Actress Anangsha Biswas, who returns as Zarina in the much-awaited Mirzapur film, says the overwhelming response to the trailer has left the cast “hakka-bakka”. While Zarina’s popularity has brought her immense recognition, Anangsha admits that the character has also led to an uncomfortable perception among some viewers, who began confusing her on-screen persona with her real personality.
Mirzapur film trailer
Speaking about the response to the trailer, Anangsha told Hindi Rush, “I think the right word to describe it is ‘bhaukaal’. Bhaukaal hi chal raha hai. Trailer aane ke baad logon ka jo pyaar mil raha hai aur itna excitement hai, matlab kya hi bolun. Hum hakka-bakka ho gaye hain ki Mirzapur ke trailer ke liye itna achha aur itna warm response hai. Hum saare bahut khush hain.” (“I think the right word to describe it is ‘bhaukaal’. The bhaukaal is going strong. The amount of love and excitement people are showing after the trailer… I don’t even know what to say. We are honestly overwhelmed by the warm response. We are all very happy.”)For Anangsha, returning to Zarina after several years was not as easy as it might appear. She believes maintaining the same character over multiple seasons itself is a challenge.“Pehli baat toh lagataar ek hi character nibhana, itne saalon tak, apne aap mein ek struggle hai. Aapko us character ko maintain karna padega. Logon ko lagta hai ki ye toh bahut easy hai, lekin itna easy nahi hai, same character ko itne saalon se nibhana.” (“First of all, consistently playing the same character for so many years is a struggle in itself. You have to maintain that character. People think it is very easy, but it really isn’t.”)The actress was particularly excited when she learnt that Mirzapur was being adapted into a film.“Mujhe laga tha ki pehli baar India mein aisa ho raha hai ki ek web show movie mein tabdeel ho raha hai. It was very exciting. Humein laga ki ye bahut badi cheez ho rahi hai.” (“I thought it was the first time in India that a web show was being converted into a movie. It was very exciting. We felt that something really big was happening.”)However, returning to the Season 1 timeline meant that Anangsha had to physically transform herself. Having gained weight for Season 3, she was asked by director Gurmeet Singh to lose it for the film.The process, she revealed, took a toll on her health.“Us weight loss ke chakkar mein, kyunki bahut kam time mein weight loss karna tha, hum hospital pahunch gaye. Matlab, jab aap film dekh rahe honge toh pata nahi chalega, lekin main actually beemar hoon.” (“Because I had to lose weight in a very short period, I ended up in the hospital. When you watch the film, you probably won’t realise it, but I was actually unwell.”)
Weight loss and diet
Anangsha had only around four months to lose weight and underwent heavy weight training while following a boiled-food diet.“Workout toh bahut kiya. Bahut heavy weight training ki. Khaane-peene par boiled diet par chali gayi thi, toh woh thoda backfire ho gaya.” (“I worked out a lot and did very heavy weight training. I also switched to a boiled-food diet, and that actually backfired a little.”)The actress says she isn’t exactly a foodie but enjoys food because she is Bengali.“Foodie toh nahi hoon, lekin Bengali hoon toh khaana pasand hai. Aisa nahi hai ki bahut zyada khaati hoon. Jitna pet le sake, utna hi khaate hain.” (“I’m not really a foodie, but I’m Bengali, so I do like food. It’s not that I eat excessively. I eat as much as my stomach can take.”)
Mirzapur ka set humare liye ghar hai
Despite the scale of the film, Anangsha says the atmosphere on the set did not feel dramatically different from the series.“Mirzapur is like homecoming. Hum ghar wapas aate hain. Mirzapur ka set humare liye ghar hai.” (“Mirzapur feels like homecoming. We feel like we’re coming back home. The Mirzapur set is home for us.”)Having worked together for years, the cast has developed an understanding that allows them to focus on improving scenes rather than competing with each other.“Scene kaise badhiya banaayein, poori cheez kaise dikhegi, har kirdaar ko kaise aur behtar bana sakein—yahi sab rehta hai. Samay ke saath-saath hum aur better ho rahe hain. Aur zyada improvise ho gaye hain, nikhar ke aaye hain.” (“We focus on how to make the scene better, how the whole thing will look and how to make every character better. With time, we’ve become better, more comfortable improvising and have evolved as actors.”)
