- Mirzapur director Gurmmeet Singh has kept the door open for a larger universe featuring its characters.
- The filmmaker also spoke about handling CBFC guidelines while retaining the franchise’s raw tone.
- Gurmmeet said the audience’s response matters more to him than tracking the film’s box office number
The Mirzapur story may not be over yet. While the franchise has already made its jump from streaming to theatres with Mirzapur: The Movie, director Gurmmeet Singh has hinted that there could be more ways to expand the world of the popular series.
In a conversation with SCREEN, Gurmmeet hinted at the possibility of a larger Mirzapur universe, and the challenges of taking the franchise through the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
When asked about the possibility of a connected Mirzapur universe, where characters from different stories could cross paths, the director kept the door open. “Never say never,” he said.
Gurmmeet was also asked what could come next for the franchise – another film or a new installment in a different format. While he did not reveal any concrete plans, he confirmed that audiences have not seen the last of Mirzapur. “So, I don't know what the Mirzapur gods have lined up for us next, but I know that Mirzapur is going to come back. Whatever happens, it'll be interesting. Which way it'll go, hopefully we'll explore that right now.”
The transition from OTT to theatres also brought another challenge: the CBFC. Gurmmeet said the team had to rework certain parts of the film to meet certification guidelines, while still trying to retain what audiences expect from Mirzapur.
“We were mindful of the guidelines. There were certain things that we had to rework according to those guidelines. However, the people at CBFC watched the film and told us, ‘You have to keep in mind that we have such a vast country. We know it's an adults-only film, and we understand Mirzapur as a pop culture phenomenon, we know what the audiences are coming in for, and we respect that. But you have to understand that it's very difficult to manage such a big country of ours and to ensure that no youngsters go in to watch adult films, which keeps happening.' Which is why they are also a lot more stringent, but they are cognizant of the fact that we are now understanding more mature storytelling, and there is a step towards that as well.”
The film is now ending its fourth week in theatres and has crossed Rs 270 crore in India gross collections, as per industry tracker Sacnilk. For Gurmmeet, however, the audience response mattered more than tracking the numbers himself. He revealed that he even declined an offer from Excel Productions to join a WhatsApp group that tracked the film's box office collections.
Released on September 4, Mirzapur: The Movie stars Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Jitendra Kumar, Rasika Dugal, Shweta Tripathi, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Abhishek Banerjee and Mohitt Maalik.