After three seasons of mayhem on Prime Video, the web series Mirzapur has been transported to the big screen. Mirzapur The Movie harks back to the first season from 2018, when the reign of the drugs-to-guns racketeer Akhandanand Tripathi (Pankaj Tripathi) as the uncrowned king of Mirzapur is challenged within and without.This is that happy time in the show when Akhandanand, his family, adversaries and political allies are still being introduced one by one. Key characters who eventually perish are very much around. There’s room to joke and spar, unlike in the subsequent seasons, which get serious and heavy and a bit dull as a result.Gurmmeet Singh, who directed many of the show’s episodes, and writer-creator Puneet Krishna are in firm control of the screen adaptation. Singh and Krishna choose the strongest characters from the sprawling cast, thrown in a few new players, rewrite some of the storylines and blast hip tunes that hop over action scenes.The 197-minute film opens with a declaration by Akhandanand that the main pursuit in Mirzapur is of domination. Akhandanand is holding on to his position by sheer force of personality and the aura that is a result of brutality.Double-dealing politician JP Yadav (Pramod Pathak) and business rival Ratishankar (Shubhrajyoti Barat) are sniping at Akhandanand’s heels. Akhandanand’s hothead son Munna (Divyenndu), who is itching to take over as Mirzapur’s bahubali, or don, is a reliable source of migraine.Divyenndu and Rasika Dugal in Mirzapur The Movie (2026). Courtesy Excel Entertainment/Amazon MGM Studios India.Bahubalitis has also infected Akhandanand’s resentful second wife Beena (Rasika Dugal). The ambitious brothers Bablu (Jitendra Kumar) and Guddu (Ali Fazal) are working out well for Akhandanand, their smooth mind-and-muscle combination eclipsing Munna in intelligence and impact, much to his annoyance.Akhandanand crosses paths with Babban (Ravi Kishan), a drug lord in Jaisalmer with an ulterior motive to do business with the Mirzapur gangster. The plot focuses on the conflict between Akhandanand and Babban, leaving the tussle for supremacy between Munna, Bablu and Guddu for inevitable sequels.Mirzapur The Movie needs prior knowledge of the show if audiences are to make sense of the characters, their connections and their motivations. For viewers who have no clue about why Akhandanand is also known as Kaleen Bhaiyya, or why Munna is so frustrated or Beena so seductive, the film rolls out super-short back stories before getting back to what it does best: cool carnage.The mood is comedic and light-hearted while always being nihilistic. The dialogue is packed with colourful cussing and pop philosophy.Jitendra Kumar and Ali Fazal in Mirzapur The Movie (2026). Courtesy Excel Entertainment/Amazon MGM Studios India.Much of the humour is derived by the often pointless one-upmanship between people with ready access to drugs and guns. Nearly everyone wants to be on top of everything, whether it’s watch-buying, road racing or running a criminal enterprise. Surprisingly, the body count is quite low, unlike in the series.The film version stands on its own bloodied feet. The extraction of the show’s most entertaining aspects while also introducing a couple of new arcs, and the decision to use the same actors with one notable exception, give Mirzapur The Movie both the element of comforting familiarity and the thrill of surprise. The fan service is smartly done. The film’s makers repeat several moments and lines of dialogue from the show but wisely eschew the Byzantine plotting and the brooding tone – for now. Two post-credit scenes hint at the direction that the film franchise might take.The original cast, having done all of this before and more expansively, take their places with practised ease. From Pankaj Tripathi as Akhandanand’s gentlemanly gangster (his cruelty notwithstanding), Ali Fazal’s goofy thug Guddu, Divyenndu’s entertainingly immature Munna and Rasika Dugal’s Lady Macbeth-like Beena, all the performers are on point.Among the new cast members, Ravi Kishan plays Babban with the requisite swagger. Mohit Malik is Babban’s glowering bodyguard, Birju. Satendra Soni is Chandu Puncture, a deadly mechanic. Sushant Singh plays Babban’s rival, Bhairav.Jitendra Kumar, who replaced Vikrant Massey as Bablu, is the only misfit. Massey’s skilful portrayal of the canny and sly Bablu is sorely missed in the film version.