Mirzapur The Movie Review: A 3-Hour-17-Minute Masala Ride I Loved

9 a.m. PVR Juhu. Mirzapur – The Movie. And me? Let’s just say I wasn’t exactly jumping out of bed for this one.

I had a million things waiting for me, an early-morning screening ahead, and while I knew perfectly well that Mirzapur had become a phenomenon, there was one rather embarrassing confession I had to make before settling into my seat: I had never watched the series. Not one season. Not one episode. Nothing. Nada. Yep, I was walking into Mirzapur – The Movie completely uninitiated.

And strangely, that felt rather liberating. There were no expectations, no preconceived notions and no emotional baggage about who was who, who had betrayed whom, or who I was supposed to love, hate or root for. It was simply me, a giant screen and a film I was about to discover completely on its own terms.

And then I remembered something my dear Chappy had told me before I left: don’t go looking for a verdict. Go, take it in your stride and let the film come to you.

So I did.

And bloody hell, did it come to me!

What started as an early-morning screening I wasn’t particularly excited about quickly turned into one of those “OMG, I’m actually having SO much fun!” movie mornings — the kind where you stop looking at your watch, forget the day’s to-do list and simply surrender to the madness unfolding on screen. And Mirzapur had plenty of madness to offer: maar-dhaad, gaalis, banter, romance, emotion, head-banging music, stunning visuals, larger-than-life characters and that wonderfully raw, rustic, unapologetically Indian flavour.

Three hours and seventeen minutes later, I walked out thinking, okay, Mirzapur. I get it now.

From the Trailer Launch to the Big Screen

There was already a little personal connection with this film before I watched it. I had attended the official trailer launch at PVR Juhu, where I met the Mirzapur clan — the cast, crew, producers, director, actors and key members of the team. PVR Juhu is one of those familiar Mumbai venues where film launches and screenings often bring together stars and a select media and influencer fraternity, so being back there for the actual film felt almost like completing a little circle.

Only this time, I wasn’t thinking about the launch, the photographs, the conversations or the promotional buzz. I was simply watching a film, and a 3-hour-17-minute film at that.

Surprisingly, I never found myself checking the time.

I Didn’t Know Mirzapur. Mirzapur Didn’t Care.

Perhaps the most fascinating part of my experience was that I came to this film without the advantage — or the baggage — of having followed the hugely popular web series. I didn’t know every character’s backstory, I wasn’t waiting for familiar references and I didn’t have years of emotional investment telling me who I should love, hate, fear or root for.

I simply landed in Mirzapur, and the film pulled me in.

Sitting next to me was, someone who knew the Mirzapur universe inside out — a fan of the series who also happens to be a stand-up comedian. He became my unofficial Mirzapur professor, enthusiastically explaining characters and their histories whenever he felt I might be missing something. I confess, I missed his name somewhere between the action and his over-zealous character briefings!

But dear fellow Mirzapur fan and comedian, if you ever happen to read this — a huge shout-out to you for those over-zealous explanations. I have a sneaking suspicion that some of those Mirzapur observations may find their way into your next stand-up act anyway!

Yet here’s the thing: even without knowing the series, I could feel these characters. And that, to me, says a lot about the filmmaking.

So, What Actually Worked for Me?

Let’s address the obvious first. Yes, there is maar-dhaad — plenty of it. There are guns, violence, confrontations, threats, chaos and enough MC-BC-level gaalis to make your polite living room blush. And you know what? I enjoyed every bit of it, because none of it felt like it was there simply to tick the “action film” box. It belonged to the world of Mirzapur. The language, aggression, dark humour, banter and sheer unpredictability all seemed to grow organically from the characters and their surroundings.

Of course, that combination won’t necessarily be everyone’s cup of chai, and I can completely understand that. The film is unapologetic about its violence and language, so if either makes you uncomfortable, this is probably not going to be your happy place. But for me, it never felt gratuitous; it felt like an intrinsic part of the world the film was creating.

And the real reason the film worked for me wasn’t the violence anyway. It was the storytelling.

