At a young age, Preeti Panigrahi, of Girls Will Be Girls fame, has made a mark

At 22, she plays sweet sixteen in the much-acclaimed film Girls Will Be Girls. In real life, Preeti Panigrahi is wiser beyond her years. Though she might proclaim success is a difficult teacher, she has not allowed recognition to go to her head so far. Picking up the Special Jury Award for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival with her debut performance and being hailed as the find of the year are no mean accomplishments. Yet, more than being overwhelmed by laurels, what truly gladdens her heart is being a part of such a beautiful film has put her on the right course for the future.

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Like her reel character, Mira, she has been good at academics, was the ‘teachers’ pet’ kind of student, yet she always wanted to be an actor. “Acting is a wonderful vocation as you get to experience all kinds of emotions,” she says. Interestingly, when she was preparing for her character in Girls Will Be Girls, her director Shuchi Talati told her to ‘let go of the emotions and focus on the thought, the intention behind the act.’ Not an easy task for sure! But she soon understood the rhythm of what the director desired and this internalised process of acting is what lent subtlety to the film. Also, she faced no awkwardness while doing intimate scenes in the coming-of-age film. One reason of course was the mostly all-woman crew. She gives a whole lot of credit to her male co-actor Kesav Binoy Kiron, who too made his debut with the film. She says, “There is a lot of choreography in intimate scenes. None of those scenes are meant to titillate audiences.”

Wise beyond years

Indeed, when those audiences are your family and friends there could be some degree of self-consciousness. But, once again, the wise young girl surfaces, “You have to give them the space to process it all.” Only she was mighty pleased with her cousin’s reaction— ‘The moment I was able to detach myself from the fact that you are my sister, I was able to relate to your character.’

Now that the film, streaming on Amazon Prime Video, has resonated with audiences not only in India but also the world over, she observes, “It’s the universality of the subject that has worked.” She smiles, yes the same winsome smile of Mira of the film, and beams, “Teenage confusion is a universal subject. So is hating people who are your well-wishers; more often than not, your parents.”

Mom is the word

Though her mother is nowhere like her competitive screen mom, Anila, she admits to having issues with her during those rebellious teen years. She is not only all praise for her mother, ‘the most evolved being in the family’, but also her screen mom Kani Kusruti. She says, “Despite a stellar filmography, she comes with no baggage of success, treats you like an equal and is great fun on the sets.”

While growing up watching Bollywood films, Preeti did have role models in actresses like Shabana Azmi. Today, she can’t believe her luck as at the screening of her movie in India, she saw a galaxy of her favourite actresses, including Divya Dutta, Konkana Sen and Tannishtha Chatterjee. She says, “When I was watching Hindi films, most heroes were men and now this year when I am a part of this world, there are so many female heroes.” An actress to watch out for, she knows how each role demands a different skill set. And she is ready to prepare!