If 2024 has offered Dugal something new, there’s also something old in store. She has wrapped up the shoot of the third season of Mirzapur. Even though she has been playing Beena Tripathi—a quiet homemaker who knows how to get her way in a male-dominated household—in the crime drama for eight years, becoming her all over again was a challenge. “I’m never prepared enough for Beena. Our characters keep evolving. The journey between the seasons is transformative, so you have to reflect that lapse. Beena is so interesting. [But before reprising the role] I sometimes worry that I have forgotten her. Here, I have to credit the writing that helped me understand the woman. Once, writer Puneet Krishnan told me, ‘Aapne sab achche se kiya. The beauty is that you played Beena with dignity’. Before every season, I remind myself of the best compliment I have ever got. I tell myself, ‘Don’t forget to play her with dignity.’”

Adding to the diverse worlds she is inhabiting this year is Kartavya. Shah Rukh Khan’s production, headlined by Saif Ali Khan and her, is reportedly an investigative thriller. Even as she is tight-lipped about the project, she can’t help but underline that it has nourished her as an actor. “I had a ball shooting for it. I want roles that will take the life out of me. I want to be so depleted that I have nothing to give for a bit.” 

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