Have you ever thought, why do film stars, producer or directors glorify mafias in movies, Is this because of money? They portray real life mafias as hero or robin hood. They write film scripts and dialogue in such a way that it becomes tag line for youngsters. Bollywood’s love affair with gangsters is no more hidden.
Now the latest addition is Shahrukh Khan film “Raees”. Raees is said to be based on Gujarat’s infamous Mafia don life which is going to glorify Abdul Latif. The man who was suspect in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case and wanted for more than 40 cases of murder. Below lines from Wikipedia is enough to say about Gujarat’s infamous Mafia Abdul Latif.
“Latif was wanted for over 40 cases of murder and a similar number of kidnappings and was a suspect in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case. Abdul Latif was an underworld figure in Gujarat and an associate of Dawood Ibrahim.”
When audience favorite star play role of gangster then his role typecast as real hero or robin-hood in the viewer’s mind even that particular role is involved in murder, extortion.
Instead of this Bollywood should make movies based on real life heroes, It will give young generation positive icons to get inspired and lead their life in a way that will inspire others. We love to watch movies based on real life heroes not on real life villains.
Here is the list of some films that portrayed the life and times of the real life gangsters/most notorious mob-bosses on the silver screen:
Dayavan (1988)
Based on Varadarajan Muniswami Mudaliar , also known as Vardhabhai, was an Indian gangster. For two decades from early 1960s to 1980s, he was one of the most powerful mob bosses in Bombay along with Haji Mastan and Karim Lala. Mani Ratnam portrayed him on the silver screen in Nayakan. Kamal Haasan played the lead role of Sakthi Velu aka Velu Nayakan and went on to win several awards for his portrayal of an unsophisticated don. Later, Feroze Khan made Dayavan, which was based on the same story, with Vinod Khanna in the lead. Both films met with phenomenal commercial success.
Company (2002)
Ram Gopal Varma’s film was loosely based on the relationship between mob bosses Dawood Ibrahim and Chota Rajan, who were once very close before falling out over the 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai that were masterminded by Ibrahim with the backing of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence.
Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010)
This film based on Haji Mastan (Ajay Devgn) and his disciple Dawood Ibrahim (Emraan Hashmi). Whistle-worthy dialogues made it an interesting watch and it was an instant hit at the ticket window. This was not the first time Mastan’s life inspired a celluloid character – Amitabh Bachchan’s role in Deewaar (1975) was loosely based on the smuggler. The film depicts how the underworld scene really grew bigger in Mumbai during the 70’s, however under different names and identities, to avoid any controversies.
Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012)
Gangs of Wasseypur is a true tale of a coal mafia of Dhanbad, Jharkhand. Directed by Anurag Kashyap starring Manoj Bajpai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi and Richa Chadha in the lead roles. Though it was not a super hit, the film was widely loved by the young generation.
Shootout At Wadala (2013)
Director Sanjay Gupta’s film is said to be based on the life of Mumbai gangster Manya Surve, who was active at a time when criminal gangs were trying to spread their influence beyond the financial hub. Surve, who was played on screen by John Abraham, was an educated criminal who knew how to plan robberies like an expert. Later, the police killed Surve in Mumbai’s first recorded “encounter” or staged gun fight. The audience liked the film, which turned out to be a commercially successful venture for Gupta.