Haji Mastan's daughter to sue Balaji

Tired of waiting for a response, Haji Mastan's daughter, Shamshad Supari-wala is now contemplating legal action against Balaji for their film Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, based on her father's life, to be directed by Milan Luthria.


In a fresh notice sent last week, she has stated that no permission was sought from his kin before announcing the project featuring him. She has further stated that the script should be shown to her before the film rolls.

We wanna know

Says Shamshad, "There have been several media reports about the film and casting. The project was first announced as Haji Mastan. Later, however, it was shelved as we voiced our reservations. Then we heard that the film was changed to Once Upon A Time In Mumbai. We want to know how Haji Mastan will be depicted in the film."

She adds, "The producer's lawyers have replied that there is no such character in the film. Then why are the producer and director always talking about Haji Mastan with reference to the project in their interviews and the actor who can essay his role perfectly?"

Balaji did not want to comment on the matter.

Once Upon A Time In Mumbai will chronicle the socio-political landscape and the rise of organised crime in the city during the '70s. The three names that ruled during that period were Karim Lala, Haji Mastan and Varadrajan Mudaliar.

As reported ('Unravelling Haji Mastan'; Hitlist, November 5, 2007), Ekta Kapoor, at that time, had stated that certain family members had voiced apprehensions about the biopic onu00a0 Haji Mastan.

Incidentally, Yash Chopra's classic Deewar (1975) had Amitabh Bachchan's character Vijay, a dock worker-turned-don inspired by Haji Mastan. But his daughter says, "My father had seen Deewar and did not exactly find Amitabh Bachchan's character modelled on him!"

Who was Haji Mastan?

The alleged smuggler-turned-good samaritan of the '70s was a celebrity in his own right. He knew the high and mighty of the times including those of Hindi filmdom.

He was always dressed in white with his trademark 555 State Express pack of cigarettes in hand. He later floated the Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh for the economically weaker sections. He passed away in 1994.

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