In September, Pankaj Tripathi reported to the shoot of Mirzapur: The Film in Mumbai. Mention the movie, and the actor smiles at the symmetry of his journey with the franchise. “I began filming the series with the last scene of that season. Now, after all these years, my first day was again spent shooting the last scene,” he grins.

Starring Tripathi, Ali Fazal, Shweta Tripathi, and Rasika Dugal, the crime drama became wildly popular over its three seasons. Now, director Gurmmeet Singh is taking the Prime Video series to the big screen — a move that Tripathi thinks is “a bold gamble.” He says, “It’s the first time in India that a series is being transformed into a theatrical feature. It shows the faith the producers have in the story and these characters.”