Mohitt Maalik On Mirzapur, Doing His Own Stunts & Being 'Intimidated' By Co-Stars: 'Proving Myself Was A Challenge' - FPJ Exclusive

Actor Mohitt Maalik has become one of the talking points after his appearance as Birju in Mirzapur: The Movie. The actor has received strong social media attention, with his scenes and action sequences being widely shared. In an interview with The Free Press Journal, Maalik talks about Birju’s popularity, preparing for the role, performing his own stunts and dealing with the pressure of entering the much-loved Mirzapur universe.

Birju seems to have introduced you to a new audience. What does that mean to you?

Mirzapur has a huge huge fan base which apparently has given so much of love and accepted me as their own and I think the character is very relatable.... his ability to love so much is very relatable. I'm just very grateful for everything.

Your scenes and reels are going viral. Did you expect this response?

I didn't expect to be honest. This is very gratifying and I'm grateful for all the love. They have accepted me, acknowledged and loved my work. It is just out of sheer love for the character and for the performance. So I'm grateful to God and to each one of them who are tagging me, sending messages.

Before joining the franchise, who was your favourite character?

I think the favourite character would be Munna Bhaiya (Divyenndu). There is always a need for him to prove to his father and that's very relatable.

Were you nervous about entering such a popular franchise?

Of course, needless to say, I was very nervous. I was intimidated by all of them because the characters are so big. They are the best actors of the industry and going in between them and proving myself was a challenge. But I think that was taken over by my sheer indulgence in the work I was doing for the character. I think at the end of the day you just do your work with all the commitment and honesty and you don't really worry about anything else.

How did you prepare for Birju’s physique and look?

I had a discussion with my director Gurmmeet Singh about my physique and then I discussed the same with my trainer. We decided to get a very desi kind of a body. I also grew my beard because I wanted to give myself a different look and Guru also liked it. And then we added certain things like tanning and all that stuff.

How challenging was the action?

It was very challenging. We were shooting in Jaisalmer in cold weather. And it's very difficult to do action on sand. But we used to rehearse a day before, then go for the actual shoot. It looks very easy, but it's tough. You can't even walk properly on sand. But I love doing action on my own. In fact, in the film also, there were no dupes used. I've done almost all the stunts myself and it was a great experience.

Mirzapur has faced criticism for its violence and strong language. Your response?

I think it's very subjective. It's a story which needs to be told and it's a piece of fiction. It's not something which is reality. It is a drama. It is a cinema. It's just a piece of art and that's open for criticism. Anybody can have any kind of subjective opinion. But I love it, personally. I love Mirzapur, the series. I think it's one of the best series. Because I think it's written and directed so beautifully.