Q+A with Ali Fazal | His dark materials

Q. You started the year with Raakh; Batwara 1947 is coming up; Mirzapur: The Movie will have a theatrical release. Is this what you have wanted all along?

I am excited about how things are shaping up. It has been a refreshing week with the response to Raakh. What it has done is appeal to both

The cinephiles and the janta (masses). It is made in a niche, cinematic style and is also rather dark, so one didn’t think it would pick up the way it has. And yes, Mirzapur is a big social experiment of 2026 [as it’s the first time a web series will get a prequel in the form of a theatrical release].

Q. Jayprakash is such an author-backed character. Is this what an actor craves?

You love it when you get to play to your strengths. I was lucky because I remember I was also prepping to shoot for Mirzapur: The Movie, which got pushed. I felt physically I wouldn’t fit in to play Jayprakash. Then I read the script and I thought the stakes were far above looks and other surface-level things.

Q. Traditionally, police officers on-screen have this flamboyance. In Raakh, there’s no heropanti, no monologue, no projection of a persona. He’s always playing catch-up...

I agree it could have been played differently. But jab aap andar kudh jaate hain (when you are stifled within), there’s a deterioration that can manifest in many ways. Within the vardi (uniform), the claustrophobia was important to explore.

Q. For many, watching the show has been hard, given the violence and utter moral depravity on display, and the real-life case it is inspired by.

It was heavy for me too, especially seeing it in one go. Watching it in one go was a bit hard. I had to keep pausing and then I just burst out crying when the parents read the poetry. Then the last episode where we touch upon what could have been. It is such a beautiful tribute to the heroism of the victims whom we often forget in the course of the investigation.