From Beena Tripathi to Jessie Miranda: Rasika Dugal on Embracing Contrasting Roles and Taking on a Whole New Avatar in Little Thomas!

Rasika Dugal is gearing up for her theatrical return in Little Thomas, offering audiences a refreshing look at her versatility that stands in stark contrast to her famous role as #BeenaTripathi. While her performance in Mirzapur earned widespread acclaim for its sharp intensity and fierce presence, her new character, Jessie Miranda, brings a completely different warmth and emotional depth to the screen.

Set in 1990s Goa, Little Thomas follows the story of a young boy and his parents, with Rasika playing Jessie Miranda, a mother whose life revolves around her family, her bakery and her love for music. The contrast between Jessie and Beena is not merely cosmetic, but she also had consciously worked towards creating a completely different screen identity for the character.

Speaking about the experience, Rasika said, “Surprisingly, I enjoyed juggling a crime action thriller and a dramedy. I guess one was a relief from the other,” as she was shooting both Mirzapur and Little Thomas simultaneously. Rasika takes on the challenge of dual accents in Mirzapur and Little Thomas; says, “The switch in accents was the confusing bit but also an interesting challenge”. While Beena’s world demanded a strong North Indian Hindi accent, Jessie required Rasika to adopt a Goan accent. The actress even worked with a dialect coach to ensure that the new voice did not carry traces of her Mirzapur character. The conscious separation is perhaps what makes Jessie Miranda particularly interesting. Rasika wasn’t simply changing her accent or appearance; she was stepping away from the behavioural vocabulary of Beena Tripathi altogether. Where Beena was driven by survival, power and revenge, Jessie is defined by her quie relationship with her family and her passion for music.

In fact, Rasika went a step further for Jessie. She underwent months of piano training for the role, learning complex pieces by composers including Mozart, Schumann and Chopin. Talking about the preparation, the actress said, “Jessie’s love for playing the piano became more a part of my prep work than Kaushal and I intended it to be. But it unexpectedly gave me an entry into a world that I felt I didn’t know so well.” Rasika learned the piano for four months for Little Thomas, said “I happily played away between filming scenes of a horror show”. For Rasika, the piano became more than just a skill she needed to acquire for the film. It became a way of understanding Jessie and connecting with an aspect of her personality that was completely removed from the character audiences had grown accustomed to seeing her play. It is also what makes the transition from Beena to Jessie stand out as she was not attempting to replicate the intensity that made Beena Tripathi such a memorable character. Instead, she has allowed Jessie to have her own rhythm, vulnerabilities, warmth and passions.

Jessie Miranda is a reminder that Rasika Dugal refuses to let one successful character become her comfort zone. Beena Tripathi may have left a lasting impression on audiences, but Little Thomas sees the actress consciously stepping away from that familiar intensity and embracing a character that is softer, quieter and deeply rooted in everyday emotions. From the unapologetic Beena to the gentle and music-loving Jessie, Rasika Dugal is proving that her greatest strength may lie in making every character feel like it belongs to a completely different world.

By Keerti Kadam