Rasika Dugal is stepping into a new world—literally and emotionally. The actress, best known for Beena Tripathi’s razor-edged presence in Mirzapur, is now Jessie Miranda in Little Thomas, a 1990s-set dramedy set in Goa. The shift isn’t just geographic or stylistic. It’s a full tonal pivot—from the cold calculation of power politics to the soft hum of a mother’s piano practice between takes.
Rasika Dugal is stepping into a new world — literally and emotionally. The actress, best known for Beena Tripathi’s razor-edged presence in Mirzapur, is now Jessie Miranda in Little Thomas, a 1990s-set dramedy set in Goa. The shift isn’t just geographic or stylistic. It’s a full tonal pivot, from the cold calculation of power politics to the soft hum of a mother’s piano practice between takes.
And yes, she’s playing it all while still locked in the high-stakes drama of Mirzapur. 'Surprisingly, I enjoyed juggling a crime action thriller and a dramedy,' she told Bollywood Hungama. 'One was a relief from the other.' That’s not just a line. It’s a survival tactic.
The real challenge? The accent switch. Beena Tripathi’s North Indian Hindi had to be shed for a Goan lilt. 'The switch in accents was the confusing bit but also an interesting challenge,' Rasika admitted.
She worked with a dialect coach to keep Jessie’s voice clean, untainted by the sharpness of her earlier role. But the deeper work came through music. For four months, she trained on the piano, Mozart, Schumann, Chopin. Not as a gimmick, but as a way to enter Jessie’s quiet soul.
'It unexpectedly gave me an entry into a world that I felt I didn't know so well,' she said. She played between scenes of a horror show. Not a metaphor. A literal schedule.
The contrast isn’t just in character. It’s in rhythm. Beena lived in tension. Jessie lives in melody.
And Rasika’s doing both at once. The film’s director, Kaushal Oza, says he chose the 90s because 'kids today will simply Google where babies come from or ask ChatGPT!' So the story unfolds in a time when innocence wasn’t just a mood, it was a default setting. Little Thomas arrives in theatres next year.
No release date yet. But the shift is already underway.
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