EXCLUSIVE | Sonal Chauhan: 'I'm greedy as an actor' - Inside her Mirzapur casting story, Babban-Mumtaz's romance and the spin-off

For the most part of Mirzapur: The Movie, it's impossible not to be impressed by Sonal Chauhan

as Mumtaz Bibi, especially when you remember that she is the same girl who was once the Jannat girl. Decades have gone by, and things have evolved, and so has Sonal. Mirzapur happened to the actress in what she calls pure ‘’destiny''.

Recalling it during her interview, she shared how she was once told that the casting for the film was already done, but within 10 minutes of that meeting, she became Mumtaz Bibi of the Mirzapur world.

As the actress enjoys being recognised as Mumtaz Bibi by the audience, here's her exclusive chat with WION, during which she talked about being part of the Mirzapur world, how she landed the role, her bond with Ravi Kishan and the sequel of Babban and Mumtaz.

Read the edited excerpts from the chat.

WION: Is Mumtaz Bibi going to be a part of the next season of Mirzapur?

Sonal: I hope so. See, that's not a question that I can answer right now. I think what has happened with the film is something that nobody was expecting. The way the audience has received the film is just so overwhelming. And the way they have received the new additions, which are Mumtaz, Babban and even Birju, it's something that was totally unexpected. What's going to happen in the universe of Mirzapur after this is something that I think nobody knows right now. But as I said, I really hope so.

WION: How did Mirzapur happen, and how did you become a part of the universe?

Sonal: It's pure destiny. I have been a great admirer of director Gurmeet Singh's work. So I wanted to work with him, and went to meet him. He said the casting for Mirzapur was already done, but I'm doing multiple other things, and I would love to work with you. Then 10 minutes into that meeting, he suddenly said that actually there is this one role where the casting is still kind of remaining. So I think Mumtaz Bibi was supposed to happen to me.

WION: There's this one scene where you are singing, and Ravi Kishan says "Sur sahi lagao", and then the firing starts. Take me back to when you shot that scene. How was your working experience with Ravi Kishan?

Sonal: We shot that scene throughout for like five days. And I used to be wondering, what are we doing? Why is it taking so long? This is the car going from here to there. We shot it over five days. But, it was at some points, it used to be like, okay, what is going on? But when I saw that shot on the big screen, I understood what they were doing. They were basically showing expanse. Because now Mirzapur was on the big screen. And that expanse was very important. And it all translated. And I'm like, now today, I, when I look back, I think everything that was done has done justice to the film.

Shooting with an experienced actor like Ravi Kishan sir was a learning experience. It was something more than learning about acting. It was learning about life. He's a spiritual person. His understanding of life, his understanding of acting, his understanding of the industry comes from so much experience that just sitting with him and spending time gave me a lot to learn. When he used to talk about certain scenes, at that time I didn't understand. But when I saw it translated onto the big screen, I understood what he meant.

WION: There's a lot of love pouring in for Babban and Mumtaz - what do you think makes their love story so special? Let's also decode that climax shootout scene.

Sonal: There's a lot of thought behind it. Because when we hear Mumtaz talk for the first time, she tells Babban that ‘hum aapki zimmedaari hai (I’m your responsibility)'. And when she comes out of the tent, she's somewhere saying that 'aap bhi zimmedaari hai humari' (You are also my responsibility). Till then, Mumtaz was seen as someone who was depending on him. But that's where she shows strength, and she comes out, and she fights for her love. And even though she doesn't know how to shoot a gun, she's doing everything. Then she gives her life up for love. And then what happens to Babban after that is what has taken their love story to another level. Because his entire life was around Mumtaz. He had planned everything around her. And there's this one close-up where you see Ravi sir's eyes. Where he sees his entire world crumbling down in front of his eyes, and that's when he goes mad. Something possesses him, and he's just basically going on this spree of killing people. I have also seen memes where people are saying that the bro gets killed only because the script said so. Otherwise, he was going to kill everyone. I've also seen memes where people are saying that Mirzapur's true love story was only Babban and Mumtaz.

WION: People are rooting for a Babban and Mumtaz spin-off - have you seen that demand and would you be up for it?

I would love it. I'm greedy as an actor. I would want to be a part of Mirzapur again, and I hope that they can do a spin-off. I know that the audience is hungry to see that because they genuinely connected with that love story.