Such a frustrating disappointment

i must have seen a different film!!

Don't listen to the negative reviews

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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.

A tale of two gangsters in the city of Mumbai....err.. Bombay! Once upon a Time...., set in 70s, shows Sultan Mirza's (Ajay Devgan) rise to power and his ultimate demise after his opponent Shoaib (Emraan Hashmi), defies to oust him. The film transports you to the Mumbai then. The 70s (cliched) film dialogues, the bling and peppy numbers of that era, the look, the costumes (flared bell-bottoms) and, most importantly, the simplicity of the narrative. Sultan, a smuggler, gangster, I felt, was a less-sauve Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan in Sarkar) of sorts, a benevolent godfather-like figure to the oppressed. He may not have the Bachchan-like persona but manages to impress all the way. Be it as a mobster or a lover. His 60- second scene where he woos Rehanna (Kangana Ranawat) is to watch out for, besides many others. Kangana, in her '70s-film actress' role, is petite and pretty. Her dialogue delivery is clunky at times (which I have noticed in other films too). Imran, as a chindi-chor in his childhood (the kid was impactful with his dialogues), is as convincing as the wannabe-Sultan Mirza in his youth. You'll see traces of his serial kisser-image, but he manages (mostly!) to go beyond and make you forget that with his convincing young-blooded rebel act. But then, again.. We have seen him in similar roles before. A small-town chap wanting to make it big, by unlawful means! Jannat? Anyone? The 22 year-old Prachi Desai (opposite Imran) pulled off her role (whatever little) pretty smoothly for a one-film old actress. Randeep Hooda is striking as ACP Agnel Wilson. The name R Hooda sounded familiar but my failure to recall got me googling it. Sushmita Sen's ex boy-friend! Randeep's other films include Monsoon Wedding (2001) and Ram Gopal Verma's 'D' (2005). Haven't seen both of those, but in OUATIM, he's definitely good. All in all, the film has its set of clichés, in terms of dialogues for its 70s setting, but is certainly a one-time watch!

"Beyond the Myth lies Mumbai's biggest betrayal" were the closing lines of 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbai'. And it reminds me of the tag line of 'The Assassination of Jesse James by Coward Robert Ford'. A lot can be derived from both movies that is similar, the characters in some way, or the conclusion. But before you conclude that i am accusing makers of plagiarism, you are wrong. This movie has its own pros and cons. And besides that, makers had their reasons to make it.Set in 70's era, its the story of two gangsters, Sultan Mirza by Ajay Devgan & Shoaib Khan by Emran Hashmi and the paths they chose. Once Upon a time will remind of you late 70s and early 80s style of film-making, to suit the story. It has power packed dialogs, steady pace, close-up shots and gritty drama. Bollywood has already seen a lot of Crime Dramas, so you might often feel nostalgic or clichéd but that doesn't take away the charm of it. The only thing which i felt it lacked was character developing, something was missing in them. Direction was worth considering.Ajay Devgan gives yet another convincing performance, won't call it his best but something i'd call applause worthy, may be a better insight to his character would have made it his best. Emran Hashmi gives yet another convincing yet a little charmless performance, nonetheless he stood by Devgan in one frame. The supporting cast did not suit, i don't even know why Kangana Ranaut got into crew.Randeep Hooda did cover her lack of portrayal in some way and delivered a fine performance. Prachi Desai was wasted. The Background score along with music were good. Cinematography was excellent.Without saying much, i'd say slightly better crafted/written characters would have taken this movie to another level. Having said that, movie still is gutsy drama cum thriller with in to the face dialogs that will easily find it's share of audience. And Yes i'm one of them.7.5/10 (Very Good)

I went to see this movie with moderate expectations , after reading the IMDb review , and seeing the 7.4 score . TO confess one thing , this is the first Hindi movie i have seen in the last five years , mostly i have been seeing English movies .Having said that , either i have grown up enough to realize when a person is overacting , or i have simply gotten used to storyline and character building as part of the core of a movie . This movie sucked big time from every direction . I mean at one point me and my girl- friend didn't know whether to laugh at the movie's ridiculous dialogs and overacting , or hit ourselves for buying the ticket . Ajay Devgan looked too old . Kangna Renaut was "NOT" sexy ( how did this director manage this BTW ? ) Emraan Hashmi was ridiculous in his performance .The only good thing , the KID who played young Shoaib was nice in the tiny role he appeared in .All in all , please stay away .