Rasika Dugal says her Mirzapur character is villainised while men are 'revered' for doing same things

Rasika Dugal talks to Hindustan Times about the polarising reaction her character's actions get in Mirzapur The Movie. Spoilers ahead!

For eight years, across three seasons and now a blockbuster film, Rasika Dugal has lived and breathed Beena Tripathi. The unconventional homemaker-turned-femme fatale has divided fans since she appeared in Mirzapur season 1 in November 2018. Over the years, she - and Rasika - has earned fans and also faced criticism. And now, as Mirzapur The Movie presents the character in a new light, Rasika sits down with Hindustan Times to discuss the response to her character and the supposed double standards of the audience.

‘People are open to revering men, not women’

In Mirzapur: The Movie, Beena rekindles her romance with Birju Lohar (a new character played by Mohitt Maalik), even conspiring to kill her husband, Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi). But as their plans are waylaid, Beena disowns Birju to protect herself. This act from the climax has been one of the talking points for the viewers since the film released two weeks ago. Many have praised the twist, but others have unleashed hate on Beena’s character.

When we point out that Beena earns hate for killing one man, while Munna Tripathi (played by Divyenndu) is still a much-loved character despite murdering many, Rasika smiles and says, “This is very typical of a patriarchal society. I face it all the time, because when you are public-facing, you receive it more. People have reverence for men in general, not just film characters. I would include myself, too. People are open to revering men, and not women. Anything that a woman does is questionable, and everything a man does is heroic and excusable. That is the trend of this society. That’s what we have questioned and fought for so long.”

‘My way of fighting it’

Rasika admits that she knows this aspect of people’s thinking will not completely go away. But she adds that taking on characters like Beena helps her fight it in her own way “I don’t think that will ever go away, but through these characters, I just get a glimpse into how the cycle of patriarchy is very difficult to get out of. It is often very discouraging, but it is a long battle. This is my one way of fighting it,” she says.

The actor also adds that she is largely told about the hate by others. “But that is not the only narrative about her,” she affirms. “Because I get a lot of love too. I get comments saying, ‘More power to you!’ I want that narrative to be recognised too.”

Mirzapur The Movie also stars Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyenndu, and Ravi Kishan. The film is running in theatres, and has earned over ₹280 crore worldwide in under two weeks.

- Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More