankaj Tripathi as Kaleen Bhaiya, Divyenndu as Munna Tripathi, Rasika Dugal as Beena Tripathi, Shweta Tripathi as Gajgamani “Golu” Gupta and Abhishek Banerjee as Subodh alias “Compounder”.

Though her character was killed in the season one finale, Pilgaonkar said the affection audiences have continued to show towards Sweety has always stayed with her.

“I did not expect that people would feel so much for Sweety. That is the love that has carried us through. I can confidently tell you that just the love that ‘Mirzapur’ has received will keep me going. That’s how sweet and loyal the fans are,” she said.

Pilgaonkar revealed that when the team shot season one, they had no idea that the show or its characters would develop such a passionate fan base.

“When we went on set, and we were performing, we realised that each of these characters is such a vibe. We could feel like the energy was something special. But no one could have predicted the cult following.

“The reviews were not very good when the series released. But it was only over a period of time, fans have given it love,” the actor said.

Pilgaonkar recalled telling her actor mother, Supriya Pilgaonkar, after auditioning for the show’s first season that she had thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

“At that point, we had no idea what it means, like a series is coming in, and there are 10 episodes, it was a very interesting, thrilling format,” she said.

Asked about her favourite characters from the *Mirzapur* universe, Pilgaonkar named Fazal’s Guddu Pandit, Divyendu Sharma’s Munna Tripathi and Rasika Dugal’s Beena Tripathi.

“As a performer, I really like the tashan of Munna Bhaiya. But I also really like Rasika’s Beena, it is very interesting character. I love Guddu’s part as well and he is such a puppy with Sweety,” she said.

Presented by Amazon MGM Studios and Excel Entertainment, *Mirzapur: The Movie* is directed by Gurmmeet Singh from a script written by Puneet Krishna.