Harshita Gaur, famous for playing Dimpy Pandit in the Amazon Prime series Mirzapur, talks about her character’s journey and her experience of working with Ali Fazal and the rest of the cast.

How do you feel about your journey through the three seasons of Mirzapur?

Harshita Gaur: It feels very good, with the third season doing very well. Mirzapur will always be close to my heart. It has taught me a lot of things. I feel I am getting better as an actor. I am a much calmer person now having done a show like this as opposed to what I was before.

You had turned down your role when it was first offered to you...

Harshita Gaur: I didn’t want to take it up as I didn’t have an understanding of OTT as a medium. It was a very new thing back then. I was also very young. This happened before I heard the character’s journey. The moment I met the creators and heard the script, it was a yes from me.

How do you see the evolution of your character Dimpy Pandit over the three seasons of Mirzapur?

Harshita Gaur: Dimpy is intelligent, opinionated and mentally very strong. She doesn’t get swayed by the things happening around her. She can hold her ground very well. That has been her strong point ever since the series dropped. To actually stand on the opposite side and hold on to it is extremely courageous.

From a sweet girl, Dimpy has matured into a woman with her own understanding of life. Her belief system is so strong that she will make sure it doesn’t shatter at all. That is what makes a woman strong, her circumstances. From Day 1 and till the last time we see her in Season 3, Dimpy has been holding on to her truth, holding on to a past that she believes in. That’s extremely difficult after you have lost so many people in your life.

That is another side of Mirzapur we show you. There can be people who can get into what the situation requires at that time, maybe getting into violence because of the experiences they have had, but the other side of the coin is that you can also choose not to be a part of that violence and stick to it. That is exactly what Dimpy does. Playing Dimpy Pandit has helped me in real life.

How was it to work with Ali Fazal, Sweta Tripathi, Sheeba Chadha and Priyanshu Painyuli?

Harshita Gaur: I call them family. It always feels like going back home. They make me feel so comfortable. For any actor, their co-actor is very important. All of them are superb. It just flows very naturally with them. Sheeba ma’am is a motherly figure. She is fun and I feel very protected whenever she is around.

Shweta (Tripathi) is one of my bestest people on set. Ali (Fazal) and I are like children on the set. As we have been playing a sibling relationship on screen, we have gotten extremely close.

It is so easy to work with Priyanshu (Painyuli). The first time I met him it felt like I had known him since years.

A role from Mirzapur you would have liked to play?

Harshita Gaur: I would love to play Golu (Shweta Tripathi) and Beena (Rasika Dugal). Beena, primarily because she is a very shrewd woman and I haven’t ever done that kind of a character. Golu because she has a great graph, from the girl she was in the first season to who she is now and how she has evolved and how she shows strength through action.

Any favourite moment from the shoot of Season 3?

Harshita Gaur: The scene where Guddu kills Robin (Priyanshu Painyuli) was heavy and memorable too. We just felt it in our bones. Guddu digs his fingers into his eyes and we (Sheeba and Dimpy) cry out. After the scene cuts, there would be silence on the set for half an hour.

Otherwise when we are together, we eat together. We wrap our day and then probably go out for a Sharma Ji ke samose. It is almost like doing everything together from breakfast to lunch to dinner and shooting. Every moment is very memorable.

Have offers been coming in after Mirzapur?

Harshita Gaur: Work comes and goes but what eventually materialises is what makes sense. A lot of people who have seen the show have reached out and said they really liked my performance and I am hoping something will come out of it soon.

You graduated in electronics and communication engineering. How did films happen?

Harshita Gaur: My parents wanted me to be an engineer as I was good at studies. They thought I was intelligent. But I told my mother, let me use this intelligence in acting because that’s what I am interested in. I always wanted to be an actor and engineering happened specially for my parents.

What are you working on next?

Harshita Gaur: I have two projects lined up which are yet to be released. Hope people will love them.