Rating – ***1/2 (3.5/5)

‘Samay aa gaya hai, bhaukaal machne ka’ – the legend of Mirzapur stands out as a crown jewel for not just Prime Video but for streaming space overall. Evoking such a passionate fandom was and to an extent, still does remain unheard of. Being the propellers of a streaming revolution that has exploded beyond control, a legacy has been carved and will remain intact. Granted there have been and will be seasons that leave you underwhelmed but about 29 episodes later, it can be sealed that it might never go horribly wrong for you to detach yourself.

Mirzapur Season 3 took quite a while to get going whereas the first two seasons came out in a mere span of three years but with this one, it felt like a snail’s path, at least for the fans. Hence the expectations are higher, the restlessness is bigger and the pressure to deliver was more than ever for the makers.

One needs also to fathom that Mirzapur is one-of-a-kind with its world-building where the continuity cannot be compromised even as the long list of actors age and change their appearances in the many projects they do. That is probably why it took longer than ever for Mirzapur Season 3 to come, and it is finally here.

Why So Long?

The foremost point of conversation is my question to the makers – is there an obligation to clock a mammoth 10 episodes that average around 50 minutes each? If there is, the logistics have taken over the beauty of crisp storytelling. The ambition to expand this beyond Mirzapur is rather obvious here as you see multiple jumps, and several back-and-forths between numerous cities like Prayagraj, Jaunpur, Varanasi, Balia and more. It is commendable, it truly is.

I even foresee this to be a stepping stone for something that has more meat to it in the fourth season and so on but even then, the blank spaces of about six to seven episodes don’t make it entirely worth it. Apart from it being a build-up with now umpteen storylines, they feel like a reason to fill blank spaces and considering you have about 300 minutes of viewing to fill – you can imagine that is a lot!

However, just like any show with more plot developments than you can count, some of these stand out more than others. You cannot quite include the central talk that revolves around Guddu Bhaiyya (Ali Fazal), Kaleen Bhaiyya (Pankaj Tripathi), Golu (Shweta Tripathi Sharma), Sharad (Anjumm Sharma) and Beena (Rasika Duggal) because that is always going to be the core.

But the expanded world of a few intersections between our primary characters and the entry and exit of newer and older characters respectively is what makes up for a chaotic broth of ingredients where a few of them serve their purpose to the soup while some are just not fitting in the mix.

Thematic Adaptation of Game of Thrones?

Vijay Varma’s Shatrughan/Bharat saga continues to be the most underwhelming and perplexing dynamic, where even after so much happens to him and the characters around him in this season, it still feels peripheral to the purpose. Add to that, Beena, who continues to have a topsy-turvy ride with Mirzapur witnesses another pedestrian season, as apart from a few dialogues and hints of her showing how vicious she can be, she doesn’t have much to do – especially after the immense high she had in Season 2, this is a downer.

Mirzapur Season 3 more often than not seems to be adapting a thematic sense of how Game of Thrones played out – and this isn’t about how it has ‘copied’ or ‘adapted’ anything because they haven’t but the writers and developers, Avinash Singh Tomar and Apurva Dhar Badgaiyan along with directors Gurmmeet Singh and Anand Iyer have woven an intricate web that derives themes and nuances from the acclaimed mega show.

I won’t reveal why and how because that might potentially spoil proceedings but it does so in a way that leaves you marvelling at the depth of the characterisation and future of Mirzapur they are planning for.

The Cast & Crew

Sanjay Kapoor’s excellent cinematography and John Stewart Eduri’s always reliable music and score lend perfectly to every sequence and even though, the accentuation of it is perennial, it somehow still serves the purpose. With an ensemble cast that boasts of some of the finest actors we can imagine, you expect brilliance and most of them deliver. The standout for me here was Anjumm Sharma as Sharad, who is extremely subdued as opposed to the tenacity of the opponents he is up against – and that is done just right.

He never becomes boring, and instead is probably the most sensible one in the entire lot – and Sharma can portray that fantastically well. Other standouts include the likes of Shernavaz Jijna and Neha Sargam especially because they have a lot more to do this time than they did in the previous season.

Both Jijna and Sargam can bring ache, gravitas and emotions to their characters where you care for it and don’t just look at it from the perspective of being another character who is there for the sake of it. Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi and Shweta Tripathi Sharma have now emulated their respective characters in a way that they might never be able to forget and they prove once again, why they are the faces of this mammoth series.

The Future

Mirzapur Season 3 gets a whole lot better in the final three episodes where things finally come together and there are those shocker moments that might you have to drop your food, jaws wide open and then, discuss a thousand theories with the other fans.

And more than the last season, I love the pitch-perfect setup for Season 4 and the transition to that is going to feel more organic than it was at the beginning of this season. Mirzapur Season 3 might not be Mirzapur-ing anymore as much but still continues to be one of the finest out there and with the threads that it ties up towards the end, things look positive and encouraging for the show ahead.