Mirzapur Season 3: Money lessons from all the guns in wild Purvanchal

Produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar, Mirzapur’s guns have been ruling Prime Video ever since the first episode was released on 18th November in 2018. The star-studded saga of power in Purvanchal area of Uttar Pradesh released Season 3 on July 5, 2024.

While Kaleen Bhaiyya is AWOL and underground, recovering from gunshots, Guddu Bhaiyya and Golu Didi are in a battle royale for the throne of Mirzapur. If only there weren’t Sharad Yadav, Madhuri Yadav wishing the duo were dead. So does Bharat Tyagi.

On the other hand, Ramakant Pandit is battling his own principles. While you helplessly watch the blood, guns and power saga play out on Amazon Prime, you wish that the poetry loving maid Radhika and the gorgeous Beena Tripathi had more screen time. Of course the quiet, observant PA to CM Madhuri, Anand ji would have a tale or two up his sleeve.

What does this violent tale of powergrab have to do with you, dear savvy investor? Is it just a tale that on screen violence keeps our animal instincts at bay in real life? Do you learn to handle real life machinations better when you see the tragedy of brother killing brother on screen? I find excessive violence a tedious watch and yet this season of Mirzapur gives us two super important money lessons to learn.

Trust deficit will hurt you

Guddu knows that he’s the brawn and that Golu is the brains in the fearsome duo that managed to unseat Munna and Kaleem Bhaiyya. If it hadn’t been for Ramakant Pandit’s uncharacteristic kill shot that helped Guddu escape and get SSP Maurya out of the way.

And yet Guddu not one but many times goes against the advice that Golu has given him and gets into trouble. Guddu cannot resist the Pehelwan (Bodybuilding) contest, and insists on going off with Lala’s daughter to cut a deal.

Golu trusts the informants and decides to take things in her own hands when Guddu is away. She’s smarting from Guddu’s choice of going off with Lala’s daughter and wants to prove that she’s not the one standing beside the seat of power, but is worthy.

Ramakant Pandit, on the other hand, is excessively cautious. In jail, he is advised by fellow inmates to not trust the serial killer Gerua before accepting kitchen duty. But he’s an upright man, and manages to survive an attempt to kill which turns out to be directed at Gerua. Ramakant Pandit trusts his instincts to learn why Gerua became a killer.

You too! dear smart investors, must trust no one when it comes to making any decisions about your hard-earned money. Sure you have a financial planner to help you reach all your goals. But there’s that comic book you read many moons ago where they asked a very pertinent question: Who’s going to watch the Watchmen?

It is your money that’s being invested, and even if you trust the person who’s handling the money for you, you must learn everything about how, where, why your money is being invested. Trust is fragile. So educate yourself about every financial decision you make. This way you leave no room for backstabbing. Trust no one but yourself. After all, the buck stops with you.

Distractions are aplenty. Focus!

Prison Lingo, biryanis, Barfi, Chief Guest, seductive women, homilies about bears and mice and beautiful jungle - are but casual things that Mirzapur episodes are filled with. But there’s one line of dialogue that makes all that gratuitous violence and bloodshed worth the watch. It slips in quite innocuously, in the form of a wife’s vehement plea to her upright husband.

Ramakant Pandit (the incredible Rajesh Tailang) has confessed to having shot SSP Maurya who would have killed his son Guddu. He’s had ideological differences with his son, but he did prevent his son from being killed. So he takes his scooter to the police station and confesses. Of course that lands him in jail. No matter who persuades him to defend himself in court, he just won't. At the prison, his wife Vasudha visits him.

In an emotional plea, she asks him why after standing for the right all his life, why is he wallowing in self pity? ‘Passing judgement on your action is the court’s job,’ she says, ‘But isn’t your decision to not defend your action in court a betrayal to me as well as your daughter Dimpy? How can you take that decision alone?’ She helps him get his focus back from the spiral of self recrimination.

As a smart investor, you too are investing not only for your future, but also of your family. Maybe they do not understand money the way you do, but if their welfare is in your hands, isn’t it your responsibility to let them know why and how the money is being invested?

Most of us are peaceniks, most often choosing to let others hog the limelight, choosing to lead a life of non confrontation. But when you need to drive, will you stand up and make yourself heard? Reclaim that throne of your personal Mirzapur, I say! Stand tall.

Manisha Lakhe is a poet, film critic, traveller, founder of Caferati — an online writer’s forum, hosts Mumbai’s oldest open mic, and teaches advertising, films and communication. She can be reached on Twitter at @manishalakhe.