Mirzapur Season 3 Review: Star Rating:
Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, Rasika Dugal, Vijay Varma, Isha Talwar, Anjumm Shharma, Priyanshu Painyuli, Harshita Shekhar Gaur
Season Creator: Apurva Dhar Badgaiyan
Series Creator: Puneet Krishna
Director: Gurmmeet Singh and Anand Iyer
Streaming On: Amazon Prime
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 10 episodes of 45 – 50 minutes each!
Mirzapur Season 3 Review: What’s It About:
Have you ever thought of surviving in a city that breathes violence? How would you survive in such a land? Will you take up violence as a defense, or will you rest your trust in the system, which is nothing but a mere puppet in the hands of the powerful? The first season of Mirzapur started with this debate about seeking the help of violence for one’s defense and then being so involved with violence that there is no turning back.
As Guddu Pandit in one of the seasons say, “Jis raste pe hum chal pade hain wahan se koi U turn nahi hai.” Or the helplessness when his brother Bablu Pandit says, “Koi option hota to hum ye rasta chunte kabhi?”
Mirzapur, in the first season, set up the premise for a Desi Game Of Thrones. There is one throne ruled by the Tripathis – Akhandanand and Munna Tripathi. However, every ruler needs a skilled commander, in Tripathi’s case it is the Pandit brothers – Bablu and Guddu! But their paths cross and the urge to chair the throne turns violent, with people dying and people killing!
Mirzapur Season 3 takes forward the tale of who will sit on the throne of Mirzapur, and the story picks up right where it ended in the last season. With Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi) and Munna Bhaiya (Divyenndu) shot by Guddu Pandit (Ali Fazal) seeking revenge for his wife Sweety and brother Bablu’s death. But does Guddu sits on the throne of Mirzapur and finally who rules Mirzapur is what forms the premise of season 3.
Mirzapur Season 3 Review: Script Analysis:
Mirzapur 3, this time, takes a step away from the violence and the fight and indulges more in the planning and plotting to rule, to be powerful, and to keep everyone under a certain unsaid yet established threat. In the absence of any ruler on the throne after Kaleen Bhaiya’s mysterious disappearance and Munna Bhaiya’s demise, Mirzapur is being eyed by the entire ‘Gunda Gang’ ruling the state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. They call themselves the Baahubali of their regions. There are too many men, and segregating each of them is redundant at this point. But the challenge of keeping the story moving forward without creating a mess is something the writing team Apurva Dhar Badgaiyan, Avinash Singh Tomar, and Vijay Narayan Verma constantly deal with.
After a point of time, there are too many stories interlinked with each other, and all of them push their way to the focal point, making the mind burdened with too many leads to follow, so much so that one is perplexed and confused. But do you want to give up as an audience? No, not yet.
Whenever the writers shift your focus to another character and another arc, they make sure that they keep working on the lead characters popping up all of a sudden with another twist to blow your mind. And this loop starts from the very first episode and continues till the end. In fact, the story keeps developing every minute as you enjoy a new twist, and over a period of time, even the backstories come forward and turn heroes, probably to die but then to die a hero rather than just being a sidekick in any other goon meets guns kind of gangster tale!
Mirzapur Season 3 Review: Star Performance:
Each and every character in the series knows how to do their job. Be it a struggling father, Rajesh Tailang, who finally gets his share in season 3, or Sheeba Chadha, the helpless mother who cannot help but care for her gangster son, Guddu Bhaiya, who enjoys a gunshot as much as Diwali cracker!
Pankaj Tripathi, as Kaleen Bhaiya, takes the backseat as everyone else in Mirzapur Season 3 comes forward to take the lead. Be it Vijay Verma’s double role as Chhote and Bade Tyagi or Anjumm Shharma’s Sharad Shukla playing the chameleon who waits for his moment to reveal his true colors.
Ali Fazal‘s Guddu Pandit gets a revival, with the actor maintaining a very sharp balance between being a cold-hearted gangster and a helpless, violent man who hates enjoying violence but doesn’t know anything else to excel at or understand. Shweta Tripathi’s Golu Gupta, acting as a pacifier and guide in Guddu’s world, is something people were not ready for, and it surely comes as a surprise.
But what comes and makes an instant place in your heart is Priyanshu Painyuli’s Robin who is the calmness in this entire disordered and disrupted world. He shines the brightest in the darkest moments of this web series – moments where it starts losing its charm caught between the same loop and events.
Mirzapur Season 3 Review: Direction:
Gurmeet Singh, this time, has too much on his platter, and there comes a time when he just doesn’t know how to finish this meal. While Mirzapur 3 branches well amidst the various sub-plots and new characters, it all just gets entangled after a point of time, making the story gasp for its breath.
Initially, Mirzapur 3 was Guddu Pandit’s eagerness to sit on the throne of Mirzapur, but when the moment arrives in a very scattered form, probably because it was too much on the plate that was served ahead of Guddu Pandit’s coronation as the King Of Mirzapur. However, while Guddu’s story has its share of bumps, the rest of the story tries to keep the audience intact, and it does, barring a few moments here and there.
Mirzapur Season 3 Review: What Works:
Just when the story shifts in some sort of auto gear, the climax arrives like a hero to hypnotize the audience at the very moment. Mirzapur season 3’s climax comes with a very important lesson – “Saavdhaan rehna chahiye hamein ki kispe bharosa kar rahe hain, kabhi kabhi farishte ke roop mein shaitaan bhi mil jaate hain!” finishing the season like a savior.
The side characters for season 3 work like a charm and get some of the best dialogues. For instance, a local kavi, who gets one of the shortest yet the best arc is someone to watch out for.
The dialogues of Mirzapur are also the winners, giving you the much-required kick whenever there is a little slumberish moment. Be it Guddu Pandit finally getting acceptance from his father who tells him, “Survival ke liye jo zaroori hai wahi usool hai,” or him accepting his fate in a violent and abusive state saying, “Jeevan mein do pehlu hote hain – ek jo hamare bus mein hota hai aur ek jo hamare bus mein nahi hota hain.”
Not to forget, amidst the King Of Mirzapur, it is the Queen of Mirzapur, Rasika Dugal, who rules the entire series single-handedly, despite getting a very basic and minimal share amidst so many characters sprawling from branches, but she comes across the rooted one who holds the grip tight on Beena!
Mirzapur Season 3 Review: What Doesn’t Work:
There are moments when Mirzapur falls flat, be it getting too preachy at times or the agenda of working for a ‘Bhay-Mukt’ Pradesh getting stuck. In fact, I blame it on my moral compass, but the non-violent part doesn’t come out as impressive and heroic as the well-choreographed and over-glorified violent scenes. Do I enjoy violence? No. But do I enjoy violence in Mirzapur? Yes!
Mirzapur Season 3 Review: Last Words:
Mirzapur season 3 ends on a fantastic note. While the climax gives a poetic justice with a brilliant shot of the throne of Mirzapur with its last ruler, the post-credit scene makes you vouch for the next season already.
3.5 stars!