Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai

When I first heard the title Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, the first thing that came to my mind was ofcourse the film Once Upon A Time In Mexico of the El Mariachi and Desperado series directed by Robert Rodriguez. To an extent I liked those films for the pure entertainment they provided. But Once Upon Time In Mumbaai is absolutely no comparison. One of my friends, a fellow film critic, was absolutely correct in stating that Ekta Kapoor (producer) did nothing but make a 3 hour extended K serial.

The story is set in 1993 where a police officer fails to commit suicide and relates his reasons to his senior. He takes us back into an 18 year flashback to the time when the streets and waters of Mumbai are controlled by the underworld and in particular by Sultan Mirza, a righteous smuggler who loves the city and keeps peace among the city's underworld but subletting areas to different mafia groups of the city, he himself controlling the seafront and thus bringing in material to be smuggled. He is lovesmitten by Rehana, a beautiful actress who he wins over by his charms. A parallel story runs in the form of Shoaib Khan, the son of a police officer, a small time criminal who is bailed out by his father every now and then. The two stories merge when Shoaib becomes too much of a headache for his father and is put under the guidance of Sultan. He rises through the ranks and wins Sultan's respect and thus power in the underworld. However the difference in opinions between Sultan's puritanical ways and Shoaib's hunger for power cause their paths to split.

The film is flawed beyond measure. The drama is overplayed to the point of death. The acting may be commendable but easily reminds of other veteran actors, leaving no originality from the part of the artist. The dialogues are extremely dramatic, terribly metaphorical and outrageously exaggerated. The constant burn effect on the edges of the frame with the brightness effect in the centre of the frame caused the actors and their shining white clothing to shine but easily caused headaches to some audience members. Another defect would be the concrete cobbled streets which were not in existence in the 1970's. Overall terribly made and badly flawed film.

Watching this film would be an utter waste of money on counts of travel and ticket. You can argue that your snacks and some entertainment would satisfy you, but I suggest doing the same in another movie screening.

First Day, First Show. Our Prelude

We all need to simplify certain things in life. There are moments when we are on our way out of a theater or on the last page of a book and we keep thinking ‘if only we read a review’. Right here we provide you with all this and more. Here is a little background about the both of us.


Sean S : If I said my life could be fuel for an entire feature film or a three hundred page plus novel it would mean a lot. But that wouldn't really be telling you a lot about myself, would it? It is my love for and ergo passion for the arts which drives me on as well as the desire to leave a mark and influence. Many people have told me that I would be the perfect Devil's Advocate, let's just build forward from there...


Sean D: Anything that’s put on paper enthralls me. Those that can keep you intrigued and keep you flipping from page to page are more than just writers they’re entertainers. Aside from this writing is also my closet outlet to make sense of anything in this complicated world. I was taught that through writing I could say and be all that I want. In between those lines lies my story.

We as a people cannot end well. In bed we do it too fast and at speeches we take to long, here's hoping this is not the last you hear from us.