Review: Mirzapur Season 3: A Gripping Return with Intense Power Struggles

Mirzapur season-3 was released recently on Amazon Prime. This long-awaited series arrived on the platform after a hiatus of almost 4 years and several missed release dates.

So, before we begin to review the series let’s jog our memory a little and take a look at the many characters of season1 & 2.

• Pankaj Tripathi as Akhandanand Tripathi, aka Kaleen Bhaiya, the king of Mirzapur,
• Rasika Dugal as Beena Tripathi, Kaleen Bhaiya’s wife,
• Anjumm Shharma as Sharad Shukla, Contender to the Mirzapur Gaddi,
• Isha Talwar as Madhuri Yadav, CM & wife of slain Munna Bhaiya,
• Ali Faisal as Guddu Bhaiya,
• Shweta Tripathi, as Golu, 2nd in command to Guddu Bhaiya,
• Harshita Gaur as Dimpi Pandit, Guddu Bhaiya’s sister,
• Rajesh Tailang as Ramakant Pandit, Guddu’s father,
• Sheeba Chaddha as Vasudha Pandit, Guddu’s Mother,
• Anangsha Biswas as Zarina Ayub
• Rohit Tiwari as PA to CM
• Vijay Varma as Bharat Tyagi,
• Priyanshu Painyuli Robin Aggarwal, Dimpi’s love interest.

Amongst many others.

Season-3 has 10 episodes and episode-1 opens with Guddu bhaiya and Golu firmly entrenched in the Tripathi haveli, with Beena Tripathi, Kaleen Bhaiya’s wife, as an eager supporter and advisor to them.

Kaleen bhaiya on the other hand is hinged between life and death in a make shift ICU in Jaunpur, hidden from all, under the protection of his nephew, Sharad Shukla. Most of his battles hence are fought by Shard.

The haveli maybe his, but the Mirzapur gaddi is still a distant dream for Guddu, who faces stiff competition from Sharad, CM Madhuri Yadav, the Tyagi’s from Bihar and the opportune bahubalis of the west, all invested in Guddu’s destruction for numerous reasons.

A heady mix of politics, corrupt policing, opium trade, bootlegging, the narrative is all but a cliffhanger with a guess who will outwit who and for how long as a central theme to the storytelling.

Season-3 sees a number of new characters and dominance of certain ones over others. Sharad Shukla, CM Madhuri Yadav, Bharat Tyagi, Guddu and Golu lead the narrative even as Kaleen Bhaiya is relegated into the background for most of the episodes.

The story-line appears a little confusing in the first few episodes as it weens away from our comfort zone and characters such as Munna Bhaiya and Bablu Pandit that we grew to love, no longer find place in the narrative. Vasudha Pandit, Guddu’s Mother is also hardly visible in this season.

It is only by episode-5, that we are able to familiarise ourselves with new characters and get accustomed to the pace and narrative of the series, and it is then, when the series grips you!

You will by now oscillate between liking a trigger happy opium addict Guddu bhaiya and the more resilient and constraint Sharad Yadav.

Many promising characters in the previous seasons are mercilessly killed and some of them have a major jumpstart moments.

Violence and gore is aplenty and it supersedes all else, quite unlike the previous 2 seasons when strategy was given its due.

Ali Faisal as Guddu bhaiya is remarkable as always, but the limelight this season falls on the characters of Sharad Yadav, CM Madhuri Yadav and Rasika Duggal. The Character Bharat Yadav, alternately, Chotte is also a well etched-out.

The most irritating character though is Golu. Shweta Tripathi, with her slight demeanour, does not look the role of a Bahubali and she over compensates it by trying too hard and ends up at best a caricature rather than a Bahubali.

Rasika Duggal as Beena Tripathi is genius as a double edged sword; you never know where her allegiance lies. She is a survivor with high hopes and dreams to break free. Her actions, seldom have reasons, but produce profound effects.

Anjumm Shharma as Sharad Shukla, holds his ground and how, against two acting powerhouses Ali Faisal and Pankaj Tripathi.

Isha Talwar as Madhuri Yadav is also very good. Simple yet elegant, she delivers a power packed performance as a strong willed yet soft spoken, principled woman, trying to cement her position, avenging her losses, all while trying to take out her enemies, one at a time.
Another noteworthy performance is that of a shayar, Rahim, essayed by Pallav Singh. The role is minuscule, but the ease and conviction with which Pallav performs it, has taken the internet by storm.

Season-3, appears to be setting stage for the next few seasons thus the narrative has fissures and breaks every now and then, that gives the story line an impression of being scattered. But the series climax, a 20 odd minute sequence, is an absolute cliffhanger, and confirms season -4 and beyond will bring in a new strife in the same old familiar setting amongst the characters that we love to hate!