Munawar Faruqui reveals how he left everyone surprised with his performance in Amazon MX Player’s First Copy S2

Amazon MX Player, Amazon’s free video streaming service, recently released the much-awaited second season of its popular crime drama, First Copy. Set against the gritty backdrop of early 2000s Mumbai, the new season dives deeper into the world of Arif, who was once the undisputed king of film piracy, now caught in a storm of betrayal, ambition, and survival. As his empire crumbles and enemies close in, Arif, with Afreen by his side, fights back with the same street-smart wit and fire that helped him build his empire. But beneath that chaos lies a man constantly torn between power and consequence, brought to life brilliantly by Munawar Faruqui with intensity and depth. 

Reflecting on his journey, Munawar shared how his easy-going on-set personality often took his co-stars by surprise once the cameras started rolling. “From my co-stars to the directors, everyone was always surprised, and that’s a good thing,” he shared. “I used to joke around and have fun all the time, but when it came to acting, they’d genuinely say I was doing a good job. At first, I thought they were just being polite, but they actually meant it. They didn’t expect me to act like that, and that surprise made it even better.”

For Munawar, this season’s setting, the early 2000s Mumbai, felt like stepping back into a city he personally remembers with affection. He expressed, “If I could go back to that time, you’d probably find me near Marine Lines Railway Station near Nariman Point, by that old gola vendor outside the station. That’s where I first discovered malai gola, topped with Milkmaid, which felt like luxury back then. It cost 25 rupees when the regular ones were just 5 or 10. Whenever it rained, my aunt and her kids would take me there. The sound of the rain, the colours of the gola, all of us laughing, that was happiness in its simplest form.”

Featuring Munawar Faruqui in the lead, alongside Krystle D’Souza, Gulshan Grover, Saqib Ayub, Ashi Singh, Meiyang Chang, Inam Ul Haq, and Raza Murad in pivotal roles, with Nawab Shah joining the ensemble this season, First Copy Season 2 is now streaming exclusively on Amazon MX Player, for free, across the MX Player app, Amazon shopping app, Prime Video, Fire TV, and Airtel Xstream.