Rasika Duggal hopes Mirzapur’s loyal OTT fans will flock to theaters
Actress Rasika Duggal said that returning to Mirzapur for its film version felt exciting and calming. He said that the move from streaming to theaters and seeing Beena Tripathi again brought both curiosity and trepidation.
Excited about actress Rasika Duggal’s return to the world MirzapurBut this time on the big screen. In an exclusive chat with India Today, the actor talks about being a part of what he believes is a first for the Indian entertainment industry, the grueling schedule of shooting the series, reuniting with the original team and the pressure of living up to the expectations of the franchise’s loyal fan base.
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calling Mirzapur: The Movie A historic moment, Rasika said she was thrilled to be a part of a project that is charting new territory. “I’m very excited that I’m part of something that’s happening for the first time in our country, in our industry, where a series is being made into a film. I think it’s happened in the West. peaky blinders This is something that happened after the series ended. The reverse has also happened in the West, where a film has been made into a series. But this is happening for the first time in our country. So I’m very excited to be a part of this,” she said.
The actress admitted that she is equally curious about how the audience will accept the shift from OTT to theatres. He added, “I’m very curious to see how audiences receive it and I hope our loyal streaming audiences come to theaters as well.”
While the cast and crew remained unchanged, Rasika revealed that the experience of shooting the film was quite different from the series. “The crew was exactly the same. It’s just that we had more time to shoot. In the series, I feel like something is falling on my head because I’m shooting five or six scenes a day. I’m just finishing one, and I don’t know what happened. I’m barely grappling with what happened before I’ve gone into a room to change a saree and gone back into another scene. It almost feels like I’m doing a theater show where It almost feels like you’re going into the wings and coming back. And it feels very heavy,” she recalled.
He also remembers sharing that feeling with co-star Divyendu Sharma during the first season. “I remember talking to Divyendu when we were shooting Season 1. We just got two minutes to sit, and Divyendu looked at me and said, ‘Man, it’s not getting any darkerIsn’t this getting a little too dark?)’ I said, ‘Thanks for clarifying that,’ because I was too tired to even explain it,” she said.
According to Rasika, the film’s schedule allowed the actors to immerse themselves more deeply in their performances. The actor said, “Those were tiring days. The film was quiet. We had more time to shoot. We were shooting maybe two or three scenes a day, sometimes just two, but not five. That was the only thing that was different.”
In addition to the relaxing schedule, she relished reunions with familiar colleagues. “Otherwise, it was the same co-actors. It’s nice to have some of them back. The same directors, who I love so much. It’s great to shoot with the same director for so many years. You grow up with that person. It’s just like that.”
Praising writer Punit Krishna, Rasika said, “Punit Krishna, our dear writer – only Punit can write Mirzapur Because he created this world. He really knows the ins and outs of it, and he writes amazing content. So I’m very excited to see what comes of it.”
When asked whether there is pressure to live up to the expectations of the audience? Mirzapur Rasika, one of India’s most loved streaming shows, said she has full faith in the audience. “I have a lot of confidence in our audience. I know they’ll come back and see us and hopefully they’ll still love us.” Mirzapur The audience is very loyal. They’re so sweet,” the 41-year-old said.
Watch the teaser of Mirzapur: The Movie:
However, he admitted that returning to Beena Tripathi was not entirely easy. “I must say, I was nervous this time. Usually, I have the ‘eternal sunshine of an immaculate mind’, and I forget what I did before. The problem this time was that because it’s set in a different timeline and you’ve already shot for something that happened after that, it was hard to forget. That’s what was bothering me,” she said.
Rasika explained why revisiting a character across multiple seasons presents a unique challenge that films don’t usually do. “It happens in series too. Normally, when you shoot a film, it’s complete. Then you’ve promoted, you’ve talked about the character, and it’s fine. You’re not going to go back to it. Speaking about your work is very different from doing it. It’s almost like you talk about half of it, and I’m always very scared of that,” the actor said.
He further added, “You’ve talked a lot about character, and talking about a role is like defining it in a certain way. Playing a role is really about moving away from definitions. It’s not about putting it in one place. It’s not about expressing it through three words or four words. It’s about exploring different sides of it. In fact, the beauty of doing this kind of work is that you’re not able to express it.”
The actress admitted that returning to a character after extensive publicity can be confusing, but the experience has taught her to embrace it. “After the expression, when you have to go back to that character, it becomes a little confusing. But we’ve done it for three seasons now Delhi Crime And Mirzapur. The best way to deal with it I’ve learned is to accept it. ‘That’s it, it’s done, now you work with it.’ He should deny that there is no need Because they can’t even do thatThere’s no point in denying it because you can’t do it anyway). You can’t forget what you’ve done,” she said.
Mirzapur: The Movie It is set to release in theaters on September 4.