Mirzapur 3 Review: Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi Series Is Less Violent, More Thought-Provoking Battle Of The Baahubalis!
After a long wait, Mirzapur 3 is finally here, but does it live up to our expectations? Here are our thoughts!
3 / 5
A series known for its gore violence, unexpected twists and thrilling depiction of the Baahubalis is back with a new season. Yes, the much-awaited third season of Mirzapur is currently streaming on Prime Videos. The new season is directed by Anand Iyer and Gurmmeet Singh. The ensemble cast of Mirzapur 3 includes some class-apart actors like Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Anjumm Shharma, Shweta Tripathi, Rasika Dugal, Isha Talwar, Vijay Varma, Sheeba Chaddha, Rajesh Tailang and Harshita Gaur among others. Now, I will give you a little heads up here, Mirzapur 3 has limited violence but some noteworthy performances yet again. It has moments that can make you jump out of bed but at the same time, it initially feels a little slow. So here’s a detailed review of what’s best about the third season and what could have been better!
Plot
Mirzapur 2 left us on a cliffhanger. We almost held our breaths when the show ended without informing us whether Munna Bhaiya (Divyenndu) and Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi) died or were still alive. Well, there’s not much of a spoiler here but within the first few minutes into the show, we know that Munna Bhaiya is no more and his wife Madhuri Yadav (Isha Talwar) performs the last rites, but Kaleen Bhaiya is saved by Sharad Shukla (Anjumm Shharma) and the latter gives his best to keep him alive. The plot of Mirzapur 3 is mostly focused around Guddu Pandit (Ali Fazal) and Sharad Shukla as they are the only two deserving candidates to become the next King Of Mirzapur. The series explores the enmity between the two characters, but in this season Guddu Pandit’s right hand Gajgamini AKA Golu (Shweta Tripathi) shines for the larger part. Even Madhuri Yadhav who takes up the responsibility as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh plays her cards well to take revenge from Guddu Pandit. Kaleen Bhaiya’s character plays in the backfoot for most of the series and only leaves you gasping for breath in the last episode, which honestly, turned out to be quite unexpected. Mirzapur 3 also deals significantly with Ramakant Pandit’s story who is behind bars for killing a police officer. We will talk about his character arc in the later half of the review! Mirzapur 3 has some unexpected killings and introduces some interesting characters. However, this time it has less violence or use of vulgar terms as compared to the other two seasons. Let’s get into the good and bad!
Is Mirzapur 3 Worth The Wait?
Well, I would say a yes and a no here. The new season has a balance of good and bad aspects. Firstly, if we focus on the good, I would like to begin by talking about the character arcs, dynamics and performances. Also, some plot twists were insane and these were the moments where I completely went like ‘Woah, what’. I would refrain from revealing that, otherwise, no fun!
Performances
Ali Fazal as Guddu Pandit has yet again blown my mind away with his nuanced performance and attention to detail. From the accent to the body language, Ali Fazal is flawless and so natural. There are moments when his character feels out of control and loses his temper so badly that he ends up causing the most unexpected twist in this series. During these parts, Ali Fazal kicks the ball out of the park. Guddu Pandit’s indecisive nature and incapability of using mind power instead of physical violence become his biggest disadvantage, but the writing and performance are such that you start sympathising with the character and want to see him win, even if he’s not right!
Shweta Tripathi AKA Golu has left a long-lasting impression on me with her superb performance. The bold, clever and fierce nature of her character comes out more in this new season. Her character’s journey from being a strong support to Guddu Pandit to letting the audience see what Golu is capable of is shown beautifully in Mirzapur 3. Shweta Tripathi is a strong driving force in making Mirzapur 3 worth the watch!
Ramakant Pandit’s character arc is thought-provoking. A character who lives by his honesty, principles and ethics to fight against a world full of lies and violence goes through a complete change by the end of the new season. Rajesh Tailang makes Ramakant Pandit his own, and there are no complaints!
Vijay Varma’s role also adds some significant plot twists in the show which I found interesting. The actor made his screen presence worth watching as Bharat Tyagi, and his story of revenge gave an edge to the plot that could otherwise be a little boring!
While the performance by the entire cast of Mirzapur 3 was amazing and each actor did justice to their roles, I was somewhat expecting more from the characters of Sharad Shukla (Anjumm Shharma) and Beena Tripathi (Rasika Dugal). Anjumm’s character falls flat in this season even if he was one of the lead protagonists. The actor has nailed his performance but his character deserved more attention in terms of writing. The supporting characters did a commendable job with their roles.
Also, in this season, the women characters have been given a space to shine. Gajgamini and Madhuri have an important place in the plot, to a level where they carry the entire narrative. Although I was expecting some shockers from Rasika Dugal’s Beena Tripathi, she plays an underdog this season, and is well, fitting to the character.
Plot Twist That Left Shocked
As I said earlier, Mirzapur 3 is very slow in the first few episodes and moves at its own sweet pace but during this, there are also some visuals and twists that I was certainly not looking forward to in the series. While I would not reveal much about it, just to let you know, some important characters die when you are least expecting it and their deaths are as ugly as possible. The plot twists that came with Kaleen Bhaiya’s character also left me surprised. This is because the build-up of these characters and their dynamics was quite strong, and the credit goes to writing.
Direction
Well, as compared to the first two seasons of Mirzapur, the third season lacks the impact most of the time. However, there are some long shots and close-ups that do stand out. There are very few action sequences in this season and mostly it’s hand-to-hand combat of Guddu Pandit. It’s nice but does not give the thrills that I may have expected after the last two seasons.
Also Read: From Cameos To Censorship, 6 Things You Should Know About Mirzapur Season 3!
I found Mirzapur 3 disappointing because it did not meet the standards set by the first two seasons. I think Guddu Pandit and Sharad Shukla’s face-off could have been a little more interesting and engaging if their story were written well. It just did not seem exciting enough to see them fight for that one important title of Mirzapur. Their exchange of looks, witty dialogues and threats left little to no impact because more importance was given to building their individual characteristics and other sub-plots, instead of their dynamics. Since Mirzapur 3 was meant to be about Guddu and Sharad, I would say that justice has not been done well!
The makers made a conscious decision to make the series less violent and try to balance it out with some shockers. But as a viewer, I expected a particular kind of thrill and drama that the earlier two seasons promised and it was only supposed to get better, but I was left feeling underwhelmed. Also, Kaleen Bhaiya’s (Pankaj Tripathi) character could have made his entry a little early, however, the twists, I liked! The actor did his part well, but there’s nothing much to talk about it, at least for now!
Verdict
The 10-episode series of Mirzapur 3 might make you a bit drowsy initially, however, by the 6th or 7th episode, you’ll be seated. The series has less to offer in terms of violence and dramas by the Baahubalis as it focuses more on making the state free of violence and fear of the gunda-raaj, and Madhuri Yadav (Isha Talwar) becomes a flag-bearer for that. Ali Fazal’s Guddu Pandit is the epitome of violence and strength in this season but does that work for him? You’ll have to watch Mirzapur 3 to know. His enmity with Sharad Shukla could have been more exciting, and well, for all the Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi) fans, don’t keep your hopes high in this one because there is very little of him that you get to see. Some twists and character arcs are great in this new season, and if you are a fan of the Mirzapur franchise, you should watch it because there’s an interesting cliffhanger again. Also, Mirzapur 3 is less about violence and more about the conscience!
First Published: July 05, 2024 12:53 AM
