Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyenndu, Shweta Tripathi Sharma, Rasika Dugal, Harshita Gaur, Rajesh Tailang, Sheeba Chadha, Anjum Sharma, Vijay Varma, Amit Sial, Isha Talwar, Priyanshu Painyuli
Director: Gurmmeet Singh, Mihir Desai
VFX – Hive FX studios
The second season of Mirzapur opens with a recap; substantial enough to align even the first-timers with the progression of the story without feeling too clueless. This is a desi game of gaddis (thrones); rife with revenge, bloodlust, ambition and violence; as crude and gritty as they come. Trigger-happy maniac and sociopathic heir of Tripathi Family Munna is recovering from gunshots reeling with dream sequences that project him as invincible and victorious.
While the protagonist Guddu is recuperating from severe physical wounds and trauma of losing his partner and brother, he is also growing more and more vengeance-driven. Super-bent on avenging the cold-blooded murders and claiming Mirzapur, he is on a deadly mission.
With various players vying for the throne that belongs to Akhandanand Tripathi a.k.a. Kaleen Bhaiyya, the screenplay progresses amidst politics, blood-feuds, gunshots and murder with lead characters struggling against the odds.
Directed by Gurmmeet Singh and Mihir Desai, the show is well-paced, courtesy of the script by Puneet Krishna and Vineet Krishna that lays bare a murky underbelly of North India. In short bursts, if not broad strokes, one sees the redemption of flawed characters with women emerging much stronger and hard-hitting in a rather patriarchal setting than the previous season.
Leading up to the climax, the characters go through a journey of self-destruction and redemption through various ordeals and roadblocks thrown their way. Either side strengthening their game with illegalities like gun-sale and opium trades, the common objective becomes more and more apparent.
Having established control over Mirzapur, Tripathi has his sights set on the political power in Lukhnow. But Guddu is hot on his tracks, pulling every trick in his sleeve to capitalise on the errors that Munna might potentially make and pull the trigger when the iron is hot. There is menace in the narrative in all aspects; coarse language, voyeur and gore supported by well-orchestrated scenes of violence that don’t seem forced.
This time the ambition of the crime-lord is bigger and scales are tipped in the favour of a high-octane drama punctuated by top-drawer performances by actors. When the women; a multi-layered Beena, a vindictive Golu and an ambitious Madhuri Yadav (the widowed daughter of the chief minister) challenge the fabric of patriarchy and hold in the reigns, it is a cathartic win.
VFX
The first scene itself is a dream sequence with computer-generated scorpion scuttling under the wheels with the camera zooming out long and wide to reveal the violent and gritty shades of the forest.
The factory set on fire is also a spectacular work of VFX with fire following a trail only to eventually gain full combustion with the protagonist Guddu standing with his back against the explosion in a legendary fashion. Fire effects are realistic and impressive.
Crowd-multiplication at rallies and background replacements are also neatly placed with no errors. Blood and gore are made to look much more photorealistic with the help of VFX all throughout the screenplay across bullet-shots, gun-fires, explosions, accidents, skies and rains.
The end clearly indicates that there is more in the offing, leaving viewers craving for more.