Ali Fazal dissects his character guddu Pandit from Mirzapur and opens up about his intense gym prep, martial arts training, and the mental toll of the character's violent nature. He reveals how insecurity led him to adopt a hunched posture, which eventually caused him issues
Ali Fazal on Guddu Bhaiya
Mirzapur is one of the most loved and critically acclaimed series that streams on Amazon Prime Video. With its stellar cast and gripping plot, the show has captured hearts across the board. Among the fan favourites is Ali Fazal’s intense Guddu Pandit. In an exclusive chat on mid-day’s podcast series The Bombay Film Story, the actor dissects the character, his prep for it, and why it creeped in a sense of insecurity in him.
Ali Fazal on Guddu Bhaiya
Dissecting his character Guddu Bhaiya from Mirzapur, Ali shares, “I based it on somebody I know very well. Not the gangster part, but something about the character. In Lucknow, you'll find the rounding off of vowels a lot.”
When asked if it was a tough role, pat comes the reply, ‘“very tough.” Explaining why, the Thug Life actor states, “It's just very violent innately. That's the answer to everything and that's not nice.”
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When asked about him being aware of this men’s world as he was from boarding school, Ali shares, “I used to get beaten up a lot because I took pangas. I didn't have sense of number of people. So if there are 10 people and I've gone and just punched that one person without realizing that the other nine people are his brother's friends. So obviously gotten beaten up to a point where I would box that it was okay, I could take it.”
Ali on martial arts
The actor makes a startling revelation about getting training in martial arts. He remarks, “I'm closely associated with a certain martial art which I like practicing. I like jiu-jitsu because I think it's a very disciplined and meditative art form. I hold white belt in it as I have just started. I am not doing this for any role, but for competition which I can’t participate in now as I have too many injuries.”
Ali on preparation for Guddu Bhaiya and dealing with insecurity
The Metro In Dino actor talks about his preparation for the role and shares how the protruding belly troubled him. He states, “Guddu was hard. It was weird because I didn’t like the claustrophobia of a gym. I couldn't stand it. Adding to it was eating a lot more than my share, more than my tummy could handle. So, there were times when I was just big because I was supposed to look big. The idea was not to corrupt the body and try and get maximum results.”
He adds, “Focus gymming was something I did for the first time for this role. Like I was seriously deadlifting heavy weights. Now I’m told that my posture was wrong, but I say, okay, because whatever I knew, I did at the time. But as the role was evolving, I think it just keeps getting darker. It does sometimes mess with your head, but you train to get out of it. It’s the physical habits that sometimes stay. Like the wrist issue I had with the walking stick for a long time.
My posture got screwed up because of that hunch. And the hunch also was an insecurity because I thought I wasn’t ready physically.”
“I was preparing for the role and everything, but I just felt very small. So, I remember walking from the van to the set, and I was just hunching. And I was like, what if I can just use my posture to intimidate and maybe I might look bigger. So it came out of just feeling a bit insecure”, concluded Ali.
Ali on Mirzapur movie
When asked about the series being converted into a film, Ali expressed, “We’re very excited now. We’re just prepping. I’m stuck in something else right now and filming that. I have just heard the script and it’s quite banging.”
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