As he looks forward to the October release of Mirzapur and Death On The Nile, Ali Fazal expresses disappointment over the "blink-and-miss appearance" comment following the Hollywood film's trailer launch
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 28, 2020)

Days after the trailer of Death on the Nile dropped online, Ali Fazal announced the release date of the Amazon Prime series, Mirzapur 2. It's a happy coincidence that his two cherished projects will release on the same day — October 23. "I am happy that the world will see two different cinematic experiences in the same year. Considering Death On The Nile will be one of the first movies to release worldwide in theatres, it will be a refreshing change for the audience," says Fazal, who is keeping his fingers crossed for the theatrical run of the Kenneth Branagh-directed venture in India.

The actor has kicked off the virtual promotions with co-stars Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, and Branagh. "I hope we soon reach a point when we can sit with each other and promote it together."

The past week, despite bringing him good news from two different parts of the world, hasn't been kind to Fazal. A section of netizens called for a ban on the sophomore season of Mirzapur after an old video of the actor participating in an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) march in the UK went viral. Almost simultaneously, his screen time in the international movie became a subject of scrutiny on social media, with a report describing it as a 'blink-and-miss appearance'. At a time when the insider-versus-outsider debate is raging on, fiancée Richa Chadha pointed out how a section of media — instead of praising an actor's efforts to break into the international circuit — plays a role in discrediting his achievements.

"I had learnt to ignore and move on until Richa pointed out that some things are not acceptable. There is no need to pull your own people down. I have conditioned myself to not let social media affect me much. We live in a world where bots manage to sway trends, so it is hard to sift the real from the fake. But I am hopeful that we will come out of this age of information overload and find our bearings," says Fazal.