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00:00Very exciting. I think it's been one of the most exciting journeys for a character that I've played.
00:05Because when push comes to shove, you've got to start using your brains.
00:10And stop thinking about, you know, all the cosmetic stuff.
00:15And I found that transition to be very interesting.
00:20And a very, very instinctive guy suddenly saying, wait a second, you know, I got to stop.
00:25I got to test my instincts out and rely on my brain more than, you know, my muscle.
00:32Because his leg is injured. And it's quite ironic, you know, for a guy so powerful.
00:38He just, his movement is taken away. His hands have crutches.
00:43So that really made me learn a lot. And then I kind of used that in season three.
00:48Thank you, Ali Fazal, for speaking to Gulf News.
00:53Firstly, we are very, very psyched about the season three of Mirzapur.
00:58What will happen? Do you complete the revenge? There's so many questions in our head.
01:02I think this is one of the most riveting series where we are really looking forward to the next season.
01:06Because there's always a cliffhangers in there.
01:09Yeah, we deal in cliffhangers.
01:13A lot of guns and gore.
01:16Yeah. Yeah, it is.
01:20It is that. Why do you think Mirzapur really hit it off with the audiences, Ali?
01:27And you are the, you know, you play a crucial role in it as well.
01:31I think it came at a time when our actual Janta, you know, was in a very confused state of mind.
01:42So, you know, there's a lot of venting as a society that was just being.
01:50Yeah, there was a void for it. There was just that need for it.
01:54You know, and imagine watching somebody do that for you.
01:58In our day to day lives, you know, as of course, you know,
02:03and then you have these characters who just come in like.
02:09And they come from those areas. They come from grassroot places, you know.
02:14Which, of course, we in metro cities totally forget and totally even don't even sometimes acknowledge.
02:21But, you know, so I felt like it just resonated with everybody.
02:29On a very carnal level also.
02:31Yes, on a very carnal. It made you question, do you enjoy like people like just,
02:36you know, choosing guns and violence over like, you know, just sitting down and talking.
02:41I love it how you almost derive happiness from killing people.
02:44That was my biggest takeaway. Like you loved, you loved it.
02:48And I was like, you know, somewhere along the way, you guys are all psychopaths masquerading as civilians, really.
02:54But is that the fun bit as well, playing a character that is so, like, there's no consequence, right?
03:00That's what I feel all the heroes and villains in this one.
03:04No, no, no. There's definite consequence.
03:07There's, you know, and if you really go deep into it, you'll find that, you know, beneath the gore, beneath the, you know,
03:13the shooting and the violence and the random characters being killed.
03:18And the most important one suddenly, surprisingly being killed in your face.
03:22And then beneath all of that, there has to be, otherwise the stories won't work.
03:28It can't just be mindless shooting about, otherwise something wouldn't work.
03:33Like, I think, you know, I thought that season one, I was very,
03:42and I, I saw myself the day I had this conversation at night.
03:46And I'm asking,
03:48man, I'm finally going to watch it.
03:51And I watched it.
03:53I literally watched eight seasons and I'm like, okay.
03:57You know, that didn't hit me as hard as something at home I'm doing, you know?
04:03And so I'm trying to understand what people are, how people think.
04:08No, no, but it's interesting, Ali, that you say it because people commented on that.
04:18They're like, why are people up in arms about Mirzapur?
04:21But they don't mind, you know, watching a Guy Ritchie movie where it is like, you know,
04:26fingers being severed and heads being chopped.
04:29Yeah, in a Guy Ritchie film, you have entire monologues about the killing that is about to take place.
04:34You know, so, I mean, it's, it's again, like I said before, it has to,
04:39this responsibility can't just be us.
04:43We're not the conscience for an entire society.
04:46And there are, I'm assuming, responsible people, I'm assuming,
04:50watching television responsibly, I'm assuming,
04:53and all these people, I'm assuming, are above 18.
04:57You know?
04:59So, you know, we can only assume.
05:02No, no, I love it how this is an adult-friendly show.
05:05In fact, the women of Mirzapur earlier this week called it a very family-friendly show.
05:10I'm like, yeah, family who's above 18, please.
05:12You know, that's, there has to be a caveat.
05:15Regarding your character, you know, in the first season, you were all brawn,
05:19and your brother was the brain, right?
05:21There was a distinct demarcation, and later you evolved.
05:24Did you find that fascinating as well?
05:26The second season kind of, like, saw you more as a scheming,
05:29you had, you know, you had two gray cells to rub against each other as well.
