Ali
Fazal,
who
is
all
geared
up
for
the
release
of
web
series
Mirzapur
2,
responded
to
the
ongoing
social
media
trend
of
'Boycott
Mirzapur'.
Ali
raised
an
important
question
by
asking
if
art
will
be
at
the
mercy
of
trends.
He
further
pointed
out
that
if
trends
are
going
to
be
deciding
what
happens
in
society,
then
why
aren't
there
trends
on
important
issues
such
as
farmer
protests
and
the
grim
situation
of
the
pandemic.
Speaking
to
Times
Now,
Ali
said,
"We
have
to
decide
what
is
the
bar
we
are
setting.
Are
we
at
the
mercy
of
a
trend?
No!
I
don't
look
at
art
in
that
way.
Are
we
at
the
mercy
of
one
app
that
decides
who
will
watch
our
show
and
who
will
not?
No,
I
think
this
has
really
gone
down.
I
mean
if
you
are
really
talking
about
trends,
I
never
saw
any
trends
related
to
farmers
-
there
have
been
protests
everywhere
across
our
country.
But
I
wouldn't
say
that
it's
not
an
important
story,
it's
the
most
important
story.
Pandemic
suddenly
has
become
the
last
story
on
everybody's
mind.
It's
not
trending
anymore
but
it's
still
supposed
to
be
the
biggest
problem
that
we
are
facing.
I
hope
the
people
rise
above
that."
The
trailer
release
of
Mirzapur
2
on
Tuesday,
saw
a
negative
social
media
reaction
with
#BoycottMirzapur
becoming
one
of
the
top
trends
in
India.
This
reaction
may
be
attributed
to
Ali
and
series
maker
Farhan
Akhtar's
opposition
to
the
Citizenship
Amendment
Act
(CAA)
and
National
Register
of
Citizens
(NRC).
"We
are
trying
to
create
something
nice.
We
are
trying
to
also
level
with
international
work
that
is
out
there
on
those
very
platforms.
We
don't
want
to
be
regressed
by
certain
factions
of
society," he
added.
The
boycott
trends
of
films
and
web
series
seems
to
have
started
when
Deepika
Padukone
stood
in
silent
solidarity
with
students
of
JNU,
who
faced
assault
in
January
this
year.
It
was
days
before
the
release
of
her
film
Chhapaak,
which
was
boycotted
on
social
media.
Although
the
film,
based
on
the
real
life
story
of
an
acid
attack
survivor,
received
much
critical
acclaim,
it
did
not
do
very
well
at
the
box
office.
Coming
back
to
Mirzapur
2,
it
also
stars
Pankaj
Tripathi,
Shweta
Tripathi,
Rasika
Dugal,
Vijay
Varma
and
others.
The
series
releases
on
October
23,
on
Amazon
Prime
Video.