'Mirzapur' was initially called a 'cheap imitation' of 'Gangs of Wasseypur': Gurmmeet Singh

When "Mirzapur" first arrived on Prime Video in 2018, its world of gang wars, guns and rural Uttar Pradesh drew immediate comparisons with Anurag Kashyap's "Gangs of Wasseypur", with some viewers even dismissing the series as a "cheap imitation", director Gurmmeet Singh recalled.

Singh, who directed the popular crime drama and its recent big-screen adaptation "Mirzapur: The Movie", said the comparison became particularly noticeable around the release of the show's first season.

"We started to hear (about it) a lot more during the release of season one. Many saw the trailer and said that it looks like a cheap imitation of 'Wasseypur', then it sort of hit us: 'Is that true'?" Singh told PTI in an interview.

The similarities, he said, were understandable -- both stories are rooted in worlds of crime and violence and feature elements such as country-made pistols, known as kattas, and rural settings.

"And then, of course, we could piece the similarities because you understand things like katta (country made pistol), rural background. Thankfully, as people experienced it, they realised that the storytelling was different," he said.

"Gangs of Wasseypur", Kashyap's two-part 2012 crime saga, is set against the backdrop of the coal mafia and gang wars in Wasseypur, Dhanbad, and follows the generations-long feud between the Khan and Qureshi families. It starred Manoj Bajpayee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

"Mirzapur", meanwhile, is set in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh and revolves around the power struggle between the Tripathi and Pandit families. The series features Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, Rasika Duggal, Divyenndu, Rajesh Tailang, Sheeba Chadha and Kulbhushan Kharbanda.

The first season released in 2018, followed by the second in 2020 and the third in 2024.

Singh said the two productions may share a violent criminal backdrop, but their emotional worlds are markedly different.

"'Mirzapur' carries within it more hope... Anurag's world is so brutal, like he's absolute gangster, his characters are tough, while our characters are lovable. So, that's where there's a bit of difference," he said.

The characters in "Mirzapur", Singh added, enter a violent world while retaining relatively innocent expectations about what it can offer them.

"Like, our characters were joining the world that's bad but their expectation from it was quite innocent. I think that sort of distinctly made those two ('Gangs of Wasseypur' and 'Mirzapur') different," he said.

Singh later met Kashyap after the release of "Mirzapur" season two and said the filmmaker was supportive of the team.

"He spoke with great affection. He was very warm because a lot of actors have worked with him also. I don't remember if he had seen it till then or not, but he was very kind, and said, 'You guys should keep doing it'," Singh recalled.

From series to big screen

Singh credited writer-creator Puneet Krishna with conceiving "Mirzapur", drawing on his familiarity with Uttar Pradesh. The two first met while working on another series, "Inside Edge", before joining hands for "Mirzapur".

Singh stressed that the series is entirely fictional and is not based on events in the Uttar Pradesh city after which it is named.

"We call it 'Mirzapur' because the name sounds so cinematic, it is a beautiful, peaceful place. We've now subsequently gone and shot there, and met people there. Ours is a completely fictional show, so it's not deriving from any real story that's happened there," he said.

After three seasons, the makers took the franchise to theatres with "Mirzapur: The Movie", released on September 4. The film continues the story and has earned Rs 228.40 crore nett in India.

Singh said the team deliberately made the film more cinematic than the streaming series, using visual storytelling, action sequences and music to create a different theatrical experience.

"We wanted to upscale it," he said.

The franchise is not ending with the film. Singh confirmed that another chapter is being written, although the makers have yet to decide whether it will be made as a movie or a series.

"We know this much: that the next chapter is being written, but how it will come or in what form, we are also excited to see," he said.

'Mirzapur' changed Singh's career

The success of "Mirzapur" also marked a turning point in Singh's own career.

Before the series, he had worked as an assistant director on films including "Don" and "Jodhaa Akbar", but his directorial outings included a string of commercial failures such as "Sharafat Gayi Tel Lene", starring Zayed Khan, "Warning", produced by Anubhav Sinha, "What the Fish", starring Dimple Kapadia, and "Phone Bhoot", featuring Katrina Kaif, Ishaan Khatter and Siddhant Chaturvedi.

Singh said he had been preparing to move away from direction and concentrate on producing when "Mirzapur" changed his plans.

"These are cliches but people tell you failures teach you a lot and it is a tough journey. I had a very fruitful career as an AD; I was working with the best of the production houses and also financially stable by that time," he said.

He acknowledged that his transition to directing did not begin smoothly.

"I was lucky enough to not become a struggle but I had to still bide my time and constantly reinvent to wait for an opportunity and I was completely ready to step away from direction and go into producing when 'Mirzapur' happened and things changed. I think I find more joy here as a director," Singh said.