Change Your Image
Nialarfatem
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Mirzapur (2018)
Best Crime Series from India so Far!
In my opinion, this is the best crime series I've seen so far by far!
It all started some years ago when I decided to watch series coming from India with the beginning of web series originated from India in 2014-2015 (if I recall right) since India's break in web series and, as my (favorite) kind in films and series is crime/mystery, it all actually began some years later with the Sacred Games series which was more accessible to me (with subtitles in my native language) than other ones and mostly as it happened after I watched Gangs of Wasseypur and searched Google to watch more films with Nawazuddin Siddiqui and/or Pankaj Tripathi, then Delhi Crime followed and, finally, I noticed Mirzapur which, in my opinion, exceeds the other two in every aspect I use to compare series of the same kind.
Of course, there have been series before made in India (meaning before the outburst with the web series), mainly historical ones or ones related to mythology with themes e.g. from Ramayana or Mahabharata, but these, even though awesome, as different kind(s), are not comparable with Mirzapur and are also hard to find online entirely or lacking subtitles.
Now, I must add that I like both Sacred Games and Delhi Crime, but I consider: 1) Delhi Crime more of a propaganda series since it focuses on the remarkable job the Indian police does in order to solve a gang rape case in only 6 days (based on a true story) and there is more drama in it than crime/violence than the one I expect from this kind of series. Of course I understand such propaganda (India-is-great style) series makes sense and are normal to come when you are at an early stage of distributing series around the world through web. Must watch though because the actors are convincing, but it is not even close to the greatness of Mirzapur, and 2) Sacred Games, which is based on a book, is a bit overestimated. Yes, it hooks you, and yes, it has Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Pankaj Tripathi (the latter only in 2nd season and first appearance in last episode of the 1st one) with superb acting performances, but, except these two, the rest of the crew isn't that good compared to the performance of Mirzapur's main cast, while every character/role in Mirzapur is superb, and not only 2 or 3 or 4 (if Saif Ali Khan and/or 1 more is included). Well, one thing Mirzapur lacks is the awesome Nawazuddin Siddiqui, but it has Pankaj Tripathi since the first episode and a lot of others at the same level of acting. I am not going to mention names because there are many, but say only one thing: I could easy name like 8 actors now awesome to watch in Mirzapur.
Then, I like Mirzapur more than the other two for its cinematography, the close-ups it has and its rawness, i.e. the violence it contains. Although it has been criticized (wrongly in my opinion) heavily for the violence it has by many critics, I found the violence it includes a necessary part for the characters coming from for the characters' crime profile integration. In fact, I must say to them who denounce the violence in it that they know nothing (How do you expect to watch a crime series without violence?), and to them that think there is too much violence in it that I personally found the violence in it at the necessary portion "justified" (quotation marks because, in more detailed thoughts, actually there is no kind of violence that is justifiable) by the roles producing it and, like the other crime series not based in reality, namely Sacred Games, it also seems very able to happen in reality. Having said that, I forgot to mention I find Mirzapur more possible to happen in reality than Sacred Games, i.e. seems more realistic, and of course it delivers more having to bond with more characters in it. In addition, it is noteworthy that what makes Sacred Games more famous and noted is its availability, more specifically the different distributor: I watch Sacred Games with subtitles in my native language while Mirzapur with English subtitles, and that is the reason I believe that explains the more votes in IMDb, but easy Mirzapur would have double votes if it was distributed with subtitles in my native language. So do not let IMDb and critiques fool you, Mirzapur is better than Sacred Games, even though both are must-watch!
Finally, to defend a bit Sacred Games, it is surely more original, yet there are many crime scenes in Mirzapur that you won't have seen before in crime series and films, and at the same time lacking the too much drama in it (even though there are killings of protagonists) but not the emotion, as Sacred Games at times contains too much drama (for someone who wishes to see a crime series and not get soppy).
Now, as regards to the plot, I am obliged to mention the first season's ending surprised me a lot (it shocked me) and left me confusing for the future, meaning for how the series will evolve, but the second season exceeded the expectations by far introducing new main characters with great character building and witty lines/punchlines, countless twists, new scenery, never-seen before crime action, a more mature and active part from the remaining crew of the first season, while refraining from turning the series into a soap opera (which was one of the possible outcomes after last episode in season 1), and whatever else I forget to underline here.
So, to sum up, if you haven't watched this series yet, do watch it if you like this kind of series and let's achieve it surpass Sacred Games in IMDb (both in votes and in rating)!