Director: Gurmmeet Singh
Rating: ***½
Released in theaters globally today, September 4, 2026, Mirzapur: The Movie brings India’s most influential digital crime franchise to the big screen. Directed by Gurmmeet Singh and written by Puneet Krishna, the feature film from Excel Entertainment operates as an ambitious prequel/parallel canvas that takes viewers back to the foundational conflicts of Purvanchal.
Reassembling the classic lineup—alongside pivotal new additions and surprising recasts—the theatrical adaptation amplifies the violence, rustic political intrigue, and trademark bhaukaal for single screens and multiplexes alike.
The Narrative Canvas: Origins, Ambitions, and Old Blood
Rather than continuing past the aftermath of Season 3, the screenplay journeys back to an earlier era when the Tripathi dynasty’s grip on the opium trade, brassware extortion, and local assembly politics faced existential threats.
The story tracks the simmering friction inside the Tripathi haveli as Akhandanand "Kaleen Bhaiya" Tripathi (Pankaj Tripathi) consolidates regional control while trying to rein in the volatile recklessness of his son Munna (Divyenndu). The primary disruption arrives in the form of Babban Yadav (Ravi Kishan), a cunning, ruthless political gangster whose syndicate challenges the Tripathis for territorial dominance. Caught in the middle of this escalating warfare are the young Pandit brothers—Guddu (Ali Fazal) and Bablu (Jitendra Kumar)—whose initial entanglements with local muscle work set in motion their fateful journey into crime.
In-Depth Performance Breakdown
Pankaj Tripathi (Akhandanand "Kaleen Bhaiya" Tripathi)
Pankaj Tripathi anchors the film with cold, unshakeable majesty. On a 70mm canvas, his minimalist style—the soft, throat-clearing pause, the deadpan stare, the measured hand gestures—carries commanding weight. Tripathi plays Kaleen Bhaiya at the peak of his tactical intellect, portraying a patriarch who understands that true power lies in silence rather than noise. Every confrontation with Ravi Kishan’s boisterous character serves as a masterclass in quiet intimidation.
Ali Fazal (Govind "Guddu" Pandit)
Ali Fazal delivers an intensely physical, raw performance. Depicting an earlier, hungrier Guddu Pandit before total physical and emotional ruin set in, Fazal captures the character’s naive swagger, impulsive temper, and muscular unpredictability. His transition from college gym rat to cold-blooded street enforcer is staged with brutal kinetic impact during the second-half action sequences.
Divyenndu (Phoolchand "Munna" Tripathi)
The theatrical release belongs in large part to Divyenndu, whose return as the erratic "Prince of Mirzapur" generates the loudest cheers in the theater. Divyenndu brings back Munna's manic energy, insecure bravado, and tragic yearning for his father’s validation. His comic timing remains razor-sharp, delivering dark one-liners with effortless ease while never losing sight of Munna's inner psychopathy.
Jitendra Kumar (Vinay "Bablu" Pandit)
Stepping into the shoes of Bablu Pandit (originally played by Vikrant Massey in the series), Jitendra Kumar faces the film's highest casting hurdle. Kumar approaches the role by emphasizing intellect, quiet moral conflict, and sharp analytical composure. Rather than attempting an imitation, he infuses Bablu with an earnest, calculating restraint that acts as the necessary intellectual counterbalance to Guddu’s brute force.
Ravi Kishan (Babban Yadav)
As the new overarching antagonist, Ravi Kishan is a revelation. He injects the narrative with flamboyant menace, rustic charisma, and theatrical Bhojpuri flavor. Kishan’s Babban Yadav doesn't hide behind diplomatic fronts; he is loud, cunning, and politically venomous, providing the franchise with its most colorful adversarial force since Sharad Shukla.
Rasika Dugal (Beena Tripathi)
Rasika Dugal brings her trademark simmering cunning to Beena. Operating within the patriarchal walls of the haveli, Dugal communicates volumes through guarded smiles and watchful glances. Her quiet manipulation of household rivalries reinforces that Beena remains the sharpest mind playing the long game.
Shriya Pilgaonkar (Sweety Gupta) & Shweta Tripathi Sharma (Golu Gupta)
Shriya Pilgaonkar: Her return as Sweety Gupta injects genuine emotional warmth, tenderness, and tragic innocence into Guddu’s otherwise violent trajectory. Her screen chemistry with Ali Fazal provides the film with its rare, breathing human moments.
Shweta Tripathi Sharma: Playing Golu in her earlier, studious, and fiercely idealistic avatar, Shweta captures the spirited intellect and sharp moral fire of a student leader before trauma hardened her into an underworld player.
Key Supporting Turns
Abhishek Banerjee (Compounder): Banerjee brings back the chilling, unhinged loyalty of Subodh "Compounder," reminding audiences of the character's terrifying devotion to Munna.
Harshita Gaur (Dimpy Pandit): Adds grounded familial warmth as the sister trying to keep her brothers from crossing the point of no return.
Sushant Singh & Mohit Malik: Both bring rugged grit and authentic menace to rival enforcer roles, thickening the underworld texture.
Technical Execution & Directorial Craft
Direction & Pacing: Gurmmeet Singh mounts the production on a noticeably grander scale than the series. The staging of gang wars, political rallies, and roadside shootouts leverages wider lenses and atmospheric smoke-filled lighting. However, the film slightly struggles with compression: squeezing complex multi-faction rivalries into a 155-minute runtime causes the mid-portion of the second half to feel slightly overstuffed.
Action & Sound: The sound design is thunderous. Gunshots land with physical reverberation, and John Stewart Eduri’s score—layering rustic brass and heavy percussion over the familiar theme—gives the big-screen shootouts massive theatrical impact.
Final Verdict
Mirzapur: The Movie delivers on the theatrical promise of spectacle, swagger, and unadulterated bhaukaal. While adapting episodic storytelling into a standalone cinematic feature forces a few narrative shortcuts, the sheer power of its ensemble—led by a menacing Pankaj Tripathi, an electric Divyenndu, a feral Ali Fazal, and a standout Ravi Kishan—makes it a must-watch cinematic event for franchise loyalists.
