Rasika Dugal picks her favourite in Delhi Crime Season 3, ‘We did it out of love for the work’

Rasika Dugal is probably the only actress who has championed Netflix and Amazon Prime Video at the same time. She moved viewers with her malice in Mirzapur. Then, she stunned us with her grit in Delhi Crime.

Check out her candid conversation with LiveMint’s Sounak Mukhopadhyay.

Q: In Delhi Crime Season 3, you reprised ACP Neeti Singh. How did you prepare for the emotional depth required to portray a character going through a divorce while navigating police complexities?

A: The joy in the work is to try and create a world around the character you are playing and stay away from thinking about playing an emotion. It is really about equipping yourself with experiences, knowledge and material to build a world around your character. And the rest is left to the director's vision and that magical moment between action and cut.

I have been shadowing the same police officer since Season 1. I go back to meet her every season, and that experience has expanded my world in so many ways. Not only has it made me familiar with police protocol, but it has also given me insights into what the professional life of the officer I am playing might look like.

On any given day, you could be dealing with something as banal as a spat between two neighbours and a few hours later, you could be doing a murder interrogation.

We started filming Season 1 in January 2018, so it’s been seven years now. It has been the most special journey to experience Neeti Singh’s growth alongside my own and that of the police officer I follow.

Q: How did it feel to be part of a show like Delhi Crime that insists on empathy over easy condemnation, and what do you think sets this series apart in Indian television?​​

A: I think the strength of the series lies in its ability to balance the chase to solve a case with the telling of seemingly smaller stories that highlight essential aspects of the society we live in, particularly how we treat women on a daily basis.

Q: What was the most memorable feedback you received from fans or critics about your role in Delhi Crime, especially in Season 3?

I have always delighted in the details! My heart swells every time someone notices a detail that may seem inconsequential but has been carefully considered.

I think my favourite detail is 'the shrug' in the Neeti and Devinder scenes. It was there the first time they met in Season 1.

Tanuj Chopra (director of Season 2 and 3), Aakash Dahiya (actor who plays Devinder) and I decided to include it in their meetings every season as a very subtle callback.

In Delhi Crime Season 3, you’ll find it in a very moving moment when they meet for the last time. It was one of those things we did out of love for the work. I didn't think anyone would notice it consciously. But, many did! And, I was thrilled about that.

Someone sent me a message: “Neeti is the beating heart of this season”. And, that stayed with me.

On a lighter note, someone hilariously said to us, “Aap log to policewaalon se bhi zyaada police waale lagte ho (You people look like police more than police themselves).”

Q: Looking back at your screen debut in Anwar and roles in films like No Smoking and Aurangzeb, what do you cherish most about your initial journey in the industry?​

A: I cherish how the people I worked with encouraged me. Almost all the directors I worked with (mostly in blink-and-miss roles across 14 films) took note of my work and made an effort to communicate that to me. It might not have translated into more work directly or immediately. But, it gave me the confidence and the much-needed encouragement to power through endless rejections that were almost a daily staple at that time.

Also, it’s the sense of humour with which we faced rejection. I used to live in a flat with four other roommates (my batchmates from the Film Institute, FTII). We would all go for daily meetings and do the hustle to get work. And, more often than not, we would come back with varying degrees and forms of rejection.

But, we laughed our way through most of them. I marvel at that sometimes. Those were not very easy days... surviving in an expensive city like Bombay, struggling to make money for rent. Yet we did this with a spirit and a sense of humour.

Q: Mirzapur’s Beena Tripathi became an iconic character. What nuances did you integrate into Beena’s portrayal to evoke such a strong response from viewers?

A: I would love to take credit for it. But, it was really in the writing. Puneet Krishna wrote this deliciously-devious character. I had so much fun discovering my way around her and learning things about myself through her. Beena allows me to go to places I wouldn't allow myself to go to. I live vicariously through her.

Q: From Humorously Yours​ to Mirzapur to Shekhar Home, has the world of web series offered you depth and diversity, unlike in films?

A: The films I had done didn't lack in depth or diversity - I shot for three very diverse and beautiful films in a span of a year - Manto, Hamid and Lootcase. The work in the series' space gave me a wider audience, though.

Mirzapur and Delhi Crime were released within a few months of each other. There couldn't be two roles as different from each other as Beena Tripathi in Mirzapur and Neeti Singh in Delhi Crime.

It gave me the opportunity to explore and showcase my versatility. Both shows resonated with people in very different ways. And, both continue to have a very loyal audience.