Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010)

A smuggler rises to power in in 1970s Mumbai, a younger gangster seeks to overthrow him and a police officer is caught in the middle.

Director:

Milan Luthria

Writers:

Rajat Arora (as Rajat Aroraa), Bhrigu Brinda (story screenplay and dialogue)

Stars:

Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut

9 wins & 34 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ajay Devgn	...	Sultan Mirza
Emraan Hashmi	...	Shoaib Khan
Kangana Ranaut	...	Rehana (as Kangna Ranaut)
Prachi Desai	...	Mumtaz
Randeep Hooda	...	ACP Agnel Wilson (Special Appearance)
Naved Aslam	...	Patrick
Sanjeev Wilson	...	Chandru (as Sanjiv Wilson)
Allauddin Khan	...	Alaudin (as Allaudin Khan)
Rajeev Yadav	...	Yakub Atha
Sushil Pandey	...	Iqbal
Mehul Bhojak	...	Javed
Anjum Sharma	...	Khichdi
Dheerendra Dwivedi	...	Gattu (as Dhirender Dwivedi)
Sumit Kaul	...	Rajan
Ravi Khanvilkar	...	Vardha

Storyline

During March 1993, after his Ambassador car is being fished out of water, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Agnel Wilson, narrates to the Commissioner as to how he commenced his investigation against an underworld gangster, Sultan Mirza. He details how Sultan had survived floods in Madras, shortly after Independence; his arrival in Bombay; and his employment which earned him a mere 25 Paisa daily. Agnel's attempts to rein in Sultan fail, but he keeps tabs on him and his romance with Bollywood actress, Rehana; as well as his new recruit, Shoaib, the son of Sub-Inspector Khan. Agnel will find his investigation slipping out of his hands after Sultan temporarily delegates complete responsibility to Shoaib.

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Plot Keywords:

police | gangster | police officer | actress | smuggler | 

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Taglines:

Once upon a time... there was a powerful king... a reigning queen... an innocent confidante... and an evil prince.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Arbaaz Ali Khan had a role in the film that was edited out in the final cut.

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Goofs

In one of the scenes Sultan Mirza is shown removing the railroad tracks and the railway sleeper or railroad tie are made of concrete. These concrete sleepers were introduced in India in early to mid 90s during the 70s there used to be wooden railway sleeper or railroad tie.

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Connections

Referenced in Ragini MMS (2011)

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Soundtracks

I Am In Love
Written by Neelesh Misra
Composed by Pritam Chakraborty
Performed by Karthik
Courtesy of Super Cassettes Industries Limited (T-Series)

User Reviews

The Rise & The Fall

Lets get straight, if you think Once Upon A Time In Mumbai is a biopic, you're wrong. A police officer(Randeep Hooda) who once traced the changing face of the Mumbai Underworld narrates all his experiences and all his unintentional mistakes which affected everything. Almost every movie-goer has a fascination for gangster movies, and yeah it does not disappoint(almost).. It recreates the era which so many of us have left behind and those who arrived on this planet after 80s.

Once Upon A Time In Mumbai is a story that talks about the entry of mafia for the first time in Mumbai and things unfolded in course of time. It talks about the rise and subsequent fall of the King, and the emergence of the Prince as the super power. It talks about the dialogues which ruled 70s era. It talks about the chic retro look which was the trademark of that era.

The plot does resemble with lives of Haji Mastan(allegedly played by Ajay Devgn) and Dawood Ibrahim(allegedly played by Emraan Hashimi) but whatever is, the screenplay is engrossing and keeps you hooked until you feel about complaining for the length when things get slow in the second half and gradually in the end. But, the dialogues do get lots of claps and whistles in not few but many scenes. Recreating the bygone era is tough and the director, the writer and the art director deserve brownie points for giving the film that authentic feel.

As for acting, Emraan is sure to break free from his lover boy image with this film. This is his finest performance to date. Ajay Devgn has become repetitive, his dialogue delivery and expressions betray you many times, although his character is very strong and he has played it effectively. There was nothing much to do for the ladies(Prachi and Kangana), but they managed to portray their roles 'beautifully'. Randeep Hooda, too, performed well. Pritam's music( in spite of the fact the music is never really 'his') is an ace. But, it was the background score which left an lasting impression even when the movie ended.

When the screenplay is powerful and engaging, direction has to be brilliant. Milan Lutharia successfully recreated that era and his work is exemplary. There should be a special note of the dialogues, also written by Rajat Arora( screenplay) which are fantabulous.

To conclude, I would just say, go for it if you really are interested in the dialogues which no longer have there existence these days(of course allegedly) My Rating: 7/10 Thanks & Regards

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

30 July 2010 (India)

Also Known As:

A fost odata în Mumbai

Filming Locations:

Parikhara, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$102,382

Company Credits

Production Co:

Balaji Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color