If there’s one show we’re most looking forward to, it’s none other than Amazon Prime’s hit show, Mirzapur. And now, the much-anticipated trailer of the second season was unveiled last week in which much hype and interest has been garnered. The three-minute trailer has fans eagerly awaiting for October 23 when the show drops. However, soon after the trailer was revealed, Twitter was abuzz with the hashtag, #BoycottMirzapur2.
According to a pro-BJP Indian website, Twitter was abuzz with this hashtag owing to an old tweet by Ali Fazal, the protagonist, which went viral on the platform. It had been reported that in the tweet, Ali Fazal had ‘mocked’ the death of a government official with a dialogue from the aforementioned TV series. Many had shared Fazal’s purported tweet celebrating the earlier Delhi riots.
The tweet reads, “PROTESTS: SURU MAJBOORI MEIN KIYE THHEY, AB MAJA AA RAHA HAI!!” that loosely translated to, “Protests: Started due to helplessness but now it’s exciting.” The tweet is accompanied with a photograph of Intelligence Bureau staffer Ankit Sharma’s body being pulled out of a drain. Sharma was killed during the communal violence and his body was recovered from a drain on February 26.
Of course, this caused an uproar on Twitter and many called out the actor for the tweet. “Before watching Mirzapur season 2, Do not forget this tweet of Ali Fazal. If you watch his series, you are supporting his anti-India stance,” a Twitter user said.
Boycott Hinduphobic #AliFazal's Mirzapur 2#BoycottMirzapur2
Pls pass on it …. H!t them where it hurts pic.twitter.com/HjH0e6UJe3
— Srikanth (@srikanthbjp_) October 6, 2020
A number of Twitter users followed suit and criticised the actor for his tweet. “I liked Mirzapur, but what happened after that is not good for us. The leads as Ali Fazal and Vikrant Massey spoke against India. If we watch Mirzapur 2, that would be a bad sign,” another netizen penned.
I liked Mirzapur, but what happened after that is not good for us. The leads as @alifazal9 and Vikrant Massey spoke against India.
If we watch Mirzapur 2, that would be a bad sign. pic.twitter.com/usLxXUvoP7
— Adwait K. (@AdvaitSpeaks) October 6, 2020
After the tweet went viral, The Wire shed light on the fact that the tweet in question was doctored. The publication stated that Fazal had indeed tweeted something which he later removed, however, his tweet was related to CAA protests, not the Delhi riots. The publication also stated that he did not share the photograph of the deceased officer. The tweet in question was posted on December 19, 2019, two months prior to the Delhi riots.
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In reaction to the ongoing hashtag trend, actor Divyendu Sharma, who plays notorious Munna Tripathi in the show, termed the trend as stupid. “It didn’t bother me a lot. They don’t know they are in very big trouble because there are so many fans of ‘Mirzapur’ out there. They should stop such stupidity. It’s just stupid to use such hashtags. We all know that people love ‘Mirzapur’. All these paid trends are just stupid. I feel for them,” Divyendy said while speaking with IANS.
“Bahar nikal ke mat bol dena logo ke saamne… bahut padegi tumko (Don’t utter such things in the open… you will be thrashed),” he concluded. Mirzapur 2 is slated for release on Amazon Prime on October 23.
