BOTTOM LINE
Lengthy But Decent Nostalgia Watch
RATING
2.5/5
Story, Screenplay, Director: Gurmmeet Singh
Cast: Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Divyenndu, Jitendra Kumar, Ravi Kishan, Abhishek Banerjee, Rasika Dugal, Shweta Tripathi
Music Director: John Stewart Eduri
DOP: Sanjay Kapoor
Editor: Wilson Birampuria
Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar
Presented By: Excel Entertainment, Amazon MGM Studios
Production Company: Excel Entertainment, Amazon MGM Studios
Related Links: Trailer
What Is the Film About?
Mirzapur is the hotbed of power politics in Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh. Anyone who ascends its throne is indirectly ruling the country. Naturally, it leads to lots of people vying for it and keeping the Kaleen Bhai family busy.
A new enemy is in bed with people close to Kaleen Bhai’s eye on the Mirzapur throne. The movie follows how the trustworthy aides Guddu Bhaiya and Babloo, along with some unexpected foes turned friends, save the day.
Performances
Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Faizal, and Divyenndu reprise their iconic roles from the series. Jitendra Kumar is the new addition, replacing Vikrant Massey from the original.
By this time, everyone has played the character for three full seasons and knows it inside out. All they have to do is not sleepwalk, relive those parts with fun, and bring the same intensity. They manage to do it with ease.
Jitendra Kumar brings his unique, rooted and grounded touch to the part. He brings the necessary vulnerability, as in the original, without copying or mimicking.
Everyone resumes their roles from where they left off, like an extension. This helps hold the narrative together, which is very lengthy. Without these actors, things wouldn’t be the same.
Analysis
Gurmeet Singh directs the movie written by Puneet Krishna. Mirzapur The Movie is a unique attempt in that it brings the popular characters from a well-known series and presents them in a different format. A spin-off movie, an adventure of sorts, taking the characters back in time.
The main difference between the movie and the series is the latter’s episodic nature. A movie has to be a single, cohesive narrative from start to end. That’s where the challenge lies, and the writer-director duo succeeds in making the transition.
The arms deals and power battle drive the premise, and they blend neatly into a single, clear-cut narrative path. The world of Mirzapur and its characters fit neatly into this storyline for a smooth ride.
The narrative, however, takes time initially to set up the various goals and motives of different characters. It is slow, but familiarity with the characters and background keeps it engaging. But with multiple characters and everyone getting something to do, the length does increase.
The momentum picks up when the stakes are introduced around the pre-interval mark, and it maintains until the interval, making you look forward to the second half.
Post-intermission, the energy is maintained, and the events soon turn into a comic-book, old-school mass-movie zone. Some of the happenings seem convenient, helping things proceed a certain way. It’s not predictable or boring, but it feels too convenient, so it lacks the tension the story promised around the interval mark.
Still, it delivers a lot of bang-for-buck entertainment and mass moments that make for a satisfying ride. However, if they’d done a few things differently, the same thing would have been more explosive.
Overall, Mirzapur The Movie is a unique attempt to bring familiar characters together to create a new story. The familiarity and nostalgia associated with them, along with the fresh setting, help overcome the runtime issues and some plot development issues to deliver a decent, one-time watch.
Performances by Other Actors
Ravi Kishan, a new entrant in the movie, is well cast for the part. He is the main antagonist, and it’s clear he is enjoying it. He carries the proceedings in his inimitable style and does well. Sushant Singh and a couple of new cast members also do well in their respective roles and handle the emotion well in key sequences.
The rest of the cast, which is already present in the Mirzapur world, like Rasika Dugal, Abhishek Banerjee, etc., slip into their characters smoothly. The former, especially, gets a crucial part and lives up to expectations.
Music and Other Departments?
Multiple composers provide the music (songs), and they are fine. They add to the length, but luckily they don’t act like a speed breaker, as most are used as montages. John Stewart Eduri’s background score is excellent. The theme music is electrifying, and the rest of the score also adds to the mood and excitement.
The cinematography is excellent. It gives the proceedings big-screen appeal and a fresh feel. The Rajasthan terrain has been slickly captured, adding to the movie’s feel. The editing is neat. The trimming should have been done at the script level, as everything on screen feels smooth and easy. Breezy isn’t the word you would associate with a Mirzapur-kind of flick, but the editing gives it that touch. The writing is adequate. The cuss words that helped the series gain popularity in the Telugu dub aren’t present here, though, except for a few words here and there.
Highlights?
Cast Bringing The Nostalgic Factor
Fresh Backdrop
Smooth Execution
Unique Idea (Creating a New Story From Existing Franchise Characters)
BGM
Drawbacks?
Length
Plot Conveniences During The Final Hour
Takes Time To Get Going
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes. The familiarity with the characters and setup makes the ride enjoyable despite the issues.
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, even if you know nothing about the original series or characters, you can watch it as a standalone flick.
Mirzapur: The Movie Reviewed by Kalyan
