Bollywood Hungama

Ali Fazal gets his Salman Khan moment in Mirzapur: The Movie; Guddu Pandit goes shirtless, massy and full-on

Ali Fazal has played his share of intense characters, but Mirzapur: The Movie might just be the film where he finally gets to unleash his full-blown mass-hero side. As Guddu Pandit, Fazal is bigger, more physical and considerably more flamboyant than audiences have seen him before. The transformation was already evident in the trailer, with the actor undergoing an extensive physical makeover for the role. But the real difference is in the way Guddu has been presented on screen. His entry is designed for the whistle-and-seeti crowd, and the moment he takes on Jr Jaiswal is the kind of unabashedly mass sequence that Mirzapur fans are likely to lap up. Fazal doesn't just play the aggression; he seems to be having fun with it. There is also a softer side to Guddu that works surprisingly well. His bond with his mother adds an emotional layer to the otherwise explosive character, giving Fazal room to move beyond the swagger and violence. And then there are the lighter moments particularly the injection scene where his comic timing gets some much-needed space. Interestingly, by the time the film heads towards its climax, Guddu Pandit starts looking less like the character audiences discovered on OTT and more like a traditional Hindi mass hero. The shirtless fight sequence is perhaps the clearest example. There are shades of the Salman Khan template here the larger-than-life physicality, the swagger and the deliberate presentation of the hero as an unstoppable force. And that may be the biggest takeaway from Fazal's performance. Mirzapur: The Movie gives Ali Fazal an opportunity to step outside the more restrained image audiences may have associated with him and embrace the full mass-hero treatment. Whether one sees it as Guddu Pandit evolving or Fazal discovering another side of himself, it certainly makes for a different viewing experience. For an actor who has consistently shown versatility, this could well be his massiest performance to date. More importantly, it might make audiences look at Ali Fazal a little differently from here on. Also Read: Ali Fazal reveals how Jiu-Jitsu helped him prepare for Guddu Bhaiya in Mirzapur: The Movie; says, It helped me with learning how to move like an animal