All the reasons you need to watch ‘Mirzapur’
While Netflix is definitely killing it when it comes to Spanish, Mandarin, and Japanese content, they’re lacking in the Bollywood TV area. Amazon Prime, on the other hand, is filling that void nicely. If you’re a fan of Bollywood film, then Prime is the place to see what they offer in terms of television.
Indians themselves are loving the content, as Mirzapur has become one of the most-watched web series in the country. Released to Prime internationally back in 2018, the show is scheduled to get a new season sometime in 2020. Taking on the mob and drug underworld in the Purvanchal region, Mirzapur gives us the international crime thriller we never knew we needed.
If you like shows taking on the dark world of crime and the mob, like Money Heist, Narcos, or The Sopranos, Mirzapur is definitely the next thing you should be watching. There’s so much to love about this, so let’s motivate you to get caught up before season two brings more heat.
The son is just as power-hungry as his dad, if not more
A lot of times in mob TV, you see that the child of the mob boss doesn’t have any interest in taking over, or is even trying to fight against their dad’s corrupted work. Mirzapur counteracts this by making Munna Tripathi (Divyenndu Sharma) so power-hungry for his dad’s legacy, he’ll start a war with the most powerful lawyer in Mirzapur.
Munna ends up becoming the villain as the series goes on, and watching him fall deeper into power-driven madness is beyond interesting. Most of the intense suspense in the show comes from moments where Munna goes behind his father’s back to try and get more power. It’s definitely something special when your protagonist is actually the bad guy in everyone else’s story.
Mirzapur acts as Gangster Life 101
While mafia leader Akhandanand Tripathi’s (Pankaj Tripathi) is focused on fighting his way to the top, Akhandanand takes on some new associates to get into the game. The lawyer Munna starts a fight with, Ramakant Pandit (Rajesh Tailang), has two sons that Akhandanand recruits to work for him.
Guddu (Ali Fazal) and Bablu (Vikrant Massey) Pandit become involved in the mafia scene in Mirzapur through Akhandanand. Through the Pandit brothers, the audience gets to follow along with an introduction to the world of the mafia and its rules, as well as get a closer look at how Akhandanand runs his empire.
The action and violence is realistic and worth it
Critics weren’t too happy with Mirzapur as they felt the show was just an attempt to see how violent and gory it could go. But clearly they don’t realize how much it helps the story feel real. In the underworld of crime, people aren’t shooting each other with Nerf guns. There’s going to be violence, fighting, and gore.
That’s what makes Mirzapur so suspenseful. You feel like more is on the line because the alternative is deadly. While the show is definitely gruesome at times, it makes such a difference in storytelling when the stakes feel real. If these characters make one wrong move, death is imminent.
It’s an introduction to some of Bollywood’s hottest stars
Pankaj Tripathi is easily one of Bollywood’s hottest stars today, with a variety of awards and recognitions to his name. But even as the leading man, the actors under him are just as impressive. Ali Fazal may actually look familiar to English audiences as he was in Victoria & Abdul alongside Dame Judi Dench.
Vikrant Massey’s 2016 film A Death in the Gunj brought him into leading man status, and Divyenndu Sharma is given a chance to shine in a more dramatic role thanks to Mirzapur. With such a terrific team of actors coming together, each episode offers stellar performances from the entire ensemble.
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Mirzapur season one is now streaming on Amazon Prime, with season two dropping sometime in 2020.
