Mithila Palkar

Mithila Palkar (born 11 January 1993) is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films and web series. She has received several awards, including a Filmfare Award Marathi and two Filmfare OTT Awards.

Palkar made her acting debut with the Marathi short film Majha Honeymoon (2014) and then expanded to Hindi films Katti Batti (2015). Palkar then rose to prominence with her Marathi version of the "cup song". She is best known for her role in the television show Girl in the City (2016–2021) and the web series Little Things (2016–2021). The latter earned her Filmfare OTT Awards for Best Actress – Comedy Series and Best Actress Critics – Comedy Series. She earned the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – Marathi for her performance in Muramba (2017). Her other notable films include Karwaan (2018) and Tribhanga (2021).

Early life Palkar was born on 11 January 1993 into a Marathi family. She initially lived in Vasai with her parents but she and her sister later moved to live in Dadar with her maternal grandparents due to inconveniences of daily commute. She comes from a family with no actors, and her grandfather initially did not approve of her decision to act. Her sister holds a PhD in Neuroscience Palkar first acted while in Class VII in an inter-school drama competition. She admits being a "nerd" but was always active in dramatics, dancing and singing during her school days at IES's Modern English School, Dadar. She pursued science in higher secondary but chose to pursue a Bachelors of Mass Media (BMM) at MMK College, Bandra, after that to be involved with films and theatre. After graduating in 2013, Palkar gave her first audition to Quasar Padamsee of Quasar Theatre Productions (QTP). The audition did not get her the role but Quasar gave her a job backstage, managing their theatre festival, Thespo. Palkar has previously trained in Hindustani classical music (by the Marathi singer Varsha Bhave), The film did not do well

Meanwhile, Dhruv Sehgal, who met Palkar at Thespo (QTP's annual theatre festival), asked her to audition for Filter Copy's new satire show on YouTube called News Darshan. She not only succeeded in that audition but also went on to do her first web series called Girl in the City in 2016 for Bindass and a number of YouTube videos for Pocket Aces. One of these is a web series called Little Things alongside Sehgal since 2017, Netflix purchased the franchise of Little Things in 2018 and its second season premiered on Netflix on 5 October 2018. The third season of Little Things premiered on 9 November 2019. The fourth and final season of Little Things premiered on 15 October 2021.

In 2017, she appeared in two plays, Tunni Ki Kahani (a children's musical) and Aaj Rang Hai (a Hindustani musical) with the theatre group called Aarambh. 2018 saw Palkar playing her first lead role in a Hindi film called Karwaan, alongside Irrfan Khan, Dulquer Salmaan and Kriti Kharbanda. The film released on 3 August 2018.

In 2019, she acted in Chopsticks, a Netflix original film, directed by Sachin Yardi. In the film, she played role of an under-confident girl named Nirma (after the washing powder brand) whose life changes when she meets a con man, played by Abhay Deol. She later acted with Dhruv Sehgal in Taco Bell's digital campaign for their new product Quesalupa (a crossover between a chalupa and a quesadilla that is filled with cheese) titled #TheCheesyPull. Palkar's next project was the Netflix film Tribhanga, directed by Renuka Shahane, featuring Tanvi Azmi and Kajol. The film began shooting in October 2019.

Other work and media image

Palkar grew popular overnight in March 2016 with her version of the "cup song", inspired by Anna Kendrick's cup song from Pitch Perfect. The video featured her performing the popular Marathi song "Hi Chal Turu Turu" (sung originally by Jaywant Kulkarni) in the cup song style. Mithila's cup song went viral on YouTube with more than 6 million views. in association with Bharatiya Digital Party (BhaDiPa), which was released on 1 May 2016 on YouTube on the occasion of Maharashtra Day.

Palkar is a celebrity endorser for brands such as Maggi, Tata Tea and Zomato.

Filmography Films Year Title Role Language Notes Ref. 2014 Majha Honeymoon Rujuta Marathi Short film 2015 Katti Batti Koyal Kabra Hindi 2017 Muramba Indu Marathi 2018 Karwaan Tanya Hindi 2019 Chopsticks Nirma Sahastrabudhe 2020 A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting Babysitter from India English Cameo appearance; American film 2021 Tribhanga Masha HindiEnglishMarathi Trilingual film 2022 Ori Devuda Anu Paulraj Telugu 2025 Sweet Dreams DiaHindi Saale Aashiq GudiaTV movie Oho Enthan Baby Meera Tamil 2026 Happy Patel: Khatarnak Jasoos Rupa Hindi Bhooth Bangla Meera Acharya TBA Filming

Television

Theatre Year Title Group Ref.2017 Tunni Ki KahaniAarambh

Awards and nominations YearAwardCategory Work Result Ref. 2017 Filmfare Marathi Awards Best Female Debut – Marathi Muramba 2018 Zee Chitra Gaurav Puraskar Best Playback Singer – Female 2019 IReel Awards Best Actress - Comedy Little Things Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actress in Comedy / Romance 2020 Filmfare OTT Awards Best Actress - Comedy Series 2021 Best Supporting Actress - Web Originals Tribhanga 2022 Best Actress - Comedy SeriesLittle Things Best Actress Critics - Comedy Series Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Best Actress in a Series 2023 Bollywood Hungama Style Icons Most Stylish Digital Entertainer (Female) 2023 South Indian International Movie Awards Best Female Debut – Telugu Ori Devuda