Working with Ravi Kishan
Anangsha admits that she was nervous before working with Ravi Kishan on their long scene.“Main bahut nervous thi, kyunki Ravi sir is Ravi sir. Unhone itna kaam kiya hai aur woh humse senior hain.” (“I was very nervous because Ravi sir is Ravi sir. He has done so much work and is senior to us.”)But the veteran actor quickly put her at ease.“Woh itne achhe insaan hain aur itne… is a kid. Woh bachche hain. Unka jo enthusiasm hai, woh ek bachche ki tarah hai. Woh aapko itna comfortable kar denge ki aapko lagega hi nahi ki arre, Ravi sir saamne baithe hain.” (“He is such a wonderful person and actually like a kid. His enthusiasm is like that of a child. He makes you so comfortable that you don’t feel like you’re sitting in front of Ravi sir.”)Anangsha revealed that Ravi Kishan also complimented her acting, telling her, “Tumhari aankhon mein mehsoosiyat hai.” (“There is a certain feeling in your eyes.”)“Main theatre karke aayi hoon, toh unka yeh samajhna mere liye bahut badi baat thi. Unke saath screen share karna aur unse seekhna bahut khaas tha. Woh itne sahaj actor hain, paani ki tarah hain.”(“I come from theatre, so for me, it was a big deal that he noticed that. Sharing the screen with him and learning from him was very special. He is such an effortless actor, like water.”)Praising Ravi Kishan’s humility, Anangsha said that remaining grounded at the peak of fame is what makes a person truly endearing.“Ek kahawat hai ki jis ped mein bahut phal hote hain, woh ped jhuka hua rehta hai. Jab aap us peak par hon aur apni achchai, jo insaan aap hain, bina dikhaave ke wahi rahen, toh woh sabko pyaara lagta hai.” (“There is a saying that the tree with the most fruit bends the lowest. When you are at the peak and remain true to your goodness and your real personality without pretence, people naturally find that endearing.”)She added, “Jo insaan seekhta rehta hai, woh kabhi boodha nahi hota aur out of fashion bhi nahi hota.” (“A person who keeps learning never grows old and never goes out of fashion.”)
Zarina and JP Yadav’s relationship
Anangsha believes Zarina is extremely ambitious and willing to endure difficulties to get ahead.“Zarina bahut ambitious hai. Woh upar uthna chahti hai. Woh ek bahut hi middle-class family se aati hogi aur usko aage badhna hai. Uske liye woh kuch bhi karegi, jo bhi jhelna padega, woh jhelegi.” (“Zarina is very ambitious. She wants to rise. She probably comes from a very middle-class family and wants to move forward. For that, she will do anything and endure whatever she has to.”)She also praised Pramod Pathak for making difficult scenes easier.“Pramod ji bhi aise actor hain jinke saath jab aap difficult scenes karte hain, toh woh aapko bahut comfortable bana dete hain.” (“Pramod ji is also the kind of actor who makes you very comfortable when you are doing difficult scenes with him.”)
‘Actor ko hamesha humble rehna chahiye’
Anangsha says the camaraderie among the Mirzapur actors is one of the show’s biggest strengths.“Hum saare actors ek-doosre ko comfortable karne mein lage rehte hain. Kisi ko aisa nahi lagna chahiye ki hum unhe one-up kar rahe hain.” (“All of us actors try to make each other comfortable. Nobody should feel that we are trying to one-up them.”)She added, “Mujhe lagta hai ki jab ek actor ke andar ye aa jaata hai ki ‘main toh main hoon’, tab woh khatam ho jaata hai. Actor ko hamesha humble rehna chahiye aur seekhte rehna chahiye.” (“I feel that the moment an actor starts thinking, ‘I am who I am’, that’s when the growth stops. An actor should always remain humble and keep learning.”)
