Ginny Diwan on Vaaroon Forever from Mirzapur The Movie: ‘It’s about everything that remains unsaid’

Ginny Diwan

In the violent world of Mirzapur, Ginny Diwan's song Vaaroon stood for all things innocent - love, hope, and joy. When the lyricist wrote it for the first season in 2018, she could not have known that it would eventually become one of the defining emotional pieces of the franchise. Today, as Mirzapur: The Movie takes the track into a new setting, Diwan and composer Anand Bhaskar have revisited its emotional core. In a chat with mid-day, the lyricist shares how she has expanded the canvas with Vaaroon Forever.

Excerpts from the interview.

The original Vaaroon was quite popular. Was there any hesitation about revisiting it?
There was excitement, but also a sense of responsibility because people had loved it so deeply. Anand and I have known this world since its inception and have been part of its musical narrative through all the seasons. But the situation in the film was different. The original was primarily about Guddu and Sweety, while Vaaroon Forever had to encompass Guddu and Sweety, Golu and Bablu, and even Munna's love for Sweety. The same song was suddenly carrying multiple perspectives of love. I didn't want to recreate the original feeling; I wanted to understand what Vaaroon could mean in this new situation.

The song is filmed on Jitendra Kumar and Shweta Tripathi, and (R) Ali Fazal and Shriya Pilgaonkar. Pics/Youtube, Instagram

How does a tender song work so naturally in Mirzapur's violent world?
Violence, power, and revenge may be the façade of Mirzapur, but deep down it is also about desires, greed, insecurities, and ego. Vaaroon was never simply a love song; it's about everything that remains unsaid, be it desire, longing, devotion, or vulnerability. I have always felt that Vaaroon is the inner voice of the characters. The tenderness and darkness exist together.

What does songwriting allow you to express that dialogue sometimes cannot?
If you can help take the story forward or unveil something that dialogue cannot say, then the song becomes another layer of the narrative. The story inspires me to look for a particular shade of an emotion. We tend to put emotions under one big umbrella of love, loss, or joy, but the way each person experiences the same emotion can be different. That individual shade within something universally understood is what interests me as a writer.

Shreya Ghoshal

What did Shreya Ghoshal's voice bring to the track?
It's a duet with new verses sung by Shreya alongside Romy. Romy's mesmerising voice became integral to how people experienced the original. Shreya brings softness and a melodic quality that changes the emotional texture. In the intense landscape of Mirzapur, that softness becomes a paradox. It eases the tension, but also allows us to see the human emotions hidden under machismo, power, and violence. When Anand and I heard her opening alaap, it gave us goosebumps.

Did you know?

Ginny Diwan's first song for ‘Mirzapur' was ‘Sajanwa Juganwa', a song playing on the radio in a scene in the first season

Ginny Diwan's songs

‘Hun Jaavaan' (‘Broken But Beautiful 3')
‘Get Ready to Fight Again' (‘Baaghi 2')
‘Raat Rani' (‘Modern Love: Mumbai')