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In the wake of Bollywood’s recent shift toward celebrating the “alpha male” archetype, conversations around misogyny in films—and which actors choose to participate in such projects—have become increasingly common. The release of Animal amplified this debate across social media. While some users questioned actors broadly about whether they would take up such films, others directly targeted Rashmika Mandanna for agreeing to star in one. Mandanna defended her choice by saying she is “just an actor” and does not need to relate to her character in real life. Meanwhile, Rasika Dugal in a recent interview took the opposite stance, stating she would not take on such roles—only to face considerable backlash online. The reason? Her portrayal of Mrs Tripathi in the popular Prime Video series Mirzapur.
Among those criticising Dugal was noted folk singer Malini Awasthi, who shared a clip of Dugal expressing her views on films like Animal and wrote: “Coming from someone who played Mrs Tripathi in Mirzapur! Height of double standards!”
Dugal had made the comments during her appearance at the “We The Women” event, where she spoke with Barkha Dutt for Mojo Story. “The things I won’t do are celebrate misogyny or be part of a propaganda film. Those things are non-negotiable for me,” Dugal said.
When Dutt asked whether she would have accepted Animal, Dugal responded with a firm “No.” She elaborated: “I would be very happy to play a character whose politics is not in sync with mine. I am not a Tripathi in real life—I don’t go around killing people and violating men. That is wildly exciting to me as a performer because I have to understand a mind I don’t relate to, and that is why I do what I do. But it is important to me that the politics of the project aligns with mine.”
Her comments sparked a flurry of reactions online.
One user wrote: “Is that not a misogynistic approach to a role where she is comfortable having sex with a driver and then with her father-in-law? Or is misogyny only limited to abusive language or men saying negative things about women? Aren’t these portrayals misogynistic too? If someone calls a woman out for having sex with her father-in-law, it’s considered misogynistic, but if the woman does it on screen, it isn’t?”
Another commenter added: “She’s an actress by profession—and a good one. I loved her restrained performance in Delhi Crime and her bold presence in Mirzapur. She was fantastic in both. But after reading all the comments here, I have to agree—she does sound hypocritical, which affects her image. Sad.”
Rasika Dugal has not yet responded to the online backlash.
Previously, talking to Barkha Dutt, Rashmika Mandanna stated: “I saw the film as a film. When a hero is smoking on screen, people say he is influencing others to do so. But today, it’s very normal in society for people to smoke. I don’t go to watch a film to be influenced in any way. Personally, I would never smoke on screen, but that’s my perspective. If I am part of Animal, I will still say go watch a film as a film. Now, if someone is going to be influenced by a film, then watch your kind of films. Nobody is forcing anybody to watch a film. If that were the case, every film would be a blockbuster.”
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