Ali Fazal talks ‘Mirzapur 2' and upcoming film with Gal Gadot

Owing to the coronavirus lockdown, Ali Fazal may have had a slow start this year. But there’s no denying he is likely to close 2020 with a bang, according to Firstpost.

Fazal will return as the gun-toting gangster Guddu Pandit for the sophomore season of his upcoming Amazon Prime series, Mirzapur 2, which will be out tomorrow.

Following this, he will be seen in Hollywood’s Death on the Nile, which is a Kenneth Branagh adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel. The actor will star alongside Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, and Armie Hammer. The film is tentatively slated for a December release.

Currently, however, Fazal is focused on the release of Mirzapur 2, and anxious about the audiences’ reaction to his character, which he promised will have a new arc. “The stakes are much higher. We have to top the previous season. Guddu Bhaiyya’s character becomes a much more mature version after the tragedy that wipes out his family in front of his eyes,” the outlet quotes Fazal as saying.

He goes on to reiterate how because there’s only his character left with Shweta Tripathi’s Golu now, the uncertainty surrounding them may drive Guddu insane. “With the excessive anger in him, he may even leave Mirzapur and become quiet and somber,” adds Fazal.

“It's been one of the hardest characters to play,” he continues. “Physically it's been taxing and this time I had to take the character a notch higher and I really hope that we can keep the same flavour. Because he is the same person but more cerebral,” continues the star.

Fazal then reveals he missed playing the innocent side of Guddu Pandit. He went on to confess that he also missed his co-stars Vikrant Massey (Bablu) and Shriya Pilgaonkar (Sweety), whose characters were killed in the first season. “I felt a bit lonely and even called Vikrant from the set one day to tell him I was missing him. For me, he was my go-to person. But now there’s Shweta. She comes as a major character and takes Vikrant’s place in many ways,” he admits.

However, the problem with Mirzapur, according to the actor, is the graphic violence and expletives. Fazal recalled the shock of being tagged in a photo of gun-toting teenage boys once, who were possibly inspired by the show.

"I was shocked. We couldn’t get to their parents, but were able to track them down and explain what they did was wrong. So, I have made some conscious choices with Guddu this time. I have used fewer cuss words but the kept the flavour alive.”

From small cameos, to plum roles, to being courted by Hollywood, Fazal has had a smooth transition in different worlds of cinema. “I really feel lucky to have stepped into this franchise,” says Fazal while talking about his role in Death on the Nile. “And getting to play a part that wasn’t even meant for an Indian, It has been a great example of blind casting,” he adds. “But, of course, the entire cast is very diverse and we brought some valuable contributions," he adds.

Recently, Fazal also bagged the lead role in war drama Code Name: Johnny Walker, based on the memoir of an Iraqi translator who worked with the US Navy SEALs.

“Shooting for Code Name:Johnny Walker will start next year. I have to finish some commitments here first. Fukrey 3 was in the works, so hopefully I will finish that and then leave,” continues Fazal, who wants to be part of good cinema, both in India and the West.

“I sense this is a great time, right now, OTT is the biggest platform. Then, there is great cinema coming out, great art is also churning out, not just in Hindi films but also in Malayalam and Tamil cinema. I want to be part of the cinema here and bridge the two. It’s all one world now,” he concludes.

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