I had huge expectations from Mirzapur. After all, when the first season came in the winter of 2018, a benchmark was set for web series coming out of India. Hence, the last two years went in good anticipation. That said, there were doubts that crept up though when the promo of the second season was unveiled. It was good, but not mind blowing. It made one get ready to binge watch 10 episodes that would follow but didn't quite become the talking point. It indicated well enough that the story was moving forwarded but didn't quite promise a nail biting affair.
This is what this near 9 hour long web series coming from Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani turns out as well. It is mildly exciting but (shockingly) at places even boring. It is reasonably entertaining but has quite a few loose ends. Most surprisingly, the performances too are a mixed bag this time around. All of this does make one feel a tad unsatisfied at the end.
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Mirzapur 2 starts off well though. There is a recap of close to 7 minutes that pretty much sets the tone for this Puneet Krishna series. The action sequence at the beginning does catch your attention and while each of the key protagonists is re-introduced in quick succession, surprisingly the graph doesn't raise much. One would have expected the first episode to start with a bang, considering the fact that the finale of the first season of Mirzapur had concluded on such an enthralling note. However, one just keeps hunting for some thrills which are just missing.
In fact there are a few tangents that are opened up as well and while I was led to believe that these would be the key to the story, they didn't even turn out to be peripheral. One such tangent was the battle of territories (Mirzapur v/s Jaunpur) that was introduced, only to be diluted entirely from the larger scheme of things. The heir of Jaunpur [Anjum Sharma] appears to have embarked on the revenge route against the Tripathis [Pankaj Tripathi, Duvyendu Sharma, Kulbhushan Kharbanda] but just surrenders in quest of some long drawn plan.
There are several other (rather unnecessary) plot points. The whole focus on Tripathis' 'wafadaar' [Shaji Chaudhary] takes a viewer to his family, which is of no real consequence. Another one who is 'wafadaar', Aasif Khan, doesn't add much to the plot either. The frequent unwanted solicitation that the 'bahu' of the house, Rasika Duggal, faces from Kulbhushan Kharbanda, which had lived its life in the first season, is long drawn. The love story between Harshita Gaur (Ali Fazal's sister) and a black money investor (Priyanshu Painyuli) is half baked and boring.
However, the biggest disappointment of Mirzapur 2 is the placement of the key protagonists, Ali Fazal & Shweta Tripathi. With Ali losing Shriya Pilgaonkar and Shweta mourning over Vikrant Massey, one would have expected something dynamic happening. That unfortunately doesn't happen. One would have expected the focus to be on Ali but he is hardly as active on the revenge scene as one would have expected. On the other hand there is terrible miscasting of Shweta as she tries to get into a rough-n-tough character but just doesn't seem convincing.
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There is a parallel track that runs with Vijay Verma (in a double role as 'judwaa' brothers) and his father [Lilliput] who run their own illegal businesses in Bihar. When the track is introduced, it is exciting. However, as it proceeds further, it is again quite unconvincing and seems to have been introduced just to flesh out the second season. It could either have covered a larger distance or stayed strictly peripheral. In this case, it is there, but that's about it. Thankfully, that's not the case with the cop character played by Amit Sial, which is just apt for the story.
Of course, there are still certain factors that make one watch Mirzapur 2 from end to end without really switching it off mid-way. That is due to the murkier developments that take place this time around, especially with Tripathis entering the political circle. The Chief Minister angle (featuring Paritosh Sand and Pramod Pathak who play brothers) is quite exciting, and it is interesting to see how the woman of the house [Isha Talwar] eventually rises up the ranks while becoming a part of the Tripathi family.
However, the trouble is that just when things turn exciting in Mirzapur 2, there are some boring scenes (and majority of these being shot in pitch dark) that follow which dilute the impact. Case in point the constant brooding of Shweta Tripathi (which practically always brings the pace of Mirzapur 2 down) and the hint of a love story that begins to play between Ali Fazal and the daughter [Shernavaz Jijina] of his business partner [Anil George] .
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Technically though, the film stays on to be rich as ever, what with the production values being good all over again, aerial shots further bringing scale to the story, background music being apt, sets and locations authentic, and sound design in mood with the series. Yes, cinematography, especially during the scenes shot in the dark, could have been more visually appealing.
Given the kind of cult following that Mirzapur enjoys, rest assured even the second season will get good eyeballs. It may not be a terrific watch but still makes for an average one, which means the third season can well be expected to be on the way as well. Hopefully, it would have more depth, less tangents and abundant with thrilling moments that would make the wait worth it.
Rating: **1/2
(Joginder Tuteja is a trade expert and film critic, and loves to talk and write about anything that is related to films. Views are personal.)