As you can see from the title, this is a “Bollywood” film. It is one of those movies you never hear off in the western world. They often have exaggerated use of singing, dancing and romance and I usually don’t like to watch them. But this one was highly recommended by friends for its story and the dancing/singing parts were promised to be very minimal to none. So, enough reason for me to give this foreign movie a chance.
For the ones that might consider watching Once upon a time in Mumbai , I will try not give away important spoilers. The movie starts with a cop named Agnel Wilson who failed to commit suicide. Later at the police HQ he explains that the city of Mumbai is falling apart because of his faults. He then starts to narrate a flashback of the time the city was ruled by one guy named Sultan Mirza. Mirza is a very clever godfather-like figure with a muslim background who was respected by nearly everyone in the city. The reason for this is that he stands up and takes care for the poor, in return he only asks them to pray for him. However he is also the king of the underworld gold/electronics smuggling. An interesting characteristic of his is that he always wears white clothing, is polite and surprisingly he is a nice guy. Still, as he is active with criminality he is wanted by the police. The investigator with the task to arrest Sultan Mirza is Agnel Wilson himself.
However , the story switches to Shoaib Khan. He is the son of an old police officer (not the one narrating the story) from Mumbai. Shoaib is problematic both as a child and particularly as an adult. He is active in the criminal world and later on he joins Sultan Mirza. Over time Shoaib becomes jealous of Sultan Mirza and starts to mimic him in every way he can. At some point he starts dreaming of becoming even greater than Mirza. He eventually gets his opportunity when Mirza temporarily makes Shoaib take over his place while he is out of town. The reason that Agnel thinks that in the end it is all his fault, is explained clearly in the movie.
Of course the film has more to tell than what I have written. The story is just plain good and keeps you interested until the end. It is known that the story is partly based on real events and gives you a clear view of how the underworld life was in Mumbai. In addition, by using flashbacks, it really makes you get known with the characters and makes you like them, except for one guy I think. Also the acting was overall quite good too. It just shows how much quality some Bollywood movies can have. All in all I am glad I gave “Once upon a time in Mumbaai” a well deserved chance.
