Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai: is an exhausting watch.
The excitement surrounding a gangster flick is colossal especially when you have a supreme star cast and a production house which has given us films like Shootout at Lokandwala. It is always fascinating to watch a violent mafia flick. To start off with Once upon a time in Mumbaai, firstly it lacks the violence, which is to some extent mandatory in a gangster film. Secondly, and the most irritating part of the film is the dialogues are full of proverbs and they make you laugh at them.
The film starts with a police officer, Agnel Wilson (played by Randeep Hooda) committing suicide blaming himself for the state of Mumbai, takes the story into flashback, narrating his senior officer a story of a smuggler Sultan, (Ajay Devgn) and his rule on the underbelly of Mumbai. Sultan, basically a good guy, but running an illegal business makes him a criminal by law. Simultaneously, another bad boy Shoaib's (Emraan Hashmi) story is told. Shoaib is a local burglar wanting to make it big in the underworld. He is shown as the kind of a guy who could do anything to achieve his goal, betray anyone or even kill for money and fame (in the underworld). Seeing the young blood pumping and a never die attitude of Shoaib, Sultan hires the chap. The rookie thief dreams of ruling the city, wants to beat down sultan in his plans and get ahead even while working for him. The film depicts the personalities of both the protagonists and how they end up making Mumbai a hub for all underworld dons.
The acting department is the plus point of the film. In the beginning, I thought Emraan would take the movie by storm but he falls a tad short. He just couldn’t win the race with Ajay Devgn, who delivers a stellar performance. Kangana ranaut is tolerable. Prachi Desai gets a small role, not enough to show her caliber. The surprise package is Randeep Hooda, putting up a high on attitude show.
The film misses out on the rawness of a violent underworld entertainer, which is disappointing and it moves at a leisurely pace which is unfamiliar in such movies. It’s a low on content, high on treatment film.
Music is good by Pritam, a nice mix of songs consisting of a cabaret, a love song for each pair, another love song which is not in the film and “Baburao” which shares resemblance with “Ganpat” from “Shootout at Lokandwala”.
It’s a disappointing effort by director Milan Luthria, some might love the film just for its appearance or the treatment given to it, but for me that wasn’t enough. Still a watch won’t harm you.
Rating:2.5/5
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