I would not have cast myself in 'Mirzapur’, says Ali Fazal

When the first season of Mirzapur was released in 2018, it gave a new face to Ali Fazal. Till then, he was seen doing lighter roles in films like Fukrey (2013) and Happy Bhag Jayegi (2016), which built his persona as a likeable, boy-next-door. All of this changed as he embodied the sturdy, short-tempered college student turned gangster in the crime drama Mirzapur, whose season 3 was released recently. Looking back, he finds the journey extremely rewarding. “Because of it, I can focus on so many other things fearlessly,” he says.

In an interaction with CE, Ali opens up about the display of violence and hyper-masculinity by his character in the series, his thoughts on the content paralysis in Hindi films, and what he thinks actors can do to support writers in the industry.

Excerpts:

When you read the script for the first season, what were your thoughts? Did you think that the show would be so popular?

No, not at all. But I knew that the team was quite good and they had a great vision. I got a sense that this is something very different. I had seen this format of web shows working in Hollywood at that time. So, I knew that this would strike a chord even in India. I remember I was offered some other films at that time and people were telling me to do those instead. But I just thought I could really bring something to this character. Also, I would not have cast myself in this role. I had an entirely different image of myself before that, which is why I feel that my being a part of Mirzapur was kind of an anti-casting.

The show has a lot of violent scenes. While shooting them, did it make you think that the violence is being glorified in any way?

I don’t think it is glorified but I am generally averse to violence so it was difficult for me to shoot these scenes. More than anything, it’s the logic of it that I have always fought and argued about. So, my longest conversations on set were with Gurmeet, our director. Sometimes the shoot would stop due to our discussions. It was important for me to have these conversations as I have to get into the truth of it, the reason for it. At what point are we doing this? Why are we doing this? Not that I am throwing tantrums, but I just feel it becomes necessary to know that this is the natural progression of this character in this context.

Along with the violence, your character has some hyper-masculine traits that have a certain toxicity attached to it. What are your thoughts on that?

I don’t think we are anything close to that in Mirzapur. I think masculinity needs to be preserved, taken care of, and nurtured. I think the word alpha has been abused. I think chivalry has gotten lost along the way. There are very few gentlemen left. And at the same time, masculinity isn’t complete without femininity. We come from our mothers’ wombs. So, we just have to own it. When it comes to playing a part, those are fictional characters. The way you approach them, and the way you play them is your choice. Those choices have to come from a place of honesty and truth.

Do you feel that the Hindi film industry is currently going through a content paralysis?

We have always made formula films. It’s almost seasonal. Jo chal gaya uske 5 aur bante hain (If something works, it is repeated by others). Until some of them fail and then somebody says, okay, let’s try something new. That trial and error has been going on for a long time. Maybe the solution to that is to take risks, but so many big films have not worked recently. So, we really don’t know what can work and what cannot.

There has been a raging discussion recently on how writers and technicians are not paid as much in the industry. How do you think actors can support writers?

Producers can. There’s no point in actors championing some writers by doing good PR and everything. Why do that and then forget about it later? It’s like going to clean up the beach when people are going to keep littering around anyway. We don’t have a lasting solution for that. That’s why it is important to look at the core of these issues and resolve them fruitfully.

You and Richa have turned producers recently. What are some of the things that you’d want to change in the industry?

We want to create a sense of democracy and equality amongst our technicians. We are very proud of the program that we run for girl gaffers. It’s a first-of-its-kind initiative designed to train Indian women in lighting and various gaffer techniques. We did the first edition of the program two years back and we will be resuming it soon. It’s got a grant from the Berlinale Festival. We are hoping to find girls who want to train and become gaffers. But that’s just one aspect. Slowly, we are going to work on other aspects as well.

Story by Shreyas Pande