05:33That was a pleasant surprise.
05:35Yeah, yeah.
05:37Was that exciting for you?
05:38Very exciting.
05:40I think it's been one of the most exciting journeys for a character that I've played.
05:43Because when it comes to Shub, you've got to use,
05:47you've got to start using your brains,
05:49and stop thinking about, you know, all the cosmetic stuff.
05:55And I found that transition to be very interesting.
05:58And a very, very instinctive guy suddenly saying, wait a second, you know,
06:03I got to stop, I got to test my instincts out,
06:06and rely on my brain more than, you know, my muscle.
06:11Because his leg is injured.
06:14And it's quite ironic, you know, for a guy so powerful,
06:17he just, his movement is taken away, his hands have crutches.
06:22So that really made me learn a lot.
06:25And then I kind of used that in season three,
06:27of where it finally drops him, you know,
06:31where the manicness trickles in,
06:34where the decisions are now being made by proper thoughtfulness,
06:41behind those, you know, schemes and everything.
06:46Yeah, Ali, I was revisiting Mirzapur,
06:49and the scene where you lose out on the muscleman contest,
06:54and you break down, right, on stage.
06:57That is a very visceral scene.
06:59One of the, you know, very, I feel people don't talk about it enough.
07:02I wish they would.
07:03You know, where you just show disappointment, anger, rage, etc.
07:07Do you think, do you have such scenes where you go back to it and say,
07:10not bad, I've done a fantastic job?
07:12Or do you ever revisit those series and critique it yourself?
07:17I do a bit of both, I think.
07:19Yeah, we naturally do it.
07:21All actors do that, I suppose.
07:23We see it, we go back to it.
07:29Most of the times it's like, okay, you know,
07:31I could have done something different, something better.
07:35But I mean, at that point in my life, that is what made sense.
07:41I just look for the honesty in it.
07:42And if it's honest enough, then it works.
07:45No, I think that's true.
07:46I mean, with Mirzapur, what worked are the characters, right?
07:49Everybody from Bina Chowdhury to Kaleen, everybody speaks to you.
07:53They are vulnerable.
07:54And all of them are very complex.
07:56They're kind of evil.
07:57They glorify, you know, they're not nice people to love.
08:00You are not a nice person to love.
08:02But at the end of the day, we kind of give you a long rope.
08:04Is that also one of the reasons why the series works?
08:07Because none of it is black and white.
08:09No, because I'll tell you, if you remove the violence, right,
08:14that last walk where the character in Mirzapur walks to the weapon,
08:19picks up the weapon, and uses it, right?
08:22If you remove that, it's all of us.
08:26It's all our families.
08:28Literally.
08:30And that is what people are connecting to.
08:32There's a little follow-through that doesn't happen in real society.
08:36A little? Yeah, yeah. A bit violent.
08:38A lot. A lot.
08:40What I'm saying, at the base of it, the issues are,
08:44I mean, the opening scene, you know, of the trailer is
08:47the biggest gangster not being able to satisfy his woman.
08:51Yeah.
08:52In bed.
08:53You know, or
08:56the son, the prince.
08:58Yeah, the prince who's not able to take care of her.
09:00The prince who can't, daddy traumas, you know.
09:03Yes.
09:04I mean, not having a mother, you know, again, childhood issues.
09:08All childhood issues.
09:10The other family also, same problem.
09:13One accepted, one not accepted.
09:15One better student, one not.
09:17One is good, one is bad.
09:19One is a sister.
09:21You know, the mother is a bit crazy.
09:23She stays in the kitchen all day.
09:25All of this is a family story.
09:28Then on top of that, we have shown this world.
09:31Yeah.
09:32We are not accepted in that world.
09:34Because suddenly, everyone's fans stand up.
09:36Everybody's like, oh, wait a minute.
09:38How dare you be so violent?
09:40Yes, yes.
09:41You get that a lot.
09:42You get that.
09:43Yeah.
09:44Perhaps it's also because of the escalating gun violence around the world as well.
09:47Should you glorify it?
09:48That debate has been going on for a long time, Ali.
09:51I mean, it's not related.
09:52Oh, yeah.
09:53I think any violent movie that comes, it triggers the debate.
09:56Should we be glorifying it?
09:58I mean, I don't think it's personal, is it?
10:00No, no, it's never personal.
10:02I'm totally for that.
10:04I don't think we should glorify gun violence at all.
