Ali Fazal made a career-altering choice when he bagged the role of Guddu Bhaiyya on Prime Video’s Mirzapur. The show catapulted the already-talented actor’s career, and his character grew to arguably become one of the most popular Indian TV characters of all time. But there was a chance none of this would have ever happened.

Fazal recently sat down with Filmfare, and revealed that he was instantly drawn to the character of Guddu, but he was initially offered the role of Munna, now played by Divyenndu. “I was stuck on Guddu. I was offered another part initially. I think it was Munna’s part, which Divyenndu has done. At that time, I was so invested in Guddu because I felt like there was so much I could bring to it,” he told Filmfare.

 

 

He also revealed how he tried to distance himself from the role by making an excuse. “I really like parts that are unpredictable to me. If I can figure out the entire journey in my head, then it’s no fun. There won’t be any team work because I am not the only person. So I made an excuse. I said I don’t have dates, something has come up. So I left. Then I got a call back later saying that we want to see, let’s try this,” he added.

 

 

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Pick the most acclaimed and talked about films and shows of the last five years, and chances are that Pankaj Tripathi has been in them. He’s become every director’s go-to guy, has carried web shows on his extremely mature and capable shoulders, has established himself as one of the country’s most efficient character actors right now, and is loved by the audience for his natural and effortless performances. Here’s announcing our October 2020 cover star, the inimitable Pankaj Tripathi (@pankajtripathi). ______________ Our October 2020 cover star, Pankaj Tripathi is all set to return as Kaleen Bhaiya in Mirzapur Season 2 on Amazon Prime Video (@primevideoin). __________ Executive Editor: Arnesh Ghose (@arnesh.ghose) #PrimeVideoIN #Mirzapur2

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If you liked this, read our October cover story featuring Pankaj Tripathi, where he talks about his meteoric success, the future of OTT, and Mirzapur 2.