PremiumExclusive! Rafiath Rashid Mithila: Srijit Mukherji never fails to surprise me. This time, it is with Ulupi and her friends
Rafiath Rashid Mithila, in a candid chat with OTTplay, opened up about her relationship with Srijit, her new film, and her constant fight with a patriarchal mindset in Kolkata.
Last Updated: 09.58 PM, Mar 28, 2024
Just before the release of her film O Obhagi, Rafiath Rashid Mithila came to Kolkata on March 28. As the actress-scholar-development worker was all set to meet her husband Srijit Mukherji’s new pet, Ulupi – a ball python – on Wednesday afternoon at their Lake Garden’s apartment, she was greeted with not one, but four snakes – ll ball pythons owned by Srijit.
Rafiath Rashid Mithila meets Ulupi – Srijit’s pet
“Srijit never fails to surprise me. I knew about Ulupi but now I see there are three more of them – the pythons,” Mithila said candidly. Is she scared? “Honestly, I’m not a big fan of pythons, or snakes, for that matter. And I am not sure how I should feel about it, to be honest. But I let him (Srijit) be,” said the actress with a smile. In a candid chat with OTTplay, the actress opened up about her relationship with Srijit, her new film, and her constant fight with a patriarchal mindset in Kolkata.
Rafiath Rashid Mithila says she is frustrated with being treated as ‘Srijit’s wife’ in Kolkata
Soon as Mithila geared up to attend the premiere of the film, O Obhagi – based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s short story ‘Obhagir Swargo’ and directed by Anirban Chakraborty, her photo with Srijit surfaced on social media. Speculations over the ‘health’ of their relationship have flooded the Bengali film industry parties and conversations for a while now. “No one asks Srijit about the state of our relationship. During interviews in the promotion run of his film Oti Uttam, he did not have to deal with the questions about me. I, on the other hand, was inundated with questions about Srijit and our marriage during the promotion of Mayaaa,” said a seemingly unhappy actress.
Understandably, Mithila is miffed by the way she is treated in India. “In Bangladesh, Srijit is identified as an Indian director. In India, on the other hand, I am usually identified as Srijit’s wife – Srijit-patni, as they say. This is heartbreaking. I am an international development worker, a PhD scholar, and an actress who worked with all the leading directors in Bangladesh. Is that not enough? Do I still have to be treated and identified as someone’s wife? This is how patriarchy treats women even today,” she said.
Rafiath Rashid Mithila is an accomplished global development worker
Mithila travels almost every month. Her job as a development worker takes her to countries like Uganda, Tanzania, and Sierra Leone regularly. She takes her job very seriously. “If I commit to something I am damn serious about it – be it relationship or my job. I give my 100%. That’s who I am. My job is my primary commitment. I made that my focus and adjusted everything else, including my acting career, accordingly. I missed out on film projects because of my travel schedule. Despite that, I worked with almost all the A-list directors in Bangladesh. I have been doing this for two decades. So yes, my heart breaks if I hear that I got married to Srijit to get a chance in his films and now I am settled in Dhaka because he did not give me a chance,” she said.
Rafiath Rashid Mithila has made Dhaka as her base
Mithila has presently set her base in Dhaka and travelling across the world from there. Dismissing the rumour of a disturbed married life with Srijit, Mithila said, “That’s rubbish. Ayra (daughter) and I started living in Dhaka simply because of convenience. With my family around, I have a better support system there. When I was in Kolkata, Srijit spent a lot of time in Mumbai for work. No one questioned that because patriarchy normalises husbands travelling for work and not wives.” Then she sarcastically added, “It is good to see so many people are worried about our married life. I wish they could come and help me here in Kolkata when I was struggling to get a grip on my travel schedule, Arya’s education, etc. I wish they could just come and make my daughter complete her homework.”
Mithila roots for young and fresh Bengali directors
Mithila’s film, Obhagir Swargo, will be released on March 29. Her previous release Mayaa was also a library adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. “When I get an offer of a film, I see the script and my scope in the film. These two – Macbeth and Obhagir Swargo – are classics and I am glad I could work in these two films. I feel we should work more and more with younger directors. That’s how we can really support Bengali cinema in West Bengal. Here, if you do not work with big directors, like Srijit, Kaushik Ganguly, Arindam Sil, and others, you are not considered to be an actor/actress who achieved something in life. I think it is high time we change the mindset,” she said.