Mirzapur Season 3 review: Of Crown, Conspiracies and Carnage

Mirzapur Season 3 review

Right at the beginning of the first episode, a young boy is beheaded with an axe by one of the goons in front of Golu (Shweta Tripathi Sharma). She is stunned and numb. So are her henchmen. While I could just see mirror image of mine in her, it instantly reminded me of Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s backlash at Javed Akhtar’s remarks on his Animal. I stay vindicated - Mirzapur’s brutal depiction of violence can even put Vanga to shame.

The stakes have gone notches higher and the canvas has become larger and darker – Gurmmeet Singh and co-director Anant Iyer create a dense world of power games. Tension looms, bodies pile up and so do the layers of deceptions, motives and manoeuvres.

The world is intoxicating – which makes the ten flabby episodes unrelenting irresistibly sumptuous. By the time, I reached the last one, I had turned borderline voyeuristic and a sucker for the plethora of unpredictable moves and its wonderfully etched characters (original ones created by Puneet Krishna) smartly conjured by the team of writers. The grisly acts and graphic renditions do look gratuitous at many points. But then, when its inevitable, why not enjoy it.

“Mirzapur ke gadde par Khargosh bhi shaktisaali ban jaati hai”, the show derives its dopamine from its tantalizing dialogues and razor-sharp one-liners, competently rendered by its ensemble. A notorious hasya-kavi cracks up with his provocative lewd shayaris and becomes a co-inmate of the sober, mild-mannered Sr. Pandit. The makers ensure we see both worlds with an unflinching eye – the innocence and violence, and when they juxtapose against each other.

With violence in its periphery, what dwells in the core is an array of solid performances. Pankaj Tripathi is mostly relegated to the background and the power-play between Fazal and Anjumm takes the centerstage. Fazal goes rogue, transforms into a maniacal machine displaying muscles and machismo – a gory fight in the prison between Guddu and a dozen of beefy men won’t let you bat your eyelids. But Mirzapur becomes rollicking with the complex and menacing Chhote, disguised as Bade, by the talented Vijay Varma. 

In this world of deadly men, the women get their share of pie too. Rasika Dugal, Shweta Tripathi and Isha Talwar, peel the layers of complexities deftly and play their fiery parts with aplomb along with other female brigade comprising Zareena(Anangsha Biswas) , Shernavaz Jijina(Shabnam) and Saloni Tyagi(Neha Sargam) who engage with men in quenching their carnal desires.

Mirzapur Season 3 – Final Words

I go with 4 stars out of 5 for Mirzapur. While the series concludes with a massive anticipation for the next season, it is most suitable for a binge-watch this weekend.

Mirzapur 3 is presented by Excel Entertainment streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 5th July 2024

Statutory Warning: Mirzapur can suffocate you with its graphic depiction of gore and violence, yet it remains OTT addicts’ most favorite and unhealthiest obsession!