Pankaj Tripathi says Mirzapur was a 'leave me alone’ watch on OTT, will enter 'party mode’ in theatres | Exclusive

Mirzapur: The Film is set to release in theatres in September. It brings back Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, and Divyenndu from the Prime Video show.

It has rarely happened in Indian cinema that something that began on streaming translates into a wide theatrical release. But such is the craze for Mirzapur that after three seasons, the popular show is finishing its journey with a theatrical spinoff. Mirzapur - The Film is set to hit the screens next month, bringing back beloved characters from the first season.

Pankaj Tripathi will reprise his role as Kaleen Bhaiya in Mirzapur.

Ahead of the film’s grand trailer launch this week, actor Pankaj Tripathi opened up on what new audiences can expect from the film adaptation and his own first take on the film.

‘Mirzapur enters party mode in theatres’

Mirzapur is set in the eponymous town in UP and deals with the clash between the family of local gangster Akhandanand Tripathi aka Kaleen Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi) and the Pandit brothers (Ali Fazal and Jitendra Kumar). The film adaptation is seen as an origin story of how the clash began, a more elaborate version of what was shown in the first season of the show. However, Pankaj says there is a lot of newness in the film.

When asked about what is new in Mirzapur that differentiates it from the show, the actor says, “The new thing about the film—and you actually touched upon this in your question—is the scale. On OTT, you watch on screens ranging from 5 to 100 inches, but now you’ll be watching on a 25-to-28-foot screen. So, the major shift is that you get to see it on the big screen and experience it communally. Until now, watching on OTT was a solitary, private affair; now, you’ll be watching it with an audience.”

The two-time National Award-winning actor says that the experience of communal watching will change how people see Mirzapur. “Whenever a performance or art form is experienced communally, the impact changes entirely. Enjoying it in a group creates a unique, shared experience. So, while Mirzapur used to be a "leave me alone” kind of watch, it’s now in "party mode.” The world is the same, the characters are the same, but the story is new, and the experience is much grander,” he says.

‘Enjoyed what I saw so far’

The actor reveals that he has been finishing the dubbing for the film and is excited by how it has turned out. “I was doing some dubbing work yesterday and really enjoyed what I saw. I even wondered, ‘Is it just because I’m part of the film that I’m enjoying it so much?’ So, I asked the makers, they’ve been with the project for ten months, whereas I was coming in to dub for the first time. Seeing it myself really ramped up my excitement; I can't wait for the trailer to drop on the 11th,” he adds.

About Mirzapur: The Film

Presented by Amazon MGM Studios and Excel Entertainment, Mirzapur: The Movie is directed by Gurmeet Singh, written by Puneet Krishna, and produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar under the banner of Excel Entertainment. The film is co-produced by Kassim Jagmagia and Vishal Ramchandani. Mirzapur is set for a theatrical release in Hindi and Telugu on 4 September 2026.

The film stars Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi and Divyenndu, while Jitendra Kumar takes over from Vikrant Massey, who played Bablu in the show. Ravi Kishan, Abhishek Banerjee, Rasika Dugal, Mohitt Maalik, Sheeba Chadha, Rajesh Tailang, Pramod Pathak, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Harshita Shekhar Gaur, Shweta Tripathi, and Sonal S Chauhan round off the cast.

Mirzapur premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2018 and was an instant success. Two seasons followed in 2020 and 2024. The third season received some criticism for its pacing and plot, but remained popular with the audience.