Review: Mirzapur 2

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 I have never reviewed a Web Series here before, barring the occasional Pataalok which I talked about extensively earlier in one of my posts. Well, Pataalok deserves all the accolades and the kudos for some terrific writing and a brilliant casting. And it has to stand tall amongst all of 2020 releases so far in the Web Series category. I am also hoping against hope that the makers do not get into a Pataalok2 and that might be the death knell for it. We are usually not good the second time! 

And that is where Mirzapur (showcasing on Amazon Prime) and it's second innings is all about. The first season had its moments and the audience woke up to the dialect, the tone, the arrogance, swag and everything that was Eastern UP. For a boy growing up in the 70's and 80's in that part of the world a lot of it came to me naturally and was relatable. However, the larger context of the 1st season was that it had a storyline (even though weak) was moving. A lot of things though sounding unbelievable yet made the audience buy into it. 

Season 2 however, never really takes off. The plot seems to meander around in circles and we all are given to believe that the throne of Mirzapur is to die for (A la GoT). And the process of acquiring by different stakeholders makes it even more complex and at times trivial in nature. Season 1 lost a few characters and making way for some new ones and adding to the chaos. The Siwan angle of Dadda et al never really takes off and seems to be an afterthought. The context was a pivot to the main plot and pity it just stays there. Then there are numerous sub-plots of Robin (a convincing Priyanshu Painyuli) that never takes off, the plot of Lala (Anil George) which looked tame and subdued and there were so many others that only was jostling for space. Perhaps too much screen time to the mushy romance of the lead characters only delayed the finale. 

Season 2 primarily does not work for faulty writing and excessive reliance on expletives to make it happen and larger than life one liners (sampler: abhi soche nahi immediate but sochenge) ;that worked in Season 1 maybe; here it seems forced. Also, the locations are all messed. Take for instance; the famed Malviya Bridge (tu kisi rail si from Masaan) on the Ganges in Varanasi doubles up as Mau here (weird);  and there are many like that. Ali Zafar does not bring in the promise of whatever he brought through in Season 1 and Vikrant Massey really brought in the realism to the role which helped both the characters lift up the morbidity of the screenplay.  

The only thing working for Mirzapur 2 is Pankaj Tripathi (Kaleen Bhaiyya) and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. There sodo-masochistic presence makes up for the screen presence; and perhaps the macho-ness and the false bravado of UP and Bihar is so well reflected in their characters. 

In all, Mirzapur 2 ends with a promise of Mirzapur 3 and that does not really augur well for us; if the makers rely on the same hackneyed cheat codes they tried for Season 2.  

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