Mirzapur: The Movie opened to Rs 22-23 crore nett on day one. Reviews praise the reunited cast but say the film plays it safe, sticking closer to nostalgia than new ground.
Mirzapur: The Movie released in theatres on September 4 and opened up to a strong start. As per trade tracker estimates, the film's opening day nett collection in India stands anywhere between Rs 22 crore to Rs 23 crore with an opening weekend (including night shows) possibly crossing Rs 25 crore. The advance bookings also spoke volumes about the film's potential.
A total of 55,000 plus tickets were sold in two days' lead-up to the release across PVR Inox and Cinepolis alone, valuing in at over 100,000 tickets for the national chains. Most pre-release estimates had put the film anywhere between Rs 21 crore to Rs 26 crore and so far, it has delivered on most of the expectations that trade analysts had set for the film's opening.
Gurmeet Singh, also wrote the film with Puneet Krishna, who is directed by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment, which runs just over three hours, returning to 2018, in the middle of the first season, before Guddu and Bablu Pandit escape Kaleen Bhaiya’s shadows.
Film stars portraying the main characters, including Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Divyenndu, Rasika Dugal, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Sheeba Chaddha, but also introduces a new actor, Jitendra Kumar, as the son of TikTok star Bablu, played in the series by Vikrant Massey. Ravi Kishan plays Babban Yadav, the head of a rival Jaisalmer mafia family, who has joined forces with the Jaunpur mafia to try to take over Kaleen Bhaiya’s empire.
The reviews so far agree on one thing: the characters are still the film's biggest draw. The Telegraph called it a nostalgic reunion, pointing out that Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi and Divyenndu slip right back into their old roles, and that watching them share the screen again is reason enough to buy a ticket. It also praised Jitendra Kumar for making the role of Bablu his own instead of simply copying Vikrant Massey's version. The Hindu picked up on similar strengths, noting that the writing gives more clarity to characters like Guddu's mother and Beena Tripathi than the show ever did, and that the dialogue still carries the same rustic bite that made the series popular in the first place.
Not all the reviews have been glowing. The Hindu, for example, argued that the film oversimplifies the politics, saying that it makes Purvanchal's caste system a more easily digestible good vs evil narrative. NDTV gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5, calling it a sprawling, bloody underworld saga that follows an expected path, but which still marked the post-credit scene as a sign that this isn't necessarily the end of Mirzapur's story. The Telegraph largely agrees, if less harshly, arguing that it runs the risk of providing exactly what its fans want, but forgetting to surprise them in the process.
Put the numbers and the reviews side by side and the picture is fairly clear. The franchise's existing fan base turned out in force for the opening, and the film delivers exactly what they came for: familiar faces, familiar rage and familiar power struggles, even if it does not take the story anywhere particularly new. Whether that is enough to carry it through the rest of its run will depend on word of mouth over the coming days.
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