Mirzapur The Movie director Gurmmeet Singh on Shoorveer controversy, Rasika Dugal backlash and Vikrant Massey’s exit

Director Gurmmeet Singh talks about the impact of Mirzapur The Movie, why Vikrant Massey didn't make it to the film, hate for Rasika Dugal and Shoorveer tussle

The success of Mirzapur The Movie at the box office has given rise to a new way of filmmaking with projects looking at making a transition from OTT to the big screen, and director Gurmmeet Singh acknowledges that impact. “We did not seek this pressure going into the film that this is almost like one of a kind feat. It was good to be slightly ignorant that OTT to movie transitions haven’t done well before, even abroad. But all kudos to the fans they came in large numbers to theatres, and them liking the film is sone pe suhaga,” he says, feeling grateful for the love coming their way from the audience.

Gurmmeet Singh

However, the success came with certain backlash too, including the slamming of Rasika Dugal’s character online for her choices in the film. Addressing that, Gurmmeet Singh says, “Social chatter becomes so much of our truth, and hate tends to travel faster. There is that lineage of patriarchy all through the system for so many years. So that will take its own time to die away and get balanced.”

The film also ran into legal trouble for the use of Shoorveer song during a violent scene. While Singh says the producers are better equipped to respond to the future course of action, he insists, “Nobody wants to hurt anybody's sentiment, the film actually wanted to entertain. The intent behind the song was to give a banging track with a lot of energy and aggression. We never wanted to make this into anything controversial or hurt anyone’s sentiment. So, we were also taken aback that there was this sort of uproar in a certain section.”

Mirzapur The Movie brought all the cast members from the series back except actor Vikrant Massey. Actor Jitendra Kumar stepped into his shoes as Bablu bhaiya for the film. Ask Singh if it was because of failed negotiations or Massey opting to exit, and he says, “It’s a creative world, so everybody should have the choice to do what they want, go where they want, express what they want. Every time an actor or an artiste wants to go in a direction in his career, they should have the choice to do it. Even in the future, if someone wants to walk away, nobody should feel compelled that they are tied down to something due to past associations. We’ve moved on now to a different world perhaps.”