Exclusive | Mirzapur- The Film: Mohit Malik reveals 4-month preparation for Birju Lohar, says 'main work is psychological'

Mirzapur The Film is set to go on floors on September 4 with the muchloved franchise expanding its universe with new characters and a fresh storyline Among the new additions is actor Mohit Malik who will be seen as Birju Lohar a character he describes as unlike anything audiences have previously encountered in the Mirzapur worldIn an exclusive conversation with midday Mohit opened up about his character his preparation and the physical and psychological transformation he underwent for the role The actor revealed that his preparation began even before he was officially finalisedMohit Malik talks about his role in Mirzapur The FilmTalking about Birju Lohar Mohit said ldquoMirzapur is something which we all know is grey and gory sometimes it is violent at the same time a lot of humour dark humour but my character is something which is in that ecosystem But I would say that he has some other agenda in life and so why is he there I cant revealrdquo He added that Birju is an important part of the filmrsquos new setup and promised that the character would come as a surprise to viewers ldquoIt is something which is never seen before in the Mirzapur series also Nobody has really heard of him nobody has seen this character so it will be a surprise element for all of you who will go to the theatres and see for the first timerdquo he saidMohit further pointed out that Birju does not appear in the series making his introduction in the film even more significant ldquoThis is not in the series nobody knows anything about him This will be seen for the first time on screen and you will get to know him better you will get to know who he is and why he is hererdquo he said For Mohit transforming into Birju was among the toughest challenges of his career ldquoThats I think one of the most toughest in my career till date I can say that very confidentlyrdquo he saidOn intense preparation for Birjus physical appearanceThe actor worked closely with director Gurmeet Singh and the creative team on Birjursquos appearance He decided to grow his beard even before being cast ldquoEven before I was casted when I just had a meeting with Guru Gurmeet and he told me that lsquoIm writing something like this and I would like to test yoursquo that was the day I think I decided that anyhow I want to be a part of this film and I want to work with Gurmeetrdquo Mohit recalledHe also underwent intense physical training to build the physique required for Birju whose name suggests that he belongs to the traditional blacksmith community ldquoGuru wanted physically to be him to be very strong because as the name suggests Birju Lohar hes a Lohar and so he wanted somebody whos physically very strongrdquo he explainedHowever Mohit did not want a conventional gymbuilt physique ldquoI wanted a very desi and a very Indian body desi body of a Loharrdquo he said adding that the psychological preparation was even more demanding ldquoThe main work is psychological which is the hardestrdquo Mohit said He spent nearly four to five months immersing himself in Birjursquos world before filming and continued staying in character during the shootldquoI wanted to go deeper I wanted to go more visceral with thisrdquo he said explaining his approach to performance Mohit added that he believes a character should emerge from an actorrsquos subconscious allowing thoughts and impulses to feel natural The intensity of the process continued even after filming wrapped in January ldquoFor the first one two months I didnt understand what to do because the residue always remainsrdquo he admittedUltimately Mohit hopes audiences recognise the effort behind the transformation ldquoI wanted to present him very differently I wanted to create something different out of me something which is not seen beforerdquo he said ldquoIt was a challenge and I hope people can recognise that and acknowledge thatrdquo