‘Mirzapur 3’ leaves you on a big cliffhanger. It is not just the beginning of a new era but also the end of the entire ‘gaddi’ trope in the series. As soon as Kaleen Bhaiya shoots Sharad Shukla, he declares him ‘the last king of Mirzapur’. But is it all justified? Was Sharad supposed to die like this? In an interview with IndiaToday.in, actor Anjum Sharma, who plays Sharad Shukla in the Prime Video series, spoke about the importance of his character in the narrative and why it was important for his character to finally die.

Sharad has been a part of all three seasons so far, but we got to see the real rise of the character in ‘Mirzapur 3’, which premiered earlier this month. “It’s definitely a high,” he said about playing a role that is slowly making its place in the Mirzapur universe. “I was aware of my character’s end. I knew Sharad had to exit this way, and I think it is completely justified. ‘Mirzapur’ is known for its drama and the way it surprises you. The way this character was developed, it was a classic ending,” he said.

Sharad Shukla has been portrayed as an underdog in the series. In season 3, he is declared the ‘king’ but is killed seconds later by Kaleen Bhaiya. When asked if it wasn’t unfair to kill a character when he is drunk, Anjum said, “I don’t think it was unfair. It was the biggest dramatic part of season 3. See, I knew it was going to happen but our goal was to make the audience feel bad for him when it happened (Sharad’s death).

He said, “The way this character has evolved from being an underdog to becoming the king of ‘Mirzapur’ follows a classical archetype format. If you watch any classical piece of writing, you will find a certain way how the character has been presented. There is emotion, drama, romance, politics and the whole graph of this character is amazing. It is like a penny dropped at the right time. If the ending had not happened, I wouldn’t have got such an overwhelming response. It is better to go out on a high than to be dragged down.”

So, now that her character is gone, who does she feel is more deserving of the throne? Anjum said that the whole idea of ​​the throne is over now. “The strongest character has been taken away. Everyone is very weak in Mirzapur right now. There might be no gaddi left now. You have to see that Sharad was developed as this king and now that he is gone, it is the end of an era. What next? It is clear that Kaleen bhaiya doesn’t want the gaddi anymore. The whole gaddi ki game is over with my character,” she said.

For Anjum, ‘Mirzapur’ has brought him unprecedented success. It is the most overwhelming experience for him in years and certainly a first for his on-screen performance. Born and brought up in Delhi, he moved to Mumbai with his family a few years ago during his college days and everything started falling into place for him. He said he always wanted to be an actor, and he had decided his path long ago.

He said, “I studied cinema. I did many films – ‘Slumdog Millionaire (2008)’, ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010)’. I took one step at a time. I used to do very background roles. Then life came full circle for me with ‘Sultan of Delhi’ (Disney+Hotstar series). I was playing the lead role of the director who had cast me as an extra in a film a few years ago – Milan Luthria, who also directed ‘Outim’. I am grateful to have experienced the real journey of an actor.”

For Anjum, the plan was always simple: choose good content and play important roles, even if it meant waiting to get the desired recognition. For Mirzapur, even the dead are never completely out of the game!