DNA Exclusive: Harshita Gaur said no when she was offered 'Mirzapur' initially

After earning fame with 'Sadda Haq', Harshita Gaur accepted an offer with 'Mirzapur'. The journey, by her own confession, was not something she was too keen on taking upon when she first came across the project. What happened to 'Mirzapur' now is a different story altogether.

Harshita had said no to the much-anticipated web show initially for her own reasons. She however then played Guddu bhaiya's sister Dimpy, who did have a comparatively smaller role as compared to 'Sadda Haq'. Gaur however says there's a surprise for her fans in the second season of Mirzapur.

From saying no to 'Mirzapur', to now being one of the powerful protagonists in 'Mirzapur 2', Harshita sure has come a long way. PS: She also talks about the scene with Munna bhaiya and audience reaction to it when the trailer released.

Here are some excerpts from her interview:

How has your lockdown been?

It was good. I discovered the good things of life and discovered life in general. And also, I took up this instrument flute. I also learnt that I can cook, even if it is just to save my life.

You are best remembered for Sadda Haq, which was all about you. After that, what made you say yes to Mirzapur despite a smaller role?

(Jokes) I always knew it was going to be a super hit (laughs). I actually did say no to it. I thought I didn't want to do it. The project came to me from an assistant director. He asked me to meet the director and then take a call. And then I went and met them. That's when I really realized the script because of the way they narrated me things. They simply told me what the show is about. It was a very good vibe and good energy. I was anyway looking to shift the pattern and I wanted to do a project based thing. So I just went with it after that. And I'm so glad I did.

Dimpy had her shades - she was the sweet yet daring person. Does that shade continue with Mirzapur 2 as well?

The trait of standing with the right is still there. But of course, now the decisions could be different. Because now it's it's the whole atmosphere and the reality has shifted. But that is the whole conflict, like how would you go about it? Considering that, considering that the wild kind of values that she's, she's grown up with? And now the scenario so yeah, that's a very interesting conflict.

Will we see Dimpy turn as strong as Sanyukta?

I think Sanyukta already had the strength, while Dimpy discovers hers in the journey. I would like to credit my writers for the powerful character like Dimpy. The strength I mean is when you make a decision and stand up for yourself.

Were you originally offered the role of Dimpy only?

I was actually the last to be casted on the show. Everybody else was finalized and they had trained for the role already, when I was brought in. In fact, there were some changes in the script after I was locked to make my character a certain way. When my writer first saw me, he was worried if I could pull off Dimpy, but when I dressed up, he was sure about it.

How did you prepare for it?

It was a lot of mental preparation especially because of the brilliant actors I was cast with. I took a lot of readings and then I turned into Dimpy.

There is a scene from the trailer which has raised quite a speculation. It is believed that you and Munna are lovers. How did you react to that?

You know, it's very weird, because even after watching the show, I got like comments like, you know, we want to see you and Munna, and to a point where I think my writers have probably considered all these things. It's very interesting actually that they wanted to see Munna, you know, the villain and me, who is on the opposite side, together. It was surprising for me also, to go through those comments where they would want to see Dimpy and Munna together.

There were talks about boycotting the show. What was your reaction? Did you go out and try to talk to someone?

No, I didn't just feel the need. Because I think right now, everyone has an opinion on everything. And I don't know, people who want to boycott will boycott if they really want to, and people who want to see will see. And what I know is a lot of people want to see it. So I think I want to stick to that happy feeling rather than think about whether some people want to want to boycott the show. Like that's my least concern right now, it really doesn't matter. I know a lot of people want to watch it so I want to stay with that feeling.

After Mirzapur, you were also seen in Kanpuriye, which was another show with raw, rural kind of setup. Do you want to explore this genre for some time?

I think I'm just trying to work on what I think the audiences will be interested in. They currently want to watch such a genre so I'm working on them. Of course I want to be a versatile actor and so I would want to work on other genres too, but with time.

Param Singh said that he misses you and the whole team of Sadda Haq. Did you guys catch up, do we see a collaboration again?

Yes, we're friends, so we keep meeting. I would love to collaborate with Param again. I think he's a great actor and it would be pleasure.

What other projects do you have at hand?

There's nothing concrete that I could talk about.