Mithila Palkar has played the quintessential girl-next-door, an image established by her projects Little Things, Girl In The City and Karwaan (2018). But as the actor progresses in her career, does she feel that the image is also turning into a stumbling block? What if she wants to play a negative role someday, but the makers don’t consider her fit?

“It will be so nice and fun if I play a negative role in a story as no one will really believe that it is me,” says the 30-year-old. She adds, “It was a little bit of a [stumbling block initially], as people typecast you quickly. But I don’t think I have ever looked at it as, ‘Oh my God, now I have to overcome this!’. I have done characters very similar to me or unlike me here and there. But now, I want to play roles that I don’t recognize or relate to.”

Last seen in the Telugu film Ori Devuda (2022), Palkar says she is actively trying for different kinds of roles: “I have started looking for, accepting and auditioning for things that I feel would give me an opportunity to play that person. People think of me as someone who’d play the girl-next-door characters. But, I’m consciously trying to do different things now and explore my acting potential, too.”

Ori Devuda was her first outing down south. Has she got more offers? The actor reveals, “I wouldn’t say a lot, but I have got some offers. But it’s not like the floodgates have opened. The love that I have received [for my Telugu debut] has been heartwarming. Even if I put a normal post on social media, fans comment with my character’s name under it.”