Divyenndu

As the second season of Mirzapur readies to launch on Amazon Prime Video, we spoke to streaming’s most popular baddie

- Nirmika Singh

IF YOU’VE WATCHED MIRZAPUR, you’d know why this journalist experienced serious trepidations at the prospect of getting on a Zoom call with Munna — Divyenndu’s barbarous character in the series. The dread that Divyenndu brings to the show through his role of a baddie is one that will perhaps follow him for years to come. “I think I wanted that as an actor — to have that kind of reaction from people. And it’s not me, it’s how they wrote it, especially Puneet Krishna the show creator. You have to have that on paper first for you to perform. And I was very fortunate that I got what I feel is the most author-backed role in the whole series,” says Divyenndu, who, till Mirzapur happened, was remembered for his sociable characters in Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011) and Chashme Baddoor (2013). Mirzapur 2 releases on October 23rd with a bigger promise of guns, gore and glory. The show, set in the eponymous city of Uttar Pradesh, offers a peek into its mindnumbing lawlessness.