Shweta Tripathi Sharma, better known as “Mirzapur ki Rani,” is now overwhelmed with the affection her character Golu Gupta has been showered with, particularly in the aftermath of Season 3. The Pioneer goes into greater detail regarding her character and how it has affected her in this exclusive interview
Tejal Sinha
The “chulbuli-bubbly” Zenia Khan, who we first saw in Disney’s Kya Mast Hai Life and as Minnie in Suite Life of Karan and Kabir, has been a part of the most popular Mirzapur franchise, Golu Gupta and has been making “Bhaukaal.” Naturally, with the release of the third season of Mirzapur, there has been a lot of discussion about the incredibly gifted Shweta Tripathi Sharma and her flexibility and on-screen prowess.
She is now known as “Mirzapur ki Queen” due to the enormous influence her character has had on OTT.
“Even as creators, we never stop learning and developing,” an overjoyed Shweta says in an exclusive interview with The Pioneer. “We have an obligation to consider the audience and the message we are conveying. It’s crucial to explain ‘why’ a character is acting a specific way rather than just what they are doing, regardless of how the character is written. It is more about the relationships that individuals have than it is about the violence. It talks about how when someone pushes someone else into a corner, they get punished or labelled as monsters. It’s about using various powers to win. Madhuri’s line, Hum Yahan Gungi Gudiya, banne nahi aaye hai, is one of my favourites.”
She was called ‘Mirzapur ki Queen’ and ‘Dearest Golu’ in a note she got on a napkin a few days ago while out on a date with her spouse. She had just become tearful due to this affection. “Yeah, Mardon ki duniya main, there’s this one girl who is standing her ground and for me, that is a win. The feeling was really pleasant. Because I can convey to boys and girls alike—through my performances—that your gender or ethnicity will not define you. You won’t believe guys are dubbing me ‘Golu King’ (we laugh), because it’s not about what you’re doing; it’s about how you think and your actions have more meaning and impact.”
For all the love that she’s been getting, she credits the team and other departments for the same. During this chat, she also highlighted something that we also didn’t think of. “In the third season, which I recently watched, Golu is wearing a shirt with grey, pink and blue blocks on it when she returns. I was genuinely curious to know what the designer had in mind for this. That’s exactly how I feel in my mind. I possess the strength of both a girl and a boy. Certain small things have a profound effect on us, even though at first we are unable to comprehend them.”
She learned from Golu to be “strong-headed” and “honest.” And as the character grows across the entire series, we get to experience that. She claims that Golu has actually helped her realise that failure is completely OK since, the next time you try something new, you’ll learn from your mistakes and improve.
The Masaan actress laughs as we talk about the series’most popular term. “Mirzapur has so many different sizes of ‘Bhaukaals,’ but yes, Golu is definitely the biggest ‘Bhaukaal’ of the series.”
There’s no denying that Golu has had a big impact on a lot of viewers. “I’m so happy that there are girls on Instagram who dress like Golu.” We couldn’t agree more with her as she continued, saying, “I feel Golu has become an emotion and Golu exists in all of us. For me, Golu represents a renegade fighter who is aware of the art of combat, the value of listening to one’s inner voice and the strengths and flaws of others.” Even though her character isn’t shown to us for a number of episodes in Mirzapur, the scene in which she is threatened, assaulted and tortured by Chote Tyagi (played by Vijay Varma) gives the viewer shivers.
She also says, “I feel in action; your physical fitness really matters,” in reference to the action sequence that she brings to the screen. “It takes more than just good looks and attire to be a successful actor. Being prepared is crucial for every action scenario. I made sure that, as soon as I learned about the season, I trained with my amazing trainer, Tridev Pandey, for a full year. We used to work on everything—from mobility to strength training to floor training. I used to practice yoga as well, and I still do since it’s a great way to engage specific muscles.”
As our conversation continued, she continued to praise her co-star, Vijay Varma, with whom she had collaborated on both Kaalkoot and the series. She describes an event, saying, “You won’t believe that while I was performing those scenes, I felt like I was possessed. There was also an incident where set mai hulchal hua tha.” Vijay said, ‘Don’t talk to Shweta right now; she’s in her zone.’ When your other actors hold you in such high regard that the scene takes on greater significance than it does, it’s an amazing feeling. I am therefore supporting Vijay. Whenever I collaborate with him, my work consistently improves.”
Without a doubt, both the actors and some of the of the characters have an effect on us as viewers. Golu has been a special character in Shweta’s life, but the role has had an effect on her personally.
As we dug deeper into the impact, the Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein star said, “I went off in another zone. “Yaar, it’s very dark, which is more than bad,” she giggles. “It was difficult for me because Mirzapur’s environment is so gloomy, but luckily I was able to recognise it. My husband alerted me to the fact that he could sense someone else more than I did. I was lying down when I realised what had transpired and had the impression that this was Golu and not Shweta when I returned to the sets in Benaras. I used to dress in her style. Accessorising is something I adore wearing. Though I adore DisneyLand vibes, I had a conversation with a therapist after something similar happened to Golu. I wanted to know the truth and was relieved to learn that the character was taking control of me. I hadn’t lost Golu at all. That being said, I would repeatedly do it for Golu because I believe that woh jaan meri leleti hai par mai usko lene nahi deti. She is worthwhile, after all.”
