When we were last in Mirzapur, Ali Fazal's Guddu Pandit had conquered the Tripathis and was finally sitting on the throne he had long coveted. Now he was supposedly the new king of Mirzapur, or so he thought, like the rest of us. But just like the unexpected goons in the blood-splattered city, who could pounce on you from anywhere, a “baithak” — This would be a group of all the crime lords from different regions of Uttar Pradesh — appears in the picture. The crime convention has an agenda: to decide whether Guddu still deserves the title, or whether his contender, Shukla (Anjumm Sharma), would be a better successor (no word yet on Pankaj Tripathi's Kaleen bhaiya, though).
As the story expands beyond the borders of Mirzapur to other cities like Prayagraj and Varanasi, the stakes rise, the competition intensifies and the consequences become more violent. The prize, however, remains the same: Mirzapur. In the words of Shukla, “khel aj bhi wahi hai, bas mohre badal gaye hain” (it's still the same game, only the pawns have changed). We still see a lot of guns and guts, exit wounds and shifting loyalties, and the singular madness of ambition and power takes over all ten episodes.
An overstuffed script makes the performances stilted
Pankaj Tripathi's Kaleen Bhaiya has taken a back seat in the third season
While the third season is a significant improvement over the sluggish second, the show's original magnetism is still only found in traces, often marred by overwrought and overwrought writing. The show continues to focus on the mistakes it made last season, with various subplots bloating the episodes. While they may eventually become necessary backdrops for future seasons, many of them currently don't add much value to the story, other than an extended runtime for ardent fans of the series to enjoy.
There is a particularly questionable scene where former Bhojpuri dancer-turned-politician Zaheera (Anangsha Biswas) wants to promote a government scheme for women, but is met with outrageous demands from lustful men who brazenly ask her for a dance. . Instead of acting against this objectification, she performs a brazen act in exchange for 100 women signing up for the program. umm what
There is also a sensual scene at the end of the season, which seems completely out of place and unnecessary. While Mirzapur has never shied away from including bold scenes in the past, they would often add meat to the story, unlike this one.
Mirzapur's characters remain his highlight
Shweta Tripathi has essayed the role of Golu brilliantly
Despite the stretched writing, there are a handful of sequences where the original essence of the show finds its way back, especially the ones with Guddu Bhaiya, that leave you wanting more. In the second episode, when we see him burst into maniacal laughter after killing someone, we're instantly transported back to the first season where the newly minted henchman began to enjoy the bloodshed.
Filling the void of his late intelligent brother, Bablu Pandit (Vikrant Massey), is Golu (Shweta Tripathi), his sister-in-law. Once an idealistic college topper, Golu is now a dangerous, tobacco-chewing thug, who is perpetually surrounded by a baton of loyal armed men. She imparts wisdom to the hot-headed Guddu, just like Bablu used to.
Other main characters have also evolved. Shukla is more cautious than ever with his moves, Beena is back to her confident avatar, Dimpy (Harshita Gaur) has picked up her siblings' assertiveness and recently widowed Madhuri Devi (Isha Talwar) has vowed to put an end to this violence , once and for all, uprooting the concept of “Mirzapur ki Gaddi”.
However, the most drastic change comes in the arc of Pankaj Tripathi's Kaleen Bhaiya, the mobster who started it all. From the ruthless gangster we know, he has become a grieving father who seems to have given up on everything. His limited screen time creates a biting void that will likely disappoint series loyalists.
Rasika gets a smaller but impactful screen time in the third season
Adding to the disappointment, the makers seem to have undermined the intelligence of the audience, with overly descriptive and dramatic dialogues. It's funny how almost every character seems obsessed with describing their profession, over and over, just for the sake of it. Whether it is Lala in the loop who is an entrepreneur, with a small speech about the traits of one “vyapari” in tow, or an aspiring poet blurting out things like “how can a poet like me afford a lawyer,” the characters are all too eager to maintain their monochrome identities.
However, one area where the show has managed to shine is its subtle shift in power from patriarchal figures to powerful women who are no less than their male counterparts. Whether it's Isha Talwar's determined chief minister or Golu's new avatar who goes deep into gangsters' dens, the show regularly hands over the agency to its women.
In one of the scenes where an aging minister surprisingly questions her ability as a chief minister, Isha's character remains calm and politely gives a befitting reply, reassuring her well-deserved position.
But I wish Rasika Duggal had been given more screen time, given the stellar performance she delivered earlier. In the limited scenes he has this time, Duggal has once again left his mark with a nuanced performance.
Ali Fazal is the star of the show
This time we get an intriguing glimpse into Guddu's psyche
Mirzapur also offers many satirical shots. We see a politician speaking “karuna” (compassion) as a “crown” and then get mad at the writer for giving him a complex speech written in a tone that no one uses in real life. We even hear basins and temple bells ringing in the background, as people mercilessly prey on each other. Well executed dark humor will leave you laughing.
The show is also full of rich visual metaphors. At one point, he cleverly sneaks in a small scene where we see Kaleen Bhaiya, who is now in a Guddu-like position, leaning on a stick, just like the one that served Guddu Bhaiya during the previous season, signifying the change in power dynamics.
This time Mirzapur also finally takes advantage of the reasons for this violent attack that has gripped better parts of the country. This is done through the character of Ramakant Pandit, who now comes face to face with the harsh realities of trusting the broken system.
As he spends his days in prison and encounters various “criminals”, the ground reality of law versus justice hits him hard. His findings, however, seem ironic; as a practicing lawyer who deals with similar cases on a day-to-day basis, you should already be well aware of the flaws that plague the criminal justice system.
Although Pandit still holds to his morals and principles, he is now unsure of what justice could be. There is an interesting conversation between him and Guddu in the seventh episode where the father and son are seen questioning their ways of approaching life and seeking respite from the other's way of doing it. The scene peeled back the layers to unearth something buried deep and ended up staying with me long after the credits rolled.
The mystery behind which of the two twins played by Vijay Varma has survived throughout the season.
While all the actors seem to have done justice to their roles, despite a slightly shaky script, Ali Fazal especially stands out. He has effortlessly slipped into the skin of a macabre, who knows no better than to let his emotions get the better of him. The way he moves quickly between the two personalities, almost as if he has a controller for his brain, is impressive.
We even get a glimpse of his internal monologue as he struggles to find his way into the murky world he's entered. There is a scene in the eighth episode where we see Guddu horrified by what he has done. Fazal has never been more in his element. Although manslaughter has always been Guddu's forte, this time he commits the most gruesome act of all and is instantly overcome by disbelief and crisis.
Isha's character remains as assertive and determined as she was before
However, despite powerful performances and a charged build-up, we are left hanging in the end. We have a lot of shocking revelations, which leave room for a lot of unanswered questions. All threads are loose, with multiple doors open for characters to conveniently return in future seasons. It is clear that the makers want to cash in on the immense popularity of the interior-based series and expand the franchise by dipping its toes into crime syndicates from other parts of Uttar Pradesh or even elsewhere. There's also a mid-credits scene where we see an unexpected conversation between two prominent characters, which could turn the whole game on its head in the coming seasons. While there may be a lot on the minds of the makers for the expansion, do we still need more?
