Mirzapur season 3 simmers under the surface but never erupts, giving hardly any memorable moments despite the best efforts of Ali Fazal and Vijay Varma
Creators: Karan Anshuman, Puneet Krishna
Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, Anjumm Sharma, Isha Talwar, Rasika Dugal, Rajesh Tailang, Vijay Varma, Lilliput, Priyanshu Painyuli, Harshita Gaur, Sheeba Chaddha, Anil George
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Rating: 2.5 stars
We were promised bhaukaal, and we waited two years for it. Mirzapur is the biggest web series in India currently and there is no doubt about it. So naturally, expectations were high for the third season. The cliffhanger that season 2 ended on only raised the stakes. But the end result is underwhelming to say the least. Despite being anchored by two amazing acting performances from Ali Fazal and Vijay Varma, the show’s sluggish pace and colourless screenplay fail to rise to the occasion, giving us a promising but undercooked third act to the Kaleen Bhaiya-Guddu Bhaiya saga.
Mirzapur’s third season follows the death of Munna Tripathi (Divyenndu) in an encounter that leaves the all-powerful Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi) fighting for his life. The Jaunpur baahubali Sharad (Anjumm Sharma) steps in to fill the void but Guddu Pandit (Ali Fazal) has taken over Mirzapur and lords over the territory. How he navigates the challenges to his supremacy while fighting opponents like Shatrughan Tyagi (Vijay Varma) and Munna’s widow and the new UP CM (Isha Talwar) forms the crux of the story.
Mirzapur starts on a sluggish note with the first three episodes barely getting any action or quickness to the plot. The absence of the Tripathis (with Munna being dead and Kaleen Bhaiya comatose) means that the show loses its biggest highlight. Ali Fazal tries really hard to bring Guddu’s descent into madness and brutality to the screen but with no formidable on-screen foil, he has to do the heavy lifting himself. Anjumm Sharma’s Sharad is projected by the makers as the new Munna but the character lacks the pizzazz to be what Munna was, leaving the actor with too much to do. He lacks the screen presence here to be presented as a credible threat to the towering Guddu.
The story meanders on with very few twists and largely predictable storylines. You can see the twist coming from a mile away, making you wonder why these hardened gangsters can’t. The schemes are wafer thin and the strategies childish. But among this all, the action, violence, and presentation remains as stylish and slick as ever. The saving grace is that this transparent plot is packaged smartly, in signature Mirzapur fashion.
Ali is clearly the star of the show even as Pankaj Tripathi is relegated to the sidelines (another questionable choice). Vijay Varma is the other scene-stealer. As the devious Shatrughan pretending to be his dead twin, he is menacing, conflicted, and brutal all at once, showing once again why he is one of the most highly regarded actors of his generation. The other ace in the pack is Priyanshu Painyuli, playing an understated character quite beautifully. The experienced Rasika Dugal and Rajesh Tailang shine in their side plots, being as reliable and dependable as ever. But Shweta Tripathi comes undone as it seems the writers simply forgot her character growth from the last season, focussing largely on the men around her. It’s sad that such a strong female character is reduced to a plot point in this season.
What has worked for Mirzapur in the past two seasons is its uncanny ability to create iconic pop culture moments out of nowhere. Whether it is Guddu’s ‘Humko chahiye full izzat’, Munna’s ‘abhi soche nahin hain’, or Lala’s ‘bade haraami ho’, these dialogues became popular and then meme-fodder within days. The dialogue was always a strength of the show, giving it the much-needed colour. This season lacks that depth and panache in the writing that made this show ‘bhaukaal’ in the first place.
The third season is a pale shadow of the first two, almost like a faded photo copy of the original show. If someone made a Mirzapur spoof and filled it with great performances but hollow plot, it would look like the third season.
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 "Ali Fazal as Guddu Pandit in Mirzapur")
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