Actor Rasika Dugal has spoken about what she sees as a striking gender double standard in audience reactions to her Mirzapur character Beena Tripathi, saying women were often villainised for behaviour for which male characters were admired or excused. Dugal, who has played Beena since the crime drama debuted in 2018, said the contrasting responses reflected attitudes extending beyond fictional characters and into society itself. Her comments came as Mirzapur: The Movie brought Beena back in a new chapter of the franchise and once again triggered debate around the character’s choices.
‘Men are revered’
In the film, Beena rekindles her relationship with Birju Lohar, played by Mohitt Malik, and conspires with him to kill her husband Kaleen Bhaiya, portrayed by Pankaj Tripathi. When their plans unravel, however, Beena disowns Birju to protect herself — a development that has divided viewers since the film’s release. While some audiences praised the twist, others directed criticism at Beena. Dugal contrasted the reaction with the popularity enjoyed by male characters such as Munna Tripathi, played by Divyenndu, despite the violence and murders associated with him throughout the franchise.
Dugal described the response as typical of a patriarchal society, arguing that audiences were often more willing to revere men while scrutinising similar behaviour by women. She said actions by female characters tended to be questioned while those of men could more easily be treated as heroic or excusable. The actor added that the tendency was not confined to cinema and acknowledged that even she was not entirely outside the social conditioning that produced such attitudes.
Fighting through characters
Dugal said choosing characters such as Beena allowed her to confront these attitudes through her work, even though she did not expect deeply embedded patriarchal thinking to disappear quickly. Playing such women, she said, offered her a glimpse into how difficult it was to break out of that cycle. While the battle could sometimes be discouraging, she regarded portraying unconventional and morally complicated women as one way of challenging it.
The actor also stressed that criticism was only one part of the audience response to Beena. She said she had received considerable affection and encouragement for the character, including messages supporting Beena and celebrating the way she was portrayed. Dugal said she wanted that side of the response to be recognised as well rather than allowing hostility towards the character to dominate the conversation.
Mirzapur: The Movie also stars Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyenndu and Ravi Kishan. The film, which is currently running in theatres, has collected more than Rs 280 crore worldwide in less than two weeks.