Mirzapur (TV series)


Mirzapur is an Indian crime thriller web television series on Amazon Prime Video produced by Excel Entertainment. The series is primarily shot in Mirzapur, with some shots in Jaunpur, Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Varanasi. It revolves around drugs, guns and lawlessness. It depicts the putrescence, governance and rule of mafia dons and the rivalry and crime prevailing in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. Its first season consists of 9 episodes in total. The series has been renewed for a second season which will release in 2020.
The series is Amazon Prime Video’s third fiction Indian Original after Inside Edge and Breathe. It stars Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rasika Dugal, Harshita Gaur, Divyendu Sharma and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.

Cast

Season 1 (2018)

Reception

The show has received mixed to good reviews from critics. Rohan Naahar of the Hindustan Times, rating it 2/5, calls it "a needlessly violent Anurag Kashyap rip-off has the maturity of an ill-mannered teen - loud, obnoxious and aimless", saying it's "a show without a moral centre, which is problematic - not only ethically, but narratively. Without a single character to latch on to, the show is left with no option but to revel in the violence, which is often needlessly over-the-top." Sampada Sharma of The Indian Express also considered it "a washed up Anurag Kashyap universe that is trying too hard to please longtime Kashyap loyalists" and that "the show tries to surprise the audience with some anti-climactic twists in a few scenes but you can already see them coming." Ektaa Malik, also of The Indian Express, terms it "a tedious watch, and even its top-notch cast can’t save this mammoth show from sinking. The show creators wished to create a multi-layered, complex narrative, replete with backstories, but it all ends up in a big muddled heap. The relentless violence and gore doesn’t scare you, rather it makes you cringe. The abundant profanity doesn’t add to the story, it distracts you instead.The writers and show creators have tried to imbibe current socio-political and cultural references but nothing really stands out." Saraswati Datar from The News Minute talks of a "brilliant cast of actors led by Pankaj Tripathi is let down by an inconsistent script and indulgent direction." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rates it 2/5, and, while also highlighting the performances of Tripathi, Fazal and Massey, talks of the show as "a crime series that never ventures beyond familiar terrain. Its trite narrative template undermines its ambition to be the web's answer to Gangs of Wasseypur. With nothing to say, it inevitably flubs its lines." Stutee Ghosh from The Quint gives it 2.5/5, also saying how the performances "save" a "weak drama." Rahul Desai of Film Companion rates it 3.5/5, calling it "a choppy but fearless crime epic."
Ketna Mistry of Biz Asia gives it 4/5.

Awards and nominations