Mithila Palkar rose to fame overnight after a video she shot on a humid, summer day went viral. From then on till now, there’s been no stopping her. Mithila has been a part of some popular web series like Little Things, Girl in the City, movies like Karwaan with Irrfan Khan and Dulquer Salman, and even a Marathi film Muramba. Her latest is Chopsticks with Abhay Deol, which will be dropped on Netflix on 31 May .
But how did she get here? Did she always picture herself as an actor? How did she find a way around her family and got them to convince her about her professional choice?
The Quint spent a day with Mithila Palkar to get an insight into her life, who she is as a person ... when there are no cameras around her.
What do you do when you wake up? What’s your morning routine like?
It’s not a fixed routine because every day is different. I woke up at six to come here. But otherwise, if I am at home I work out, go home, have breakfast, just chill, maybe watch or read something.
So speaking of theatre, you worked with a theatre company, right?
I always wanted to be an actor, but I ran away from it because my grandfather wasn’t very gung-ho about it as I am a from a middle class Marathi family. Entertainment industry is a taboo in most middle-class families, right? Essentially because we don’t have any sort of a background. We don’t know what really goes on. We don’t have a godfather. We didn’t know anybody. And his deal with me was that you finish your graduation and do whatever you want to do. In my last year, I volunteered with a theatre company called QTP. That runs a youth theatre festival called ‘Thespo’.That’s where I essentially networked. A lot of people I met that I eventually ended up auditioning with, I met through ‘Thespo’.
But what have you studied? For graduation?
I had Science in class 12. I mean, I believe I was a bit of a nerd but I was more of an extracurricular activity kind of a person. Like I used to always be part of the drama or the choir or anything that enabled me to get out of class.
Who all do you have at home?
So I live with my grandparents. My parents don’t stay too far away. They stay in Vasai and I stay in Dadar. But I have grown up with my grandparents because Dadar is a more accessible place than Vasai. And then my mum, dad, aunts… they are my maternal grandparents. So everyone keeps visiting. And I have an elder sister but she lives in LA. Also I must mention that she is a scientist.
Who do you go to for work-related queries?
So I mentioned about ‘Thespo’. I met two people over there who run the company QTP. Quasar Thakore Padamsee and Toral Shah are two of the partners in the company. And they are my mentors. They are my foster parents and I am their foster child.
Watch this video with Mithila Palkar to know more about her.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)