Mirzapur: The Movie Review | Pankaj Tripathi-Led Gangster Drama Is An Engrossing, Contained Diversion

It’s a given that Mirzapur: The Movie would be held up against the eponymous series for comparison. The judgement is inevitable. A movie foray promises scale and spectacle. Director Gurmmeet Singh, who has helmed several episodes of the show, directs with efficiency and Puneet Krishna’s screenplay keeps the action buzzing. The crime drama branches out from the Uttar Pradesh terrain, stretching into Jaisalmer’s sands. A new rival to Mirzapur’s king, Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi), intrudes. As Kaleen himself confesses in the opening, whoever occupies the throne gets locked into a constant relationship with death. Power operates through fear. The film is slashed open with Kaleen held captive. It then unravels to show how he got to that point. It must be noted, though, that this film is situated at a moment in the franchise far preceding the slew of major deaths.

A shootout is dished out in this early stretch itself. The message is clear. There’s no forgiveness or tolerance for betrayal. Loyalty is the operative word in this world, often tossed around in the movie as well. But loyalty can also breed resentment, an urge for overreach. Being so immediate to the corridors of power but always reminded of one’s place will only spur an angling towards what is kept out of access. It’s what nags at Bablu (Jitendra Kumar), the left-hand man of Kaleen.

He doesn’t spite Kaleen’s son and the prince of Mirzapur, Munna (Divyenndu), as much as his brother, Guddu (Ali Fazal). But he chafes at the hierarchy wherein he and his brother will only serve as underlings for Kaleen, with no scope for truly earning a seat at the table alongside Kaleen’s family. He knows, for all their unfailing service, they will never really make it to the inner circle. As he cautions Guddu, who’s giddy about the gangster valuing them on their successful assignments, it’s the foot-soldiers who are among the first to end up dead. Elsewhere, he tells the girl he likes, Golu (Shweta Tripathi), how the wise can avoid violence. But bloodshed is inescapable in this line.

As Kaleen faces a new threat in the form of the sly Babban (Ravi Kishan), who cheated his business partner in Jaisalmer, the drama gains stakes. Babban is now aiming to capture Mirzapur’s throne, weaponizing the resentments of Kaleen’s old enemies, those he has slighted. A taste for vengeance gets a vent through Babban’s ambitions. He vows to deliver justice to those whom Kaleen has wronged. The script infuses the series of backstabbing and deception with pleasing agility, but there are some convenient moments that iron out a problem, a hurdle way too swiftly. The songs too are a grating interruption, doing little other than give the women superficial screentime. Kaleen’s scheming, sexually fierce Beena (Rasika Dugal) properly commands the fray in the second half, both devastating and imperious in the final scene.

Thankfully, Singh keeps the business fleet-footed. Fans won’t have much to grumble about as a slew of beloved faces, from Sweety (Shriya Pilgaonkar) to Golu to Dimpy (Harshita Gaur), return alongside fresh, blazing casting additions. Jitendra Kumar is earnest as ever but struggles to gel in scenes where Bablu shows a glimpse of hidden ambition and greed of greater power. He has the brains to secure deals for Kaleen Bhaiya, bringing profits, ensuring wider chain of earnings and sprucing business expansion. But he also wants to protect his brother by removing him from dealings. I’m not sure if I could quite get along with such fears when he himself nurses hopes to build an empire. Kumar isn't as persuasive with the shrewdness of Bablu.

A lot of the heavy-lifting is left to Ravi Kishan, who’s reliably terrific. The actor tears through his scenes, a steely figure who knows how to ace all sorts of covert manipulations. Babban is a thief who dreams far too big, undermining the sharpness of Kaleen and the combined might of those guarding him. Distractingly, Mirzapur: The Movie looks visually flat. There are missed opportunities sticking out especially in a desert standoff section. The narrative tension should have been mined for at least few memorable shots. For all its smoothly engaging value, the film Even, Babban’s hijacked opium peddling network comes off as dubious and vague.

Fortunately, the film knows when to cut away, more effectively zeroing in on the mirror images Munna and Guddu can be of each other. Divyenndu remains an absolute joy in all of Munna’s haughty excesses, the heroic posturing that a lover can cut down.

Envy and the dire ache for paternal approval tail both Munna and Guddu, as is a mutual affinity for recklessness. Undeniably, it makes for a blast to see the arch rivals united once they set aside differences and hostilities. Mirzapur: The Movie retains its zing as long as it circles matters of such emotional wounds, love and familial ties that intensify stakes.