Mirzapur 3 Review: Ali and Vijay Give It Their All, But Only Munna Bhaiya Could Have Saved This Flat Screenplay
Mirzapur fans can finally heave a sigh of relief! Four years later, the makers have finally released the third season of the show.
Once again, it’s replete with carnage, violence and gumption and smells of gore and gun powder. So, does that mean that the series has once again hit the ball out of the park? Well, sorry to break your hearts but it’s a no. With its last two seasons becoming an integral part of modern pop culture and meme fests, the latest season feels like a damp squib. Okay, that might be an exaggeration but that’s perhaps something that happens when you set your expectations too high.
With the absence of Munna bhaiya and the quasi-absence of Kaleen bhaiya, Mirzapur season three seems to lack the spark, the spunk and the spectacle. It kicks off with a rather slow start and doesn’t pick up pace or pique your curiosity till the third episode. Having said that, you’ll find yourself not giving up solely because of your allegiance to the franchise. So yes, Mirzapur fans, you’ve to give it some time before you can indulge in its drama and almost feisty abandon.
Spoiler (and heartbreak) alert: Season three begins with a scene that finally puts an end to all speculations and fan theories. Yes, our favourite ‘gangsta’ Munna bhaiya who epitomised sigma, alpha and screamed thug life is no more. He’s put into an electric incinerator and sadly, none of his loved ones are seen attending his cremation, apart from his wife Madhuri, who’s also the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. It’s a pretty sad end to a life lived king sized!
Coming back to the plot, when a priest asks for a male member of the family to light a fire, Madhuri steps up, thereby reversing gender roles. And that profoundly sets a precedent for every woman in the show. While violence and politics may be a man’s space, the women this season step forward like never before, thus putting an end to their roles as the wind beneath the men’s wings working from the periphery.
Golu comes into her own and matches shoulders with Guddu. She takes on the role of Bablu, becoming the brain to the brawny and impulsive Guddu. Beena continues to function as a catalyst amid the local political pandemonium and uses her sexuality as a powerful weapon. Dimpy goes through a major mind-set shift and her silence slowly transitions into something more substantial and strategic. Shabnam – Lala’s daughter- takes on the reigns and takes his ‘barfi’ business forward as he spends his time behind the bars.
And this remains the biggest highlight of this season. The makers – producers Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, directors Gurmmeet Singh and Anand Iyer and writer Apurva Dhar Badgaiyan – deserve credit for creating and rendering ambitious layers to the women in the show and this coming from men is refreshing and trailblazing.
Season two also ended with Kaleen bhaiya being severely injured with Sharad Shukla, his nephew, saving him. For four years, the internet kept wondering ‘Sharad ne Kaleen bhaiya ko kyun bachaaya?’ And we’re happy to report that you’ll find the answer this season. At the outset, there’s a whole lot of questions raised about Kaleen bhaiya’s disappearance with many believing that he’s no more.
Ramakant Pandit, who killed SSP Maurya in a bid to protect Guddu, gets arrested after he decides to punish himself for his murderous deed. His family’s effort to get his decision changed goes down the drain. And while Guddu, Golu and Beena feel that Guddu is the rightful heir to the Mirzapur throne, they face resistance from other ‘baahubalis’. The rest of the series focuses on the conflict between Sharad and Guddu and who between them is ‘gaddi ka daavedaar’.
Through with the corruption, murders and power struggles, Madhuri is hell bent on creating a ‘bhay mukt Pradesh’ and taking her father’s ‘viraasat’ ahead with little support from her cabinet ministers who deride her for being a woman. But focused as she is, she unabashedly declares, ‘Humaari maqsad hai uss gaddi ko khatam karna.’ And once again, she dons a white saree. Ironically, Munna bhaiya had cheekily proposed to her saying that white doesn’t suit her and he offered to fill her life up with colours by undraping her white saree during an election campaign.
Despite the stage being set for yet another hard-hitting and explosive season, it fails to soar high. Known for its dark sense of humour, the show this time around seems to be bereft of the same and there are multiple instances when you’ll keep looking at the clock, expecting a dramatic plot twist. However, the character of the Tyagi twin – the one that’s alive – has an interesting character arc and he’ll leave you guessing and second-guessing. The performances are all stupendous but the screenplay doesn’t do them justice. The background music by John Stewart Eduri also deserves a mention as it definitely elevates the action.
Mirzapur 3 belongs to Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi Sharma and Anjumm Shharma, all of who give it their all. The perplexing tension between Guddu and (now tobacco chewing and spitting) Golu is palpable and that adds a lot of character to their dynamic and the events. Anjumm as Sharad is a revelation. Vijay Varma displays an excellent restraint in the face of atrocities, dark ambitions and emotional pangs. Isha Talwar as the authoritative CM is equally impressive. What’s interesting is that she keeps her feminine instincts and femininity intact even as she fills the shoes of her father and takes on a position that’s reserved for men. Madhuri proves that one doesn’t need to imbibe masculine traits to be heroic.
Pankaj Tripathi doesn’t get to put the suavity and menace of Kaleen bhaiya on display as much as you would expect him to. His scenes with Beena and Munna bhaiya are terribly missed. For most part, he manipulates the puppets from behind the curtains. Rasika Dugal, Harshita Shekhar Gaur, Rajesh Tailing, Sheeba Chadha and Priyanshu Painyuli ably support the primary cast. They collectively and successfully manage to fill the many voids in the screenplay with their nuanced performances.
A little more drama, a little more flare and a little more panache would have definitely made Mirzapur 3 a winner. But do give it a shot because despite a flat and predictable screenplay, it has its moments, moments that stay true to the essence of a world where heartland violence intersects with polity, emotion and desire for justice. Chaos always begets an exciting storyline and the collective strength of ‘control, power aur ijjat’ will make you not want to press the stop button despite it lacking a binge-worthy quality. So, yes, Mirzapur is almost there but keeps fizzling out every now and then.
And amid all this, you’ll often find yourself hoping against all odds for Munna bhaiya to be back, infuse some much needed flashiness and eccentricity to the plot and save the day. He was truly a superman without a cape – wielding a gun, unapologetic in his advances and always ready to hurl expletives. In short, what’s Mirzapur without him and his lackeys screaming, ‘Laal phool, neela phool, Munna bhaiya beautiful!’