Bollywood: Interview with Mirzapur actor Ali Fazal as we talk guns, gore, and Guy Ritchie

Gulf News

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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.

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