‘Mirzapur 3 Is So Conflicted’

‘There’s
deep-seated
revenge
and
at
the
same
time,
longing.’

Vijay
Varma
admits
that
he
has
arrived
at
a
new
level
of
recognition
in
the
last
couple
of
years.

“It
was
a
very
slow
and
long
process,
until
it
came
to
a
moment
where
the
work
that
I
had
done
started
to
reflect
in
success.
I
had
met
a
lot
of
failures
early
on
in
projects
not
releasing,
not
getting
made,
and
not
finding
the
audiences.

“I
went
through
this
trajectory
and
eventually,
the
work
that
I
did
in
the
last
two-three
years
found
a
lot
of
audiences
and
I
think
that
results
in
success,”
he
tells

Subhash
K
Jha.

Vijay
shares
his

Mirzapur
journey,
where
he
plays
twins:
Bade
and
Chote
Tyagi.

“Back
in
February
2019,

Gully
Boy
had
released.
Within
the
same
week,
I
got
approached
by
Excel
and
the
director,
Gurmmeet
Singh.
They
offered
me
the
double
role,
the
twin
brothers,
in

Mirzapur
season
2
and
I
was
already
a
fan
of
season
1.

“It
was
a
very
easy
choice
for
me
and
my
first
double
role.”

Vijay
reminisces
about
the
highpoints
of
his
career.

“If
I
look
at
the
big
highlight
moments,
my
first
film

Monsoon
Shootout,
playing
at
Cannes
in
2013,
was
a
big
moment
for
me.
This
is
the
first
film
I
had
signed,
and

Chittagong
was
the
first
film
I
shot.

“The
next
big
highlight
was
probably

Ray
of
Hope
because
I
was
out
of
a
job,
didn’t
have
any
money,
and
my
career
was
nowhere.
I
did
a
small
part,
but
it
kind
of
resurfaced
a
little
bit,
for
some
people,
at
least.
It
brought
me
back
and
gave
me
hope
that
I
also
could
do
something.

“Gully
Boy
was
a
big
highlight,
which
changed
a
lot
of
things
for
me.
The
success
of
the
film
and
the
appreciation
I
received
was
the
first
I
had
in
this
capacity.
After

Gully
Boy,
pretty
much
everything
has
been
smooth
sailing.

“Mirzapur
is
also
a
highlight
because
that
was
the
first
time
I
saw
a
show
generating
crazy
reactions
from
the
audience.
This
was
one
of
the
early
shows
and
one
of
the
reasons
why
people
started
binge-watching
Indian
series.
I
saw
a
drastic
increase
in
the
fan
following
and
social
media.

“Darlings
and

Dahaad
were
also
highlights
because
they
are
a
killer
movie/
show
and
I
got
immense
love
and
appreciation.

“Jaane
Jaan
is
one
of
the
highlights
too.”

“I
played
two
characters
in

Mirzapur
season
two
and
at
the
end
of
it,
we
find
out
that
there
was
a
massive
shootout
and
both
are
down
on
the
floor.
One
of
them
has
a
fatal
wound
on
the
head.

“So
one
of
them
is
probably
dead
and
the
other
one
is
alive
but
we
don’t
know
which
one
is
dead:
Bade
Tyagi
aka
Bharat
Tyagi
or
Chote
Tyagi
aka
Shatrughan
Tyagi.
At
the
start
of
season
3,
it’s
a
bleak
environment
for
the
Tyagi
family
and
there’s
grief
and
a
deep
sense
of
revenge.

“In
this
season,
I
felt
like
I
had
a
split
personality
issue
because
it’s
so
conflicted.
There’s
a
lot
of
internal
conflict
in
this
character,
a
lot
of
secrecy.
There’s
a
deep-seated
revenge
and
at
the
same
time,
longing.
It
is
all
coming
from
the
space
of
a
jilted
lover,”
he
says.

“I
entered
the

Mirzapur
franchise
in
season
2
and
then,
the
characters
were
already
established.
I
became
a
part
of
the
show
in
a
seamless
manner.
All
of
them
are
such
wonderful
actors
who
cheer,
motivate
and
support
each
other.
They
celebrate
each
other’s
success
and
it’s
like
a
big
family.

“I
had
the
pleasure
of
working
with
Pankaj
(Tripathi)
sir
in

Mirzapur
and
in

Murder
Mubarak.
He
is
a
simple
and
learned
man.
Working
with
him
was
fun
and
sitting
and
talking
to
him
was
2X
fun!

“Ali
(Fazal),
Divyendu,
Shweta
(Tripathi)
and
Rasika
(Dugal)
are
actors
who
have
achieved
a
lot
and
created
a
niche
for
themselves.

“But
the
biggest
character
of
this
show
is
the
fans.
We
keep
this
love
and
admiration
very
close
to
our
hearts
because
it
doesn’t
happen
that
people
wait
for
so
long
for
us
to
come
and
tell
stories.
Keeping
that
in
mind,
we
have
the
same
level
of
energy
and
motivation
on
the
set.”

“Today,
Ali
is
known
as
Guddu

Bhaiya…
the
media,
people
on
the
street,
everybody,
knows
him
by
that
name.
Divyendu
is
known
as
Munna

Bhaiya,
Pankaj
sir
as
Kaleen

Bhaiya,
Rasika
as
Beenaji…
to
win
hearts
of
millions
of
people
by
the
characters
is
a
big
accomplishment.
I
also
want
make
such
an
impact
on
people
that
my
characters
imprint
themselves
and
become
unforgettable.”

Vijay
agrees
that
OTT
has
given
his
career
a
fresh
impetus.

“It
gave
me
a
platform
and
an
audience.
It
also
took
away
the
pressure
of
the
box
office.
I
remember
when
we
were
trying
to
figure
out
the
release
date
of

Monsoon
Shootout
in
theatres.
A
small
ad
of
the
movie
came
in

The
Times
of
India
next
to
an
ad
of
a
very
big
film.
The
producer
of

Monsoon
Shootout
worked
very
hard
to
buy
that
small
ad.

“So
that
hierarchy
of
what
is
big
and
small
is
fluid
now
because
of
OTT
platforms.
If
you
go
to
the
home
screen
of
such
platforms,
you
can
see
your
film
next
to
any
international
film,
irrespective
of
how
big
or
small
the
budget
of
the
movie
is.

“So
the
kind
of
a
democracy
that
OTT
has
brought
has
resulted
in
a
lot
of
corrections
which
I
have
benefited
from.

“I
have
stayed
away
from
typical
films.
The
kind
of
cinema
I
like
is
very
similar
to
the
genres
available
on
OTT.

“Until
and
unless
you
have
an
audience,
your
professional
portfolio
is
static.
OTT
has
given
me
audiences
who
have
thankfully
admired
my
work
and
pushed
me
to
do
better.

“I
am
now
shooting
for
Nagraj
Manjule’s

Matka
King.
It
is
an
Amazon
Prime
original
series.
I
have
done
a
miniseries
with
Anubhav
Sinha
called

IC
814
and
it’s
getting
ready
for
release.
That
will
be
the
next
thing
after

Mirzapur.

“I
have
done
a
film
with
Manish
Malhotra’s
production,

Ul
Jalool
Ishq,
with
Naseeruddin
Shah
and
Fatima
Sana
Sheikh.
It
is
now
in
post-production.”