Shreya Chaudhry burst onto the OTT scene with her performance in Bandish Bandits, and recently won the Best Actress at IIFA Digital Awards 2025 for Season 2 of the series. High on her recent win, we spoke to her at Yash Raj Studios where she opened up about the IIFA journey, how she got into films, working with Boman Irani in The Mehta Boys and more. Excerpts:
Q. How was the IIFA experience?
A. IIFA was absolutely a huge dream come true for me and I am really honoured and so grateful to the entire IIFA team, the jury, everyone who voted because it’s such a boost of motivation for an actor to win such a prestigious award and especially for a project that is so dear to me. Bandish Bandits has given me a lot in my life and career. And I got the award in Jaipur!
Q. How was the experience of working with Naseeruddin Shah?
A. Naseer sir is the core and soul of Bandish Bandits. Every single day from the time we woke up and just that entire process of how he goes about his day was a learning for us. He’s probably achieved every award, every kind of accomplishment there is to achieve, but till date he does his riyaz and that’s something that I think has really stayed with me, other than the million other things. Also, working on your voice- because as actors, you’re doing your acting workshops, you’re going to your dance classes and your gym, but a very important tool for an actor is your voice. And I remember him saying that, you know, all of us have this habit of doing this (watch video to understand), which actually stresses your vocal cords. So there was an exercise that we would start our day with every single day of that workshop which actually warms up and wakes up your vocal cords.
Q. And what were your takeaways from Boman Irani in The Mehta Boys?
A. How lucky am I, right? I feel very blessed that I’ve this opportunity to work with them! Mehta Boys was like going to film school because he himself is an institution of acting.
We have this idea of a very stereotypical empowered girl, and Boman sir explained to me how empowerment or being strong headed doesn’t necessarily mean being aggressive. You can be gentle and you can be empowered. You can be strong in your silences as well. So little inputs like those helped a lot.
Q. Previously you had shared on social media about how you suffered from a slip disc and the role Hrithik Roshan played in getting you better.
A. So basically I was extremely, overweight, more so because I was stress eating. As a result I started developing health issues and one of them was a slip disc. And what people are not aware of is that you can get a slip disc at any age. It’s not age specific. I was in a lot of pain and it was self inflicted. So that’s when I decided to take things into my own hands. Be it the food I was eating or just basic movements of going for a walk and working out or going for dance class.
And it was tough because when you’re at a particular weight and you’re trying to start something, it’s not easy because you keep slipping over there. And then I remember coming across an article where Hrithik spoke about just not his physical obstacles, if I may call it that, but even his speech impediment and all of those things he spoke about. And when you see him, you can never imagine any of those things, so that just blew my mind. And I really look up to him since I was a little girl. So I was like, okay, you know what? If he can do it, I can do it. It was one of those things. And that’s what again fueled the fire within me to kind of start my journey with fitness. It was a long drawn process, but I eventually struck a balance where it became a part of my lifestyle.
Q. You’re not from a filmy family, so how did the transition into acting happen? What were your parents reactions like?
A. I got a call for an ad audition in my second year of college – I went and I gave that audition and I landed the part. And then of course I told my parents. But when I set foot on a set for the first time, which was for a commercial, I realised this was where I belong. And I mustered up the courage, told my parents that this is what I want to do, and they were not for it. They were like, ‘Are you crazy? What do you mean? Where does this come from suddenly?’
So then it was a battle, a short battle. I’ll say now they are my biggest support system. But yes, that’s how it kind of started.
Q. What can you tell us about your future film or web series projects?
A. Right now, unfortunately, I’m not in the place to speak about any of them, but I just want the audiences to know that I’m not going anywhere. They’re going to be seeing a lot of me, and hopefully they’ll be enjoying all of it!
