Fella_shibby I saw this with my family in a theater, first day last show. Revisted it recently on a DVD which i own. The sheer amount of effort that went into making this film is breathtaking. The locations, the time frame, the costumes, the set pieces, and the acting. Everything was top notch. It is a biography of Haji Mastan, a famous contraband smuggler, gangster, films financier n real estate businessman played very well by Devgan. Mastan was not a dreaded don because never in his life he had killed anyone or shot a bullet at anyone. In fact, in certain places in South Mumbai, he was referred as the Robin Hood. Devgan, for his part turns in a fine performance as Mastan aka Sultan. He gives an amazing performance, from tough to tender, he hits it all. You're actually rooting for this guy, because of where he came from, what hes trying to achieve, the ingenuity and strength that it takes to accomplish it, even though its all completely illegal. Along with Mastans story, there is another in the film, that of notorious criminal n bomb blast mastermind, Dawood, played extremely well by Hashmi. He's an opportunist, power hungry n a criminal mind and in the end he's a pathetic and isolated figure. It's clear from Hashmi's performance and the film's overall attitude that this is not a figure to admire or about whom one should hold illusions. The songs were good, the one liners were witty n macho. The  film also has one of my favorite actor, Randeep Hooda.

satishpgoyal Ajay Devgan rocks in this movie. a must watch movie. Excellent. You seldom get period dramas in Bollywood which are not about historical characters. This year that way has been very lucky that way. Couple of months ago we had Badmaash Company and now we have Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai. Of course both are completely different from each other, the first being set in the fast 90s and the latter being set in colorful 70s. And director Milan Luthria makes enough efforts to make OUATIM look very authentic and worth a watch for its settings.Settings apart the film has its pluses with some superb performances and great dialogs. However the problem with the film is the not so new storyline and the very slow screenplay. Though the characters are well established and well rounded the writer takes the entire first half to do that without much movement in the story. And then as you expect fireworks in the second half it fizzles out too fast.OUATIM is the story of two gangsters. While one was ethical the other was reckless. It has inspirations of the characters of infamous smuggler Haji Mastan and now infamous don Dawood Ibrahim. The film is about Sultan (Ajay Devgn) who labored through his childhood and became a smuggler as he grew up completely ruling the sea routes. He however always preferred keeping the city clean and never smuggles which was against his conscience. Shoaib (Emraan Hashmi) is inspired by Sultan's life as a child and wants to it as big. He is a son of a police officer but has no inclination towards the law. As he grows up he makes his way to Sultan's gang and proves himself good enough to go up the ladder fast. However his reckless ambitions soon outgrew Sultan and he decided to take over the city on his own.The story is built on the line – 'behind the myth is the city's greatest betrayal story'. The screenplay does not give much importance to the betrayal. The slow pace of the first half could be a put off. Also funnily Sultan and his girlfriend Rehana never seem to age as they continue to look the same even as Shoaib grows from a child to rustic young crook.The film has its pluses. Luthria has taken care of everything – right from trains to cars to sunglasses to shoes to buildings! Everything takes us back to the 70s. Luthria handles the dramatic moments well and great use has been made of dialoguebaazi. All actors have come up with some memorable performances. Ajay Devgn's overpowering presence is matched by Emraan's charm. Kangna Ranaut and Prachi Desai do their bits well though they don't bear many consequences on the story itself. Randeep Hooda is effective as the police office.Overall, 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai' is an entertainer. It does not need any effort to be understood of liked. It is the mere magic of characters created that makes this film worth watching.

Herag Halli Ajay Devgan play well the characters who are perpetually plotting,chain smoking and incessantly drinking who have an eye for beautiful women. Here he looks like he just came from dhobi-Ghat with starched white shirts-and more white shirts-gift from Rehana (Kangana Raut). Kangana who looks good as a vintage actress gives Sultan Mirza a watch (you wear it on your wrist-it will will work with your veins) I have no idea what this means but when you are looking at a petit and beautiful actress it harldy matters. As far as music-two numbers ("Pee Loo" and "Tum Jaa Aaye")from Music Direcor,Pritam, are good. The other good acting is by Randeep Hooda and Pricha Desai. There is something seriously lacking in this Mob-Pic, namely the dialog and the direction. Emran Character (Shoaib) is week and acting not upto mark. The movie is a fair-watch.

Mansi Dutta 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!