At 3 hours and 17 minutes, Mirzapur – The Movie is a sizeable theatrical commitment, yet I never felt that the film was dragging. The pace keeps moving, shifting between action, emotion, romance, humour and conflict with an energy that makes the runtime surprisingly easy to surrender to. There is always something happening, but it doesn’t feel like the film is simply throwing events at you for the sake of keeping things moving.

The writing particularly impressed me. I may not have known these characters from the series, but I could understand their emotions. You don’t necessarily approve of what they do — some of it is downright disturbing — but you begin to understand why they are the way they are. That is where the writing earns its place.

The characters aren’t simply heroes and villains neatly lined up on opposite sides. They are flawed, complicated and driven by loyalties, relationships, anger, ambition, love and sometimes plain madness. You may disagree with them, you may even dislike them, but you feel them. And that emotional connection is what pulled this complete outsider into the story.

That is also where I found the director’s vision particularly evident. Gurmmeet Singh doesn’t seem interested in making the world look prettier or more palatable than it is. Instead, the film embraces its own rawness, allowing the characters, locations and situations to retain their rough edges. The cinematography adds enormously to this, creating visuals that are often striking without taking away from the earthy, rustic quality of the world.

There is something wonderfully unapologetically Indian about the way Mirzapur looks and feels. It isn’t sanitised India, and it certainly isn’t glossy India. It is loud, rough-edged, emotional, funny, violent and complicated — and very much its own universe.

And then there is the music, which deserves more than being tucked away somewhere in a technical credits paragraph. Oh, the music! The soundtrack adds a serious shot of adrenaline to the storytelling. It is racy, head-banging and energetic, knowing when to push the action, when to heighten the romance and when to underline the emotion. The film moves between action, romance, humour and emotion, and the music gives that movement a pulse.

For me, that was a big part of why the 3-hour-17-minute runtime never became an issue. The film keeps changing its emotional rhythm, and the music becomes part of that rhythm rather than merely sitting behind the scenes.

And Somewhere Along the Way… Ali Fazal Happened

Now we come to an entirely different kind of review.

Somewhere between the action, emotion, music and madness, I developed a rather unexpected problem: Ali Fazal. There, I’ve said it.

I walked into Mirzapur – The Movie as a completely neutral viewer and walked out, quite unexpectedly, a little besotted with Ali Fazal. Watching him on screen and then seeing him walk into the theatre afterwards was quite frankly an unfair combination.

And that brings me to the icing on this particular cinematic cake.

And Then the Credits Rolled…

Just when I thought my Mirzapur morning had come to an end, the film decided that one surprise wasn’t enough. The credits began rolling, and then came Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal and Divyenndu, appearing in person for the audience.

Having already met the cast and crew at the trailer launch, this wasn’t my first encounter with them. But seeing them emerge after watching the film felt completely different. You had just spent hours watching these actors inhabit their characters — and suddenly, there they were, right in front of you, very much themselves.

And can we talk about how good these men are looking?

There seems to be a new era dawning where male actors are taking skincare, fitness, diet and grooming seriously, and frankly, I’m here for it. Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal and Divyenndu were all looking seriously starry off-screen too.

And yes, I even managed to spend a little time with them. Because apparently, Mirzapur had decided that one surprise wasn’t enough.

So, Was It Worth the 9 a.m. Screening?

Absolutely.

In fact, I’m rather glad I didn’t talk myself out of going, because this was one of those unexpectedly lovely reminders that sometimes we need to stop approaching every film with a checklist and simply let ourselves be entertained.

I went into Mirzapur – The Movie without having watched the series, without knowing the characters and without any great expectations. I came out having thoroughly enjoyed the maar-dhaad, the gaalis, the music, the banter, the emotions, the characters, the visuals and the sheer unapologetic Indian-ness of it all.

And perhaps that is my biggest takeaway from this Mirzapur The Movie Review. A good masala film doesn’t always need to convince you that it is important or profound. Sometimes it just needs to make you feel something, make you laugh, make you gasp, make you cheer — and make the time inside a dark theatre feel completely worth it.

Mirzapur – The Movie did exactly that for me.

I went in uninitiated. I came out thoroughly entertained. And somewhere between Mirzapur, the maar-dhaad, the music, the madness and one very distracting Ali Fazal, I realised something rather simple:

Sometimes the best movie experiences are the ones you never saw coming.