Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai [2010]

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut, Prachi Desai
Plot: A tale of two gangsters from the 70's era, whose lives enter parallel paths as they struggle to survive within Bombay's criminal underworld.
Description: This is a familiar tale of a powerful smuggler and his fallout with his ambitious protege. It is supposedly the biography (partial) of Mumbai's first Mafia dons, Haji Mastan (played by Ajay) and the young Daud Ibrahim (Emraan).
So begins the story of a much respected smuggler, Sultan Mirza (Ajay), well known throughout the city for his no-nonsense approach and honour amongst thieves, yet possessing that heart of gold and compassion in his willingness to help impoverished folks where the authorities can't, himself having started from an almost impossibly poor beginning and working his way up through a variety of con jobs. The uncharacteristically principled Sultan becomes the reigning don of the city. His basic funda is co-operating and compromising with anyone who comes in his way, instead of making enemies. He is then joined by Shoiab (Emraan), a greedy wannabe gangster. After ruling the cities for quite some time, Sultan's supremacy is challenged by Shoaib. The rest of the film is the bout between the two.
Review: The director has been successful to a good extent in borrowing the 70's style of film-making. As widely publicized, every dialogue is a punch-line. The film moves at a decent pace and the build-up of the story is good. The background score (though copied from Black Strobe's "I'm a Man") and Cinematography is also a strong point. Ajay Devgn gives a splendid performance and is exceptional in his dialogue delivery. Emraan Hashmi has done a fair job but isnt comparable to Ajay. He lacks the charisma an underworld don should have. Kangana justifies her film-star character well. Prachi Desai is pretty average and hasnt got much of a role. Randeep Hooda is effective in his small role as a cop.
The starting scene of the movie is rather illogical. There are quite a few usual gangster-movie cliches. The drama and action do not match the standards of the underworld flicks like Satya and Company. The climax has an unncessary political speech, which somewhat ruins it.
Overall, its definitely worth a watch!
My Rating: 3/5