Bollywood actor Abhishek Banerjee is returning as Compounder in Mirzapur: The Movie, reprising a character that became an important part of the popular franchise. Ahead of the film’s theatrical release, the actor spoke about the criticism surrounding Mirzapur’s depiction of violence, its use of strong language and the challenges of adapting an OTT property for the big screen.
Mirzapur has often faced questions over whether its portrayal of violence and brutality risks glorifying it. Banerjee, however, believes audiences are capable of distinguishing between fiction and reality. He also pointed out that similar criticism has followed several films that have depicted violence on screen.
Abhishek Banerjee on criticism over Mirzapur’s violence
“Critics said the same thing for Sholay, Animal and Dhurandhar. Whenever there is violence on screen, it will happen. But the reality is that whatever we see on screen is an inspiration from life. And trust me, a lot more gruesome violence is happening on the streets,” he said while responding to criticism that the franchise glorifies violence.
He added, “This is just a depiction of a fictitious world, fictitious characters. And as I said, that’s supposed to be for fun. And audiences are smart enough to learn what they want to. It’s completely subjective how an audience watches a film. And I don’t think film causes violence. It’s always the other way around. It’s because there’s so much violence in the world. In films, we have to depict that with as much honesty as we can.”
Mirzapur: The Movie had to make changes for theatrical release
The move from streaming to theatres also meant that the makers had to approach certain elements differently. Banerjee acknowledged that the film could not have the same freedom with language that the series had on OTT.
“You can’t get the same freedom you have in OTT. When we started shooting the film, we all were aware of it. So, we tried to use the cuss words as little as possible in various scenes. We definitely had to compromise. But it won’t really matter when you see the film,” he stated.
Abhishek Banerjee on the reunion of Mirzapur characters
For Banerjee, one of the film’s key attractions is the return of familiar characters alongside new faces. He believes that this combination will bring an element of nostalgia for viewers who have followed the franchise from the beginning.
“What the audience is going to love is the reunion of the characters. People are back from the dead and there’s a bouquet of fresh characters. It’s just nostalgia and fun. It has always been pure fun,” he shared.
The actor acknowledges the risk of a theatrical release
Mirzapur: The Movie also marks a significant shift for the franchise, which was built primarily as a streaming series. Banerjee acknowledged that the biggest uncertainty surrounding the film is its box-office performance. “Box office is all about risk, no matter who the actor or director is. I think no big film can guarantee a box-office hit. That is the nature of business. It’s a gamble, but a good gamble to play. Risk toh isme bhi hai ki aap sapna dekhe aur vo sapna pura naa ho. It’s okay to fail. The entire industry is trying… we are just trying to make good films,” he concluded.
Directed by Gurmmeet Singh, Mirzapur: The Movie brings back Pankaj Tripathi as Kaleen Bhaiya, Ali Fazal as Guddu Pandit, Divyenndu as Munna Tripathi, Shweta Tripathi as Golu Gupta, Rasika Dugal as Beena Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar as Sweety Gupta and Harshita Gaur as Dimpy Pandit, among others.
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