Playing the man-child-turned-dreaded gangster Guddu Pandit in the much-loved gun and gore fest Mirzapur seems like second skin for Ali Fazal, but he admits that it doesn’t come easy to him. A day after Season 3 of the Prime Video series dropped, t2 caught up with Ali on being Guddu, what Mirzapur means to him and his varied roles of actor, producer and soon-to-be father.

It has been less than a day since the release of Mirzapur Season 3. Considering that every season of the show is highly anticipated and creates a huge buzz, what kind of emotions do you feel?

Mixed emotions, really. It has barely been a day, the season premiered at midnight last night. Mirzapur has become a beast of its own kind. The audience always keeps the interest around the show alive. The world that we have created contributes to that. It is a great bunch of people who come together once in a while and we all do this show and then go our separate ways. We work on different things which are very different from the world of Mirzapur. I love the idea of all of us coming together and being able to sit in one room and make the show and then wait in anticipation that another season of Mirzapur is releasing. That, for me, is the real fun part of it all.

Honestly, every season feels like a film is releasing in theatres. I really respect it. Mirzapur has given me a lot. After Mirzapur, I have not done any other long-format show. I have become very choosy when choosing anything in this format.

What do you remember of your first day of shoot on Season One of the show?

The moment I landed the part (of Guddu Pandit), I knew that Mirzapur had the potential to become very, very big. I had seen this format work very well in the West and with Mirzapur, we were one of the first in India to explore this. Something about it was really honest. The rest is, of course, how you make it, how the actors are, and other factors.

Honestly, the first day of shoot was the most traumatic! It was very scary because there was a lot of pressure. I had to be briefed in a certain way. I had put in so many hours in the gym, which I hated because I have always been a sportsman. I have been on the field all my life. I have been on basketball courts and hockey matches and cricket and shot put.... So suddenly to be caged inside a gym was traumatic and I thought I wasn’t ready to be this character. The walk from the van to the first day’s shoot was nerve-wracking. But it all came through in the end.

Can one say that three seasons down, you are now comfortable in Guddu’s skin, literally and metaphorically?

I will never be comfortable because my nature doesn’t allow me to be so. It is just that I have become more comfortable as an actor and as a person and that allows me to explore a very complex character like Guddu on a deeper level.

I try and enjoy that part of me. I don’t know how much it translates on screen, though. I am very desperate to draw audiences into this guy’s mind rather than just his brawn and body. He is much more than the ‘visual’ quintessential hero.

Did you get more of a chance to explore his psyche this season? He reminded me of a tragic Shakespearean hero...

Yes. That seed was sown with his obsession with his younger brother, played by Vikrant (Massey) and that seed kind of comes into its own in Season 2. I kept that track in mind and in this season, the distortions start to happen in Guddu’s mind. It becomes a heightened version of that. From the middle of this season, you see him walking around with just three-four people because otherwise, his mind is very overcrowded. These idiosyncrasies are what an actor tries to put in

What were the biggest challenges of playing Guddu Bhaiyya this season?

There is always the aspect of physical challenge. After every season, I am left with some injuries. They are nicely carved into me to remind me that I am done with yet another season of Mirzapur (laughs).

What was most challenging this season was to carry the load of a whole lot of emotions. Playing Guddu is not about one narrative or one trope. It would be hard for a singer — somebody who has rhythm and musicality — to pretend to be off-key. For example, I was very fascinated with how Meryl Streep carried out her part in Florence Foster Jenkins. We all know that she is a wonderful actor and she started out as a singer. In that film, she had to play a terrible singer. It is inherently very hard to do that. In Season 3, it was challenging for me to be able to bring in spurts of emotions that were not there in the scene.

The scene in which you kill a key character by gouging out his eyes with your bare fingers was horrific. How did you approach that scene?

That was a very tough scene. I fought a lot to not have that scene in the show. I asked: ‘Oh My God, can you not remove this?! This is horrendous!’ It was too much, but there was no choice but to do it. It is what it is (smiles).

Among the neat body of work that you have built across geographical divides, where would you place Mirzapur?

It has given me everything. The larger-than-life image of Guddu has had a trickle effect on the nature of the offers I get in India. But the kind of roles I get in the West are starkly different... that is a whole other universe for me. That plate is different, that conversation is different.

From Metro In Dino to Lahore 1947 to a film with Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan, you have a slew of prestigious projects coming up in India. What can you tell us about them?

I think it is safe to say that I am in a good space as an actor. It is a satisfying space. I am looking forward to the release of all these projects. I have finished shooting for Anurag Basu’s Metro In Dino. My segment is with Fatima Sana Shaikh. For any actor, there is life before Mani Ratnam and life after Mani Ratnam. I am very grateful that he has been kind enough to allow me to enter his world. It allows me to come back to this world and boast about it! (Laughs) I am left with about two days of shoot for Lahore 1947 (co-starring Sunny Deol and produced by Aamir Khan).

The Writers’ Strike in Hollywood last year threw things into disarray with many projects being delayed or shelved. How much did that affect you?

A lot! I had two shows that I was lined up to do there and they both got pushed because of the strike. They called me back two months ago for one but I couldn’t do it anymore because I am committed to my other projects. It just broke my heart. In India, I didn’t do anything for a year and because of that, the strike affected me on both sides, making people think here that I was not available and there, of course, nothing was happening.

But this year, I have gone hardcore into work mode. And in December, I will do something in the West, but that has not been announced yet.

You and Richa (Chadha, wife) are all set to become first-time parents. What are the emotions like?

I don’t feel overwhelmed. It is a happy mind space. We feel truly blessed.

Your maiden production Girls Will Be Girls won big at the Sundance Film Festival recently. What is the way forward for you and Richa as producers?

I am very excited for the win. We did a hat-trick on three grand jury prizes this month on Girls Will Be Girls. The film has already carved out a journey for itself in the international market. Its French release is happening now and the North American release will happen at the end of the year.

Going forward, as producers, we want to champion talent. We are happy we are getting to work with a whole bunch of talent, including Aakash Bhatia, who directed Looop Lapetaa (with Tahir Raj Bhasin and Taapsee Pannu). We have a couple of things in our kitty.

What is happening on the writing front? You had told me last time that you were working on a few scripts...

Being a producer has really screwed up my head because every time I am writing something, I am imagining actors other than myself for certain roles. It is a selfless thing that is happening while writing. I am imagining so many of my colleagues and friends in the parts I am writing. But I got angry in the middle and stopped writing! It will start again, in good time.