Abhishek Banerjee Defends Mirzapur’s Violence, Says “Sholay, Animal and Dhurandhar Faced the Same Criticism”

Abhishek Banerjee is all set to return as Compounder in Mirzapur: The Movie, and the audience is eagerly waiting for it, especially after his character became an integral part of the series. As the film inches closer to its release date, Banerjee opened up about Mirzapur’s depiction of violence and the glorification of brutality, censorship and its switch from OTT to the big screens.

While Mirzapur has gained a strong fan following for its violence and brutal language, Abhishek believes that the audience understands the difference between fiction and reality. “Critics said the same thing for Sholay, Animal and Dhurandhar. Whenever there is violence on screen, it will happen. But the reality is that whatever we see on screen is an inspiration from life. And trust me, a lot more gruesome violence is happening on the streets,” he said while responding to the criticism that the franchise glorifies violence.

He added, “This is just a depiction of a fictitious world, fictitious characters. And as I said, that’s supposed to be for fun. And audiences are smart enough to learn what they want to. It’s completely subjective how an audience watches a film. And I don’t think film causes violence. It’s always the other way around. It’s because there’s so much violence in the world. In films, we have to depict that with as much honesty as we can.”

Banerjee also opened up about censorship and the freedom that the big screens will offer. “You can’t get the same freedom you have in OTT. When we started shooting the film, we all were aware of it. So, we tried to use the cuss words as little as possible in various scenes. We definitely had to compromise. But it won’t really matter when you see the film,” he stated.

He emphasises that the film will spark nostalgia as it brings back original characters. “What the audience is going to love is the reunion of the characters. People are back from the dead and there’s a bouquet of fresh characters. It’s just nostalgia and fun. It has always been pure fun,” he shared.

The franchise marks a switch from the OTT space to the big screens. Abhishek agrees that the biggest risk is the box office. “Box office is all about risk, no matter who the actor or director is. I think no big film can guarantee a box-office hit. That is the nature of business. It’s a gamble, but a good gamble to play. Risk toh isme bhi hai ki aap sapna dekhe aur vo sapna pura naa ho. It’s okay to fail. The entire industry is trying… we are just trying to make good films,” he concluded.

For Abhishek, Mirzapur: The Movie marks yet another biggie after his successful stints in hit franchises including Stree and Dream Girl. Directed by Gurmmeet Singh, Mirzapur: The Movie releases in theatres on September 4.