#BoycottMirzapur2: Ali Fazal's 'doctored' tweet causes uproar

The much-anticipated trailer of the second season of Amazon Prime's hit show, Mirzapur, was unveiled last week. The three-minute trailer clip garnered rave reviews as fans eagerly wait for October 23. However, soon after the video went viral, Twitter lit up with a hashtag of #BoycottMirzapur2. 

According to a pro-BJP Indian website, the reason for the Twitter trend was said to be an old tweet of the protagonist, Ali Fazal, that recently went viral on the micro-blogging website. In that tweet, it was reported that Fazal 'mocked' death of a government official with a dialogue from the aforementioned tv series. 

Many had shared a purported tweet of Fazal celebrating the earlier Delhi riots. The tweet reads, “PROTESTS: SURU MAJBOORI MEIN KIYE THHEY, AB MAJA AA RAHA HAI!!” that loosely translated to, “Protests: Started due to helplessness but now it’s exciting.” The tweet carries a photograph of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma’s body being pulled out of a drain. Sharma was killed during the communal violence and his body was recovered from a drain on February 26.

Boycott Hinduphobic #AliFazal's Mirzapur 2#BoycottMirzapur2

Pls pass on it .... H!t them where it hurts pic.twitter.com/HjH0e6UJe3

— Srikanth (@srikanthbjp_) October 6, 2020

This caused an uproar on Twitter, as many called out the actor. 

"Before watching Mirzapur season 2, Do not forget this tweet of Ali Fazal. If you watch his series, you are supporting his anti-India stance," a user penned.

Before watching #mirzapurseason2
Do not forget this tweet of @alifazal9
If you watch his series, you are supporting his anti India stance. pic.twitter.com/WUxhVMSTVm

— Arif Aajakia (@arifaajakia) October 7, 2020

"I liked Mirzapur, but what happened after that is not good for us. The leads as Ali Fazal and Vikrant Massey spoke against India. If we watch Mirzapur 2, that would be a bad sign," another one said. 

I liked Mirzapur, but what happened after that is not good for us. The leads as @alifazal9 and Vikrant Massey spoke against India.

If we watch Mirzapur 2, that would be a bad sign. pic.twitter.com/usLxXUvoP7

— Adwait K. (@AdvaitSpeaks) October 6, 2020

However, according to The Wire, the tweet in question by the actor was morphed. The publication stated that Fazal had indeed made a tweet which he later took down, however, his tweet was related to CAA protests, not the Delhi riots. The publication also stated that he did not share the photograph of the deceased officer. The tweet in question was posted on December 19, 2019, two months prior to the Delhi riots.

Reacting to the ongoing hashtag, actor Divyendu Sharma, who plays notorious Munna Tripathi in the show, termed the trend as stupid. "It didn't bother me a lot. They don't know they are in very big trouble because there are so many fans of 'Mirzapur' out there. They should stop such stupidity. It's just stupid to use such hashtags. We all know that people love 'Mirzapur'. All these paid trends are just stupid. I feel for them," Divyendy told IANS. "Bahar nikal ke mat bol dena logo ke saamne... bahut padegi tumko (Don't utter such things in the open... you will be thrashed)," he quipped.

Mirzapur 2 will hit Amazon Prime on October 23. 

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