Speaking about the film’s advance booking and audience anticipation, Nahta called the response “bumper” and described the advance as “pagalpanti”, adding that for a small film, it could be a “terrific opening.”
According to Nahta, the film’s biggest advantage is the popularity of the Mirzapur characters, who have already become household names through the blockbuster web series.
“Mirzapur series is a blockbuster series and the characters are like to die for,” Nahta said, explaining that the established popularity of the characters could translate into strong theatrical footfall.
Nahta also termed the project a “first of its kind” experiment, pointing out that the makers have actually shot a standalone film featuring the familiar characters rather than simply repackaging material from the web series.
However, he cautioned against assuming that the success of Mirzapur: The Movie would lead to a wave of web-series-to-film adaptations. “It is not as if anybody and everybody can make,” he said, stressing that the story must be suitable for a theatrical film and that the filmmakers need to have written a good story.
Even if the film succeeds, Nahta does not expect too many web series to be converted into films, suggesting that Mirzapur could remain an unusual case in the Hindi film industry.
