Actress Harshita Gaur played Dimpy Pandit, Guddu and Babloo Pandit’s sister, in the Amazon Prime Video series Mirzapur. She is now gearing up for Mirzapur: The Movie which is set to hit screens next week. In an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, Harshita revealed that Mirzapur: The Movie has a major connection to two episodes in season one. She also spoke about Vikrant Massey being replaced by Jitendra Kumar in the film, why she initially turned down the project, and her real-life connection to Mirzapur.

‘When the film ends, you will see how it merges with the other seasons’

At Mirzapur: The Movie’s trailer launch, the makers said that even those who have not watched the series can watch the film without feeling disconnected. Talking about the movie, Harshita said, “People had never seen something like Mirzapur before, and they have been hooked. Every time we feel that now that it’s been three seasons, how will the audience react, they amaze us with their reaction. We didn’t feel like a movie could ever be made. The film has to go back to season 1, so the universe has to be kept in mind. This new universe is a block between episode 6 and episode 7 of season 1. When the film ends, you will see how it merges with the other seasons. Also, there are a few things that have been happening in characters’ lives that may have happened before the season existed. So you will connect the dots as to why something happened in season one based on what happened previously.”

Story continues below this ad

Since the film goes back to season one, Vikrant Massey, who played Babloo Pandit initially, has been replaced by Jitendra Kumar in the movie. Talking about this, Harshita said, “There is no secret around Vikrant not returning as Babloo. Jitendra is playing the role; why Vikrant is not there, I don’t know, but Jitu has become Babloo seamlessly. People who love Vikrant will still love him, but I guarantee they won’t be able to say that Jitu didn’t fit the part. They will miss Vikrant, but also love Jitu as a performer.”

‘Said no to Mirzapur initially’

While Harshita Gaur’s role is limited in Mirzapur: The Movie, she explained that the Mirzapur world is such that the length of a role doesn’t matter; its impact does. She shared that initially she misjudged the show and rejected it. “When they called me for season 1, I had said no to the show. At that time, OTT was very new; there was no concept of character actors. I had done a show called Sadda Haq where I was the protagonist, so I said I was not interested in playing anybody’s sister. I hung up the call because of my limited knowledge about what this could become, even without hearing the script,” Harshita said.

She further added, “I had different notions in my head; I wanted to do films. When I was called to the Excel office, I went there thinking I would bump into Ritesh or Farhan and they would sign me for a film. The day I stepped into that office, it had a great energy. I sat with my director Gurmeet Singh, Karan Anshuman, and the writer Puneet Krishna. They never tried to sell me the part, but explained what it was. Had I not done the role, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. I was amazed at how the women characters were shown in this story. The film is also male-dominated, but every female character brings something to the table.”

Harshita Gaur’s real-life Mirzapur connection

Few know that Harshita Gaur has a personal connection to Mirzapur-it is her maternal hometown. The actress shared how she has seen guns in her home and said, “I belong to Mirzapur; it’s my maternal grandparents’ home. When we visited there as kids, I saw guns. My grandfather had left the town, my grandmother was fighting a case there, and at one point we were told that we could not be seen in Mirzapur. If she was seen, she would be shot on sight. But it’s not all bad. Everywhere there is a good side and a bad side. However, I have seen guns in my house, so when I did the project, my parents had no reservations.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Excel Entertainment (@excelmovies) 

She added, “Initially, the writers didn’t know about my Mirzapur connection; they learned about my real-life Mirzapur connection later. Even Puneetji is from UP, so we would have fun discussing things.”

Story continues below this ad

Mirzapur: The Movie stars Ali Fazal, Divyyendu, Pankaj Tripathi, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, Anangsha Biswas, Sheeba Chadha and Harshita Gaur, reprising their roles from the series. Jitendra Kumar, Sonal Chauhan, Ravi Kishan, Mohit Malik, and Sushant Singh are the new additions to the cast. The film is directed by Gurmeet Singh, written by Puneet Krishna, and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excelt Entertainment. Mirzapur: The Movie releases on September 4.