10:08I mean, that's a long talk.
10:10I can go really into it.
10:12Because then it's...
10:13Of course.
10:14I don't know.
10:15If visual medium of fictionalized worlds, I suppose, should take some responsibility.
10:26But should not also be the conscience of an entire generation, entire society at the same time.
10:32I suppose, really, there's a deep-rooted problem with policies and economics and oil trade.
10:41Of course.
10:42But, Ali, I think art should provoke, right?
10:45At the end of the day, I think Mirzapur, that's what it did.
10:47It was a very provocative series.
10:49It is.
10:50It's scary.
10:51It's almost scary.
10:52Like, yeah.
10:53It got scary when there were, I mean, the influence of it.
10:58When it trickles down to, let's say, somebody who's under 18.
11:02That's when it's scary.
11:04That's when you're like, okay, am I doing this?
11:06Or is this bad parenting that is responsible for this?
11:09It's a bit of both.
11:10Yeah.
11:11You know, we're all...
11:12Yeah.
11:14Ali, I have to say, you're also one of the most underutilized actors of Bollywood.
11:19I know you get this a lot.
11:20I ask you this question.
11:22But do you think Mirzapur has, in some way, kind of like corrected that?
11:27No.
11:28I mean, I don't know.
11:31Mirzapur is one aspect of me.
11:34Then there's another aspect of me.
11:37I'm very secure when it comes to my career.
11:43I'm really in a great space.
11:45When you say underutilized, I always imagine that there's a godfather sitting up there
11:53who's not played me right.
11:56Which I don't believe in.
11:58I don't think there is anybody who's controlling my career.
12:03That's it.
12:04I chose to kind of divide it in two halves.
12:06Sometimes my work gets divided.
12:09I'm on this side of the world and some here.
12:13That's where I lose out.
12:16Oh, brilliant.
12:17And Ali, do you have a cathartic process after you've stopped filming Mirzapur?
12:21How do you get out of the character?
12:25Do you go for a long spa holiday?
12:28What happens?
12:30No, God, I wish I had the luxury.
12:32No, we switch out.
12:33We learn.
12:34We're actors, so we have to.
12:36Right.
12:37It's all fiction.
12:38I mean, we're not...
12:41Some of the habits stay back, like the sticks, walking, or sometimes the language, the accents.
12:50They take a little while to sort of wean off over time.
12:53Right.
12:54Because you make them habits.
12:57What was the most challenging part of season three, if you were to look back, without revealing details about perhaps the plot?
13:08I mean, one of the most challenging sequences was the jail sequence we did.
13:12It's a fight sequence.
13:13But it's mostly hand combat.
13:15It's not your guns.
13:16Usually, Mirzapur has always mostly had a lot to do with guns and explosives and all that.
13:21But this is purely old school hand combat, just going nuts inside a jail cell.
13:31I was very fascinated with the choreography of it.
13:34But there are certain scenes I'm very proud of, I think, which are very small snippets.
13:43Maybe when you see the show, but I thought there was a lot that went in.
13:47I really hope people can maybe see the spaces in the middle and the nuances there that I think a bunch of us have tried to create.
13:58Yeah, apart from...
14:00Excellent.
14:01Can I just ask you, of all the characters in Mirzapur, we have been asked to wrap up.
14:05Which is the character that fascinated you, be it men or women?
14:09And you were like, this is one character which I think is something I wouldn't mind doing, perhaps.
14:16Or just admiring it from a distance, saying this is a good character to play.
14:21Do you have any and why?
14:24Bina Tripathi's character.
14:31I don't think I would want to play that, but like you said, I really admire that entire journey.
14:37And of course, what Rasika has done with it and where she's brought it.
14:44She's vulnerable. She's vulnerable and strong and very wicked.
14:47It's a tough combination to match as well.
14:51Thank you so much.
14:52Would you be reading the reviews as well, Ali, before I let you go?
14:55Or are you not going to?
14:56Are you going to be review-proof?
14:58Mirzapur is review-proof. It doesn't matter who says what.
15:02With Mirzapur, it will still have all the people watching.
15:07We come from a place where we watch reviews, good or bad.
15:10We got horrible reviews season one, I remember.
15:13We got trash.
15:16But it's okay.
15:19You rose like a phoenix.
15:23After every bad season, we're like, we're back.
15:25And season three, it is.
15:27Brilliant. Thank you so much for entertaining us.
15:29I can tell you, it's been fun watching it.
15:33It's highly entertaining a show.