‘This Roller Coaster Has Taught Me To…’

‘…just
be
neutral
about
everything.’
‘I
will
just
take
life
as
it
comes.’

When

Preeti
Panigrahi
was
selected
for

Girls
Will
Be
Girls
in
2022,
little
did
she
know
her
life
would
change
dramatically
after
the
film’s
resounding
worldwide
reception.

Cut
to
2024,
Preeti
is
on
every
prestigious
‘Best
Actor’
list
and
is
hailed
as
a
breakout
star.

“I
know
it’s
demanding,
but
it’s
also
something
I
want.
I
want
to
stay
occupied.
I’m
very
happy
that
I’m
not
lying
on
my
bed
throughout
the
day
and
scrolling
through
my
phone,”
Preeti
tells

Mayur
Sanap/Rediff.com
in
the
concluding
part
of
the
interview.

You
can
read
the
first
part
of
the
interview


here.

Tell
us
about
yourself.

I
come
from
Odisha.
When
I
was
two,
we
shifted
to
Noida
and
have
been
living
there
since.

My
father
has
an
intense
passion
for
films.
He
collected
cameras
through
his
college
days,
his
library
is
full
of
rare
film
books.
He
also
has
a
film
collection.

So
yeah,
I
have
no
doubt
why
I
ended
up
in
films.

My
sister
is
a
great
dancer.
She’s
currently
pursuing
her
PhD
in
London.
I’ve
seen
her
perform
on
stage
and
that
inspired
me.

My
mom
is
a
vice
principal
of
a
school.
For
her,
learning
never
stopped.
She’s
the
most
evolved
person
out
of
all
four
of
us.
And
she
writes
too.

When
did
your
family
see

Girls
Will
Be
Girls
and
what
was
their
reaction
like?

They
got
to
watch
it
in
London
when
we
were
visiting
my
sister.
There
was
a
screening
happening
in
London.

It
was
an
emotional
experience
because
I
think
more
than
me,
it
was
a
collective
family
dream
to
have
me
on
the
big
screen.

I
wasn’t
sitting
with
them
for
obvious
reasons
because
I’m
very
shy.
I
sat
in
the
front
row.
My
mom
had
already
read
the
script,
so
she
knew
everything
about
the
film.
She
was
probably
watching
it
like
a
crew
member.

Before
the
film
started,
all
of
them
had
a
group
hug
and
cried.
And
when
the
film
got
over,
they
had
a
group
hug
and
cried
again,
without
me.
(Laughs)

I’m
very
happy
that
they
were
involved
in
the
process
through
and
through,
and
were
extremely
encouraging.

My
dad
has
a
ritual
that
every
Sunday,
he
will
watch
at
least
four
films.
Last
Sunday,
he
watched
my
film
four
times
and
called
me,
asking,
‘How
did
you
do
that?’,
‘What
was
that
reaction
that
you
gave?’,
‘How
are
you
so
controlled?’

How
much
has
your
life
changed
once
the
film
was
released
on
OTT
after
a
year
of
doing
festival
rounds?

(Takes
a
brief
pause.)
I
don’t
know
how
to
put
this.

Maybe
on
social
media
and
on
the
public
platforms,
it
looks
like
a
lot
has
changed.
But
until
and
unless
I
feel
like
a
monumental
shift
in
my
emotionality
or
mentality,
I
don’t
see
something
very
big
happening.

I
want
to
stay
grounded
and
feel
normal
about
everything
because
there
will
be
severe
highs
and
severe
lows.
And
I
don’t
want
to
get
to
that.

It’s
been
almost
a
year
that
we
have
been
going
around
with
the
film,
and
there
have
been
ups
and
downs.
The
film
releases
in
one
country,
and
we
get
some
buzz
about
the
film.
But
after
that,
it
quietens
again.

This
roller
coaster
has
taught
me
to
just
be
neutral
about
everything.
Even
now,
I
feel
like
I
will
just
take
life
as
it
comes.

I
won’t
stop
being
grateful
for
whatever
the
film
has
given
me
so
far.
It’s
way
too
much.

I
want
to
work,
of
course,
I
want
to
act
more,
but
if
there
are
no
opportunities
out
there
for
me,
I’ll
try
to
create
more
opportunities
because
I’m
learning
how
to
make
films.

Have
you
started
receiving
offers?
Have
you
signed
anything?

(Laughs.)
Not
really.
That
hasn’t
happened.

But
I’m
very
happy
with
the
film
having
a
platform
like
Prime
Video
and
getting
a
lot
of
accessibility.

A
lot
of
people
are
watching
it.
They
are
appreciating
it
and
reaching
out
to
us.

Since
you
are
new
to
the
industry,
how
are
you
warming
up
to
the
demanding
nature
of
this
job?
What
new
things
have
you
discovered
about
this
profession?

I’m
learning
a
lot
right
now.

I
know
it’s
demanding,
but
it’s
also
something
I
want.
I
want
to
stay
occupied.
I’m
very
happy
that
I’m
not
lying
on
my
bed
throughout
the
day
and
scrolling
through
my
phone.

I’m
going
out,
traveling
from
one
location
to
another,
speaking
to
people,
attending
screenings.

I
feel
that
has
broadened
my
world.
I’m
meeting
people
I’ve
always
wanted
to
work
with.

It’s
a
nice
time
in
my
career.
I
have
endless
possibilities
of
what
kind
of
an
actor
I
can
become.

What
role
do
Producers
Richa
Chadha
and
Ali
Fazal
play
in
your
path?
Do
you
consider
them
your
mentors?

Yes,
of
course.
I’m
so
grateful
for
that
because
I’m
always
constantly
asking
them.

I’m
always
picking
on
their
brains
and
they’re
very
welcoming.
We
hang
out
at
their
place
sometimes.

At
Sundance,
we
shared
a
lot
of
notes
about
films
and
cinema.
There’s
a
platform
called
Letterbox
where
we
can
count
what
films
we
want
to
watch.
We
share
notes
on
that.

It
helps
that
these
people
have
already
been
in
the
industry
as
actors
and
now
they’ve
become
producers.
So
they
have
an
all-round
experience
to
share
with
us.

Hypothetically,
if
you
were
to
meet
up
Mira
what
would
you
ask
or
tell
her?

You
made
me
really
emotional
with
this
question!

I
would
just
give
her
a
big
warm
hug.

I
have
so
much
love
for
that
girl,
the
way
she’s
written.

She’s
beautiful
and
deserves
everything.

I’m
very
happy
that
quite
early
on
in
her
life,
she
realised
that
her
mom
is
her
true
support
and
champion.

I’m
going
to
ask
Mira,
‘Hey,
where’s
your
mom?’
Because
Anila
would
hate
it.
She
would
be
like,
‘Wait,
I’m
also
here.’
(Laughs.)

I
would
just
give
them
both
big,
big
hugs.