‘Main Zarina jaisi ekdum nahi hoon’
While Mirzapur gave Anangsha immense recognition, it also came with an unexpected downside. After Season 1, she found herself being judged based on Zarina’s personality.“Season One ke baad toh main bahut pareshaan ho gayi thi, kyunki mere liye ye bahut naya tha. Woh comments, ajeeb se mails aur logon ka social media par comment karna… har jagah ek hi tarah ke words ka istemaal.” (“After Season 1, I was very disturbed because it was all very new to me. There were comments, strange emails and people commenting on my social media, with the same kind of words being used everywhere.”)She said she initially struggled to understand why people were responding negatively when she had put so much sincerity into her work.“Main thoda saham gayi thi. Mujhe laga tha ki mere liye mera kaam Saraswati hai aur maine shiddat se apna kaam kiya, toh log ye kyun bol rahe hain?” (“I was a little shaken. I thought my work was my Saraswati and I had done it with complete dedication, so why were people saying these things?”)Over time, however, she learnt to separate criticism of her work from her identity.“Har koi aapke kaam ko sarahe, ye zaroori nahi hai. Everybody cannot like your work. Kuch log pasand karenge, kuch log nahi karenge.” (“Not everyone has to appreciate your work. Everybody cannot like your work. Some people will like it, some won’t.”)Anangsha strongly rejects the idea that her real-life personality resembles Zarina.“Unko lagta hai ki kyunki Mirzapur mein Zarina waisi hai, toh main bhi Zarina jaisi hoon. Jabki main Zarina jaisi ekdum nahi hoon.” (“They think that because Zarina is like that in Mirzapur, I must be like Zarina too. But I am absolutely nothing like Zarina.”)She added, “Main ek padhi-likhi ladki hoon. Main Bengal se aati hoon. Main Rabindranath Tagore aur Satyajit Ray ki dharti se aati hoon. Toh dimaag mein kuch toh hai, khoon mein daudta hai hamare.” (“I am an educated girl. I come from Bengal. I come from the land of Rabindranath Tagore and Satyajit Ray. So there has to be something in the mind—it runs in our blood.”)While she describes herself as ambitious, Anangsha says her approach is very different from Zarina’s.“Main bhi ambitious hoon, lekin mere liye woh raasta aur journey bahut important hai ki mujhe yahan tak pahunchna hai. Woh raasta mere liye bahut mahatvapurn hai, jabki Zarina ke liye nahi hai.” (“I am ambitious too, but for me, the path and journey towards reaching somewhere are very important. That path matters to me, whereas it doesn’t to Zarina.”)
‘Aap ek raat ke kya lengi?’: Anangsha on inappropriate messages
The actress revealed that the confusion between her real personality and Zarina has gone beyond social media comments. She has received deeply uncomfortable emails and messages from people who assumed that her on-screen image reflected her real life.“Log kehte hain, ‘Aap ek raat ke kya lengi? Hamare saath Mauritius aaiye, do din ke liye, ek weekend ke liye.’” (“People say, ‘How much would you charge for one night? Come with us to Mauritius for two days, for a weekend.’”)Anangsha said such messages have filled her inbox.“Aise mails se mera inbox bhara pada rehta hai. Main toh us link par jaati bhi nahi hoon jo mere Instagram mein linked hai.” (“My inbox is filled with such emails. I don’t even go to the link connected to my Instagram.”)She stressed that she believes it is important to speak about the issue because the mindset behind such messages needs to change.“Main is baare mein shayad baat bhi nahi karti, lekin ye baat karna zaroori hai, kyunki ye soch badalna zaroori hai.” (“I probably wouldn’t normally talk about this, but it is important to talk about it because this mindset needs to change.”)For Anangsha, the fact that people believe she is like Zarina can also be interpreted as a compliment to her acting.“Hum ek kirdaar nibha rahe hain. Hum ek actress hain. Achhi baat hai ki aapko lagta hai ki hum waise hain. Matlab kahin na kahin humne apna kirdaar sahi tareeke se nibhaya hai.” (“We are playing a character. We are actresses. If you believe that we are like the character, then in a way, it means we have played our character well.”)But she emphasised that her real personality could not be more different from Zarina’s.“Main toh bilkul waisi nahi hoon. Main parties mein nahi jaati. Main daaru nahi peeti. Main bakaiti karna pasand nahi karti. Main akele rehna pasand karti hoon. Main kitabi keeda hoon. Mujhe kitaabein bahut pasand hain.” (“I am absolutely not like that. I don’t go to parties. I don’t drink. I don’t like indulging in nonsense. I like being alone. I’m a bookworm. I love books.”)Anangsha acknowledges that the perception surrounding Zarina is ultimately both a blessing and a curse.“Haan, toh ye ek curse bhi hai, ye ek blessing bhi hai. Main ise bahut kharab nahi keh sakti, kyunki maine apna kaam sahi se kiya hai. Isliye log samajhte hain ki main waisi hoon.” (“Yes, it is both a curse and a blessing. I can’t call it entirely bad because I’ve done my job well. That’s why people believe I am like that.”)
