'Mirzapur' Season 3 Review

'Mirzapur' Season 3 Review

Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Rasika Duggal, Shweta Tripathi, Vijay Varma, Isha Talwar and others.

Music: Anand Bhaskar

Cinematography: Sanjay Kapoor

Executive Producers: Ritesh Sidhwani & Farhan Akhtar

Writer: Apurva Dhar Badgaiyan

Directors: Gurmeet Singh & Anand Iyer

'Mirzapur' is one of the most popular web series in India. It gained international reception too and it is one of the biggest shows on Amazon Prime Video. The first season was a blockbuster and created a new trend among series made about local gangsters. The second season got a positive response too. The third season has arrived after a long wait and let us see how it turned out to be.

Story:

After murdering Munna Tripathi (Divyendu) and badly injuring Kaleen Bhaiyya (Pankaj Tripathi), Guddu Pandit (Ali Fazal) and Golu (Shweta Tripathi) take control over the crime business in Mirzapur. While they enjoy the power, the heads of other regions are yet to accept Guddu's rule. Sharad who takes care of Kaleen Bhaiyya plans to dethrone Guddu and take the chair of Mirzapur which is the biggest and the most powerful territory in Purvanchal.

On the other hand, Chief Minister Madhuri Yadav (Isha Talwar) decides to avenge her husband Munna's death by making UP a crime-free state. She plans to erase all the gangsters from the state including Guddu. Along with them, Bharat Tyagi (Vinay Varma) plans to take revenge on Golu for cheating his brother in order to get what she wants. What does Kaleen Bhaiyya do after he recovers? How does Beena Tripathi survive? What happens to Guddu and Golu at the end? The struggle for power in gangster drama forms the rest of the story.

Analysis:

The first season of 'Mirzapur' took everyone by surprise. The boldness, foul language, the excessive violence caught the attention of everyone. Along with all these, the gripping narration, grey characters and brilliant writing made it a blockbuster series. The ending left everyone shattered and people eagerly waited for the second season. After a long wait, it was released and the makers decided to tone down the violence and boldness. But the great writing and impressive performances were still intact. Despite a few shortcomings, the second season was successful. However, making the third season became quite a challenge for the makers as they needed to take a new direction without losing the essence of the show. The show creators were partly successful in doing that but viewers might feel a bit disappointed.

The third season of 'Mirzapur' had more violence and action compared to the second part but the major part of the series revolves around the characters playing mind games and creating strategies to outwit their rivals. Despite the lack of high-octane moments, the season is filled with a lot of intense sequences and dramatic moments. People who like drama can be invested in it as the makers spent a lot of time on showcasing the real nature of the main characters, their struggles and their motives. Due to this, the pace takes a severe beating. We feel that the story is going nowhere while the episodes are moving on.

Also, the makers dwelled too much on a few characters that served no purpose to the actual storyline. The prison scenes involving Guddu's father are unnecessarily extended as they are not heavily connected to the main story. The track involving Vinay Varma goes nowhere till the midway point. Also, there are many places where the logic goes for a toss as some characters which hold a lot of significance in the initial stages go missing in the middle and appear in the last few episodes again. Also, one feels that more emphasis should have been laid on Guddu and Golu's story.

As said before, the show loses steam from 4th episode and only gains momentum at the end of 8th episode. We need to watch them just not to miss any details. But the episodes bore you a lot due to the slow pace. The show reaches its maximum potential in the last two episodes where we get completely invested in what is about to happen. The makers plan to extend the series to another season as a lot of the storylines are left with cliffhangers. 'Mirzapur' (Season 3) has its own strengths but it is surely not on the level of the first two seasons. Nonetheless, it makes for a decent watch this weekend.

Performances:

Ali Fazal as Guddu Pandit did a great job. He immersed himself in the character once again. His brute force and eccentric nature are well portrayed. He shows the soft side of the character with equal aplomb. Shweta Tripathi as the badass Golu is a scene-stealer. Her character has a lot of turmoil and the way she handles herself during intense sequences is amazing. Anjumm Sharma is another highlight of this season. His subtle acting as Sharad is a treat to watch. He got a major role and delivered his best.

Pankaj Tripathi who has been the face of 'Mirzapur' in the first two seasons gets a limited role but he leaves an impact in the last few episodes. Isha Talwar as a scheming Chief Minister is quite impressive. Vinay Varma is decent as well and Rasika Dugal plays her part quite effectively. The rest of the actors are did a fantastic job. The cast is perfect and the natural performances elevated the series on many occasions.

Technicians:

This web series is known for its gritty yet realistic visuals and it has been delivered once again. The local streets were showcased effectively and we get into the world of Mirzapur instantly. The music of the series is highly effective. The background score is quite intense and leaves a strong impact. The popular opening track is changed for the last few episodes signifying the change in tonality. The production values are top-notch and we can see the quality in filmmaking throughout the series.

The VFX work is great as the bloodshed is presented in a very convincing manner. The editing however needs to be a bit sharper. There are many occasions where the audiences feel that the show is moving at a very slow pace. There were some unnecessary tracks as well which might have been chopped out. The writing is quite layered and each character is well fleshed out. But a few tracks could have been avoided to make the series crisper. The show turns extraordinary in many moments but the graph comes down instantly every time which disappoints the viewers.

Verdict: Mirzapur (Season 3) - Layered & Detailed But Lengthy!

Rating: 2.5/5