Divyenndu, as Munna Tripathi, brought unbridled energy to Mirzapur. His unstable behavior, rough actions, and colorful language infused the first season with a feverish vibrancy and rendered the second one (the weakest season so far) bearable. Kaleen Bhaiya, on the other hand, provided a sense of stability to the show. Pankaj Tripathi is an expert at conveying extreme emotions with slight, subtle movements. Both the characters are missing from this third season. Or, more accurately, Kaleen, for the most part, remains in the background, and Munna - well, he has met his maker. What this means is that the third season of Mirzapur is tonally different from its previous seasons. It isn't pumping with excitement like Season 1, and it's not as mechanical as the second season. If Season 3 had been a person, it would have been a gangster who had witnessed much bloodshed. Nothing shocks or surprises him anymore (the visual equivalent of this is the sight of a doctor and a patient who watch two gang leaders and their men and then roll their eyes as if saying, "Ah shit, here we go again"). He simply regards the events from a distance. This is why I think some people would find Season 3 to be boring or dull. They might go in expecting a shot of adrenaline; they will come out thinking they have been injected with water.
The lack of a solid, palpable mood is a cause for concern because the scenes fail to measure up to the power of the performances. This perfectly cast show doesn't have a single weak actor, and they all prevent Season 3 from crumbling to pieces. Early on in a scene in Episode 1, Guddu (Ali Fazal) tells his father that he wants control, power, and respect. The way Guddu closes his eyes and talks about his obsessions makes you feel as if he is lost in his dream world, imagining great things while talking about them. Almost immediately, Guddu's father, Ramakant Pandit (Rajesh Tailang), breaks Guddu's dream and brings him back to earth. This is what Season 3 is all about - Guddu thinks he is invincible, and the circumstances do the job of breaking his armor. This puts him in a position where he has to constantly prove to others that he is the "asli don." But it's not just Guddu who has to prove himself capable. Golu (Shweta Tripathi) continuously tries to present herself as a smart, skilled leader - someone who is equal to Guddu in status and power (in reality, she is much better). Sharad (Anjum Sharma) wants to show everyone he deserves to sit on the Mirzapur throne. Madhuri (Isha Talwar) is treated as an amateur by other politicians, so she decides to tell them she is the boss. And Shabnam (Shernavaz Jijina) requests her father (Anil George) to put his trust in her.
If Golu is the brain, Guddu is the brawn. Of course, the former possesses considerable physical strength. And the latter knows how to make a deal through words and calculations. Still, when you observe them together, she seems to represent intelligence, and he embodies power. So when Golu is separated from Guddu, he starts making decisions using his muscles. Add to it the influence of drugs, and he looks like a maniac. Guddu, at first, walks with a limp, which just means he is getting used to his new position. His leg is healed the moment he settles into his current status. It's all very obvious, which is something you can also say about that scene where Kaleen arranges groundnuts according to the seating arrangement of the mafia heads to see who is on his side and who is not. These mafia heads, or call them dons, are power-hungry animals. In fact, a character mentions that dons are not killed but hunted. In this corrupt world where men are animals, a baby boy is pacified through a Discovery Channel-like show about, well, animals. That boy is the offspring of Satyanand Tripathi (Kulbhushan Kharbanda), who used to watch these types of shows. Speaking of dons, Shah Rukh Khan's Don is seen playing on TV in one of the episodes. Notice the scene, however. It's the climax where Don switches places with Vijay, and we see this on the television because we watch Shatrughan Tyagi (Vijay Varma) in the foreground. In the last season, he, too, switched places with his twin brother, Bharat. It's an amusing - if, once again, an obvious - touch in a show that doesn't have a propulsive rhythm but still manages to be pretty bingeable.
The easy-to-watch quality is present due to the performances. I know I am repeating myself, but the cast is simply perfect. Tailang comes across as an epitome of good values and innocence. He effectively underlines his character's interior journey from being a cheerleader of the justice system to a cynic who preaches survival of the fittest (or the most corrupt individual). Talwar gives you the pleasure of watching a pure soul diving into dishonest waters. She raises "crime-free" slogans but also uses criminal techniques to fulfill her mission. Shweta Tripathi exudes ambition and success, and Varma deftly sheds his good side to embrace his sinister angle. Rejection of good moral values is common here (remember Ramakant's thread). In fact, those who remain virtuous in Season 3 (take Dimpy and Sheeba Chaddha's Vasudha Pandit, for instance) don't leave a lasting impression. You forget about their existence. Then again, this issue remains true for other characters as well. When you spend time with Guddu and Golu, you forget about Sharad. The Tyagi family exits from your mind when Sharad and Madhuri are in the frame. And when the entire focus is on the gangsters, as well as their plans, Ramakant, and other captives slip away from your brain. One of those captives is a poet named Raheem (Pallav Singh). His crime? He used his poetry to make fun of a VIP. I am sure many artists in India will identify with Raheem.
The women of Mirzapur Season 3 turn out to be more appealing. Most men are concerned with lust, sex, and violence. The women are aware of this fact and use it to gain advantage. Zarina (Anangsha Biswas) dances for some men to ensure the success of a government scheme. Beena (Rasika Dugal) radiates her sexual charm in front of Guddu and, at one point, almost seduces him. Beena also often comes across a black cat that roams around like an ominous signal. Later, Kaleen meets Beena while wearing a black outfit. That cat gets trapped in a cage, but thanks to Kaleen, Beena's fears forcefully come to the surface. This "animal in the form of a human" could prove to be bad luck for many people in the future. Beware.
Final Score- [6.5/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times