Vikrant Massey wishes Bablu Pandit hadn’t died, opens up about Mirzapur set’s male-dominated environment

For years, Mirzapur sold itself as India’s ultimate testosterone fantasy. Guns, gore, gaalis, power games, revenge arcs, and men constantly trying to out-macho each other. The audience loved it and then the memes exploded and dialogues became pop culture currency. But now, years after his exit, Vikrant Massey has given us a peak into what that world felt like behind the scenes too.

Vikrant Massey didn’t just leave Mirzapur, he exposed its hyper-masculine machinery

Speaking recently about his departure from the hit franchise, Vikrant revealed that Mirzapur had 85% male cast and crew, and that the atmosphere often became consumed by male ego, testosterone, and patriarchal energy. Mirzapur was never subtle about masculinity. 

From Kaleen Bhaiya’s suffocating authority to Munna Bhaiya’s fragile insecurity disguised as swagger, the entire narrative ecosystem ran on men trying to dominate other men. The irony is that Vikrant Massey’s Bablu Pandit stood out precisely because he wasn’t like the others.

The actor also admitted he wishes Bablu had not been killed off — a sentiment shared by a large chunk of the fanbase. Especially now, with Mirzapur expanding into a theatrical film universe where multiple dead characters appear to be making returns while Bablu remains conspicuously absent. Mirzapur: The Movie's recently released teaser made it clear that he has been replaced by Jitendra Kumar.

Vikrant’s remarks tap into a larger conversation happening across the entertainment industry. For years, hyper-masculine sets and male-dominated productions were romanticised as signs of creative intensity.

To be fair, the actor also clarified that Mirzapur began as a group of enthusiastic creators building something experimental, without anticipating the phenomenon it would become. Success often amplifies the culture already present underneath.

Mirzapur became one of India’s biggest streaming franchises because it understood the spectacle of masculine power fantasy better than almost any Indian series before it. The problem is that sometimes those fantasies stop at the script door — and sometimes they don’t.

Vikrant Massey didn’t say Mirzapur was toxic. He didn’t accuse anyone directly. He described an environment shaped heavily by male ego. And for a show built entirely around men fighting to dominate each other, that revelation somehow feels both surprising and completely inevitable.

For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.