Divyenndu, who won massive popularity for portraying the ruthless and pampered Munna Tripathi in the ‘Mirzapur’ series and in ‘Mirzapur: The Movie’, once revealed that he was originally in line to play a completely different character in the show, one that eventually went to Vikrant Massey.
Divyenndu was first considered for Bablu Pandit’s role
In an older conversation with Humans of Bombay, Divyenndu recalled how he had initially been approached for the role of Bablu Pandit. He had said, “Initially I was approached for Bablu’s character. Went ahead and read it; everything was fine. But yeh jo Munna ka character tha, yeh kaun play karega, again, stupid, you know.”He further shared how his own career worries eventually led him toward Munna. “Chahe jo bhi ho, jaisa bhi ho, kuch hai. I don’t know why; as an actor, I was struggling in a way that people would always take me as a happy-go-lucky guy, the boy-next-door. I was like, ‘Phir yeh bahut boxed ho jaayega.’ Toh ek tareekay se, main itna pareshaan tha ki God said, ‘Ok, giving you wait, don’t sulk about every day. So I got Munna. These guys called me; they said, ‘What do you have to say about Munna?’ I said, ‘Fantastic.‘ Let’s jam on it, and here we have Munna.”
On Munna bhaiya’s comeback in the film
Talking about playing Munna Bhaiya in ‘Mirzapur: The Movie’, ahead of its release, Divyenndu told Telegraph India, “To come back with the film, it’s like how life comes full circle. I’m both excited and nervous at the same time. How would people react and see Munna coming back, whether I’ve done justice to it or not? So, it’s a bag full of emotions, but above everything, I think this one is just for the fans.”The actor also spoke about his approach to acting, saying he prefers making his characters “more relatable and human” so viewers connect with them more easily.
More about ‘Mirzapur: The Movie’
The big-screen version brings a few casting shifts, with Jitendra Kumar stepping into Bablu Pandit’s role and Ravi Kishan joining the cast in a new part. Abhishek Banerjee, Rasika Dugal, Sheeba Chadha, Rajesh Tailang, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Harshita Shekhar Gaur and Shweta Tripathi return in their original roles, alongside Pankaj Tripathi, Ali Fazal and Divyenndu.‘Mirzapur: The Movie’ was released in theatres on September 4, 2026.
