New Delhi, Sept. 24 -- There is something uncomfortable about watching Mirzapur: The Movie, which arrived in theatres on 4 September to do brisk business. The franchise has travelled a long way from its OTT screen to become a cultural phenomenon, with its familiar cocktail of guns, blood, revenge, power and the language of bhaukaal. But this time, I found myself viewing its violence differently, perhaps because we have been seeing more off-screen violence too.

Consider what happened on Gurugram's Golf Course Road this week. A woman biker was allegedly chased by a car before it rammed into her motorcycle, throwing her onto the road. The video went viral. The accused, a 33-year-old gym owner and former kabaddi player, was arrested in Rajas...