Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai

There used to be a time when Bollywood was overly glamorous, the middle class always in awe of the rich, law that was still being written and order that was established by the ruling underworld mafia and when, a crore of rupees really meant a lifetime's wealth. Lives were less valuable back then and nobody lit candles for the fallen. This was when the city was called 'Bombay'. Director Milan Luthria takes us to 'Once upon a time in Mumbaai' in the era of a smuggler who sought control of the seas and his apprentice who changed the meaning of crime altogether.

The inspiration for the character of Sultan Mirza (Ajay Devgan) was certainly derived from the erstwhile RobinHood Smuggler Haji Mastan Mirza. Sultan's attire, his background, his occupation, his interest for the welfare of the poor, his love for a Bollywood heroine and production of movies are obvious parallels to Mastan. Devgan portrays his character with ease and familiarity but makes a remarkable impression with the dialogues written by Rajat Arora. The movie is a bible for the man on the streets in Bombay. Each one as if a quotation by a philosopher and yet dramatic in effect when combined with a sharp screenplay. The result is what you would relate to as a Salim-Javed penned underworld drama. Sultan's love interest is the glamorous looking Rehana (Kangana Ranaut) who falls for his one-liners and cleanly ironed white outfits. Kangana looks gorgeous and performs naturally in a role that also is familiar territory for her. She even over-shines the beautiful Prachi Desai who could do with a meatier role next time.

In the aftermath of the '93 serial blasts, a despondent ACP Agnel Wilson (Randeep Hooda) regretfully narrates the tale of how two criminals shaped the future of the city and how he trusted the wrong one among the two to turn away from the underworld. His mistake resulted in just one of them surviving the decades of criminal dominance when the ghoda was the law and Shoaib Khan's apathy to the city, was the order. Although Emraan Hashmi has portrayed similar negative roles in the past, he adds some sleekness to a reckless character who would shape up to be Dawood Ibrahim. Shoaib's ambition makes him greedy, zealous and rash. Eventually, his ways diverge completely from the more humble, loop-hole smuggling approach of Sultan's who, as everyone acknowledged, never caused harm to the city but instead, bestowed it with generosity towards the masses. This disparity in attitudes is supremely entertaining. Here we have Sultan enraged over Shoaib's management of his business in his absence, ordering his men "Shehar Saaf chahiye mujhe!" The combination of such screenplay and dialogues is essentially the strength of this film and the reason why it has its place in the hallmark of crime sagas.

Pritam's two romantic tracks make up whatever good there is in the album. Mohit Chauhan's melodious Pee Loon and the combination of Tulsi Kumar and Rahat Fateh Ali Khan make Tum Jo Aaye a hummable track in the romantic rains.

Milan Luthria directs his best after the promising 'Kachche Dhaage' with some powerful writing by Rajat Arora. Numerous scenes are packed with metaphorical dialogues that will build the required tension without any drama. The background music, cinematography and the crisp editing also make this a commendable thriller. Perhaps there hasn't been a more worthy tribute to the real Dons of yesteryears and even though, the climax does not bear any resemblance to characters or events in real life, the end-note pays a serious tribute that sums up the story and leaves us with a helpless grasp of events that have taken place in real life, due to a real person. "Beyond the myth, lies Mumbai's greatest betrayal."

8.148 on a scale of 1-10.

ONCE UPON A TIME IN MUMBAAI – CATCH IT ( A- ) Once Upon a time in Mumbaai is quite different take on the Mumbaai Don world… which is less brutal and hardcore then Company or Satya… An amazing movie with amazing performances by all the leading actors… Ajay Devgan yet again proved that he is par excellence… his portrayal of Sultan Mirza is effortless and complete natural… Imran Hasmi in his Bad Boy Avatar again proved he is the best Bad boy Around in Bollywood. Gangana Ranaut looks drop dead gorgeous and exquisite… Prachi Desai looks innocent and extremely pretty... Randeep Hoda proved that he has abundant of talent… Gauhar Khan's item number was Classy and looks Hot as Always. The music of the movie is really enchanting…. Overall a great movie by Milan Luthria, who didn't mess up the movie with hardcore violence & scenes…, must watch it!

Milan Luthria is not a big director in Bollywood, but he's done very well here. The direction is brilliant, as is the cinematography. It recreates the 70s era perfectly.

The film tells the story, from the point of view of a police officer, about Sultan Mirza (Ajay)who went from nothing to the ruler of Mumbai, and Shoaib Khan (Emraan),the only son of an honest police officer who wants to make it big so badly.

The performance by Ajay Devgan is simply superb as Sultan Mirza; there isn't a role he cannot do. Emraan is good as Shoaib Khan, but I think his serial kisser/lover boy image just got the better of him here. Kangana Ranaut is good as one of the female leads, as is Prachi Desai as the other one. The problem is that Prachi is that she isn't as convincing in the movie in her role as Kangana is in her role. Still, Prachi has made a mighty good effort.

The film is full of good dialogues; a lot of them are one liners. I can tell you one thing for sure: you won't forget them that easily after you've seen it.

The music of the film is great. The song 'pee loon' stands out from the lot.

Verdict: A good gangster flick providing wholesome entertainment. One of the best films of 2010. I give it 9/10

Surprising movie, and a good surprise ! The Bollywood style takes a bit of time to get used to (I never watched a Bollywood movie before), but once you start to get used to it you really get into the story.

The story itself is good, the actors as well, Ajay Devgn and its character making me think of a Danny Trejo, but subtler. The set and mood are very refreshing, far from the usual European, American or East Asian cinema we get used to. The soundtrack, nicely mixing Indian pop and electro/rock, is right on.

Last but not least - Bollywood targeting the huge Indian market before the rest of the world - this movie gives the action and standards we are used to without loosing its spirit, making it feel like an 80's movie, in a good way, more mature than the latest American and European productions.

I enjoyed it and recommend if you come with an opened mind !

This movie is excellent. The drama in the movie is pulsating and very gripping. Direction, Acting, Story and Songs all of them are very well done. The story line is very strong as it relates to Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim. There are very few songs but all of them are superb.

The only bad part I would say is the romance in the middle was little dragging and Prachi does not fit the role of a gangster girl. She does her acting well but you can tell she does not feel very comfortable with some of the roles.

This is definitely one of the good Indian movies in a long, long time. Not to be missed.