Preeti Panigrahi

Some Lesser Known Facts About Preeti Panigrahi

• Preeti Panigrahi was born and grew up in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

• She belongs to a family with no prior film and entertainment industry background. She has started participating in theatre plays since a very young age.

  

• While studying at the Amity International School, Preeti was an all-rounder and excelled in academics, arts, and leadership.

• She also served as the head girl of the school.

• During her school years, Preeti was recognised for her acting, dancing, singing, photography, and public speaking skills.

• Her passion for creativity led her to join Bal Bhawan at National Thermal Power Corporation, Noida.

• In 2015, Preeti was honoured with the National Balshree Honour by India’s Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), making her the only child in her age group to receive the award that year.

• After completing school, Preeti refined her acting skills by participating in various productions by the National School of Drama pass-outs and the prestigious Asmita Theatre Group, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi. She has earned numerous best actor awards in theatre.

• While studying at Hindu College, University of Delhi, she was deeply involved in the college theatre group and enhanced her acting skills.

• She has also directed and assisted various theatre productions at the Ibtida The Dramatics Society of Hindu College.

  

• In 2021, Preeti featured in the list of 21 notable students of the Delhi University.

• After her graduation in 2022, she pursued a postgraduate diploma in Animation and Cinema from the renowned Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, Kolkata.

• She has attended a film appreciation workshop at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and a course Film, Images & Historical Interpretation in the 20th Century: The Camera Never Lies from the University of London.

• Panigrahi’s major breakthrough came in 2022, when she bagged the lead role of Mira in the film Girls Will Be Girls (2024), after responding to an open call in 2022.

• For the audition, she had to send a video showing what she was like in high school. Since she had been the head girl at school, she used her own experiences to play the character of Mira.

• Before film shooting began, she prepared for the role by participating in workshops with casting director Dilip Shankar.

• In 2024, her film Girls Will Be Girls (2024) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The film was one of only 16 selected worldwide films for the festival’s prestigious World Cinema Dramatic Competition.

  

• Preeti’s performance in the film gained her worldwide recognition. She also won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

  

• After seeing her performance, Critic Anupama Chopra wrote,

Panigrahi is the find of the year. Without a trace of strain or drama, she captures the myriad emotionc coursing through Mira as she discovers passion, sexuality, unbridled rage, a twisted sort of jealousy, resentment, disappointment, and eventually, comfort”.

• Along with acting, Preeti is also interested in writing and film direction. In an interview, she mentioned that,

 I love direction and making things. I’m also collaborating with a lot of photographers and, with each shoot, I’m realising how powerful image making is. There are a couple of ideas and write-ups on the way. In the coming months, I would want to shoot something, maybe a short film.”

• In December 2025, at the Filmfare OTT Awards 2025, Preeti Panigrahi won the Best Actor (female) Critics’ Web Original Film award for the film Girls Will Be Girls (2024).