There were several Bollywood films in the past, one a super hit Deewar starring Amitabh Bachchan, another Once upon a time in Mumbai starring Ajay Devgan having traits of Haji Mastan's life but the film makers deny it and assert it's a "fiction."
Rajani's son in law Dhanush too went into denial mode after Mastan's foster son Sundar Shaekar warned not to show Haji Mastan in bad light or call him smuggler!
Haji Mastan led a king size life style and revered as messaiah of poor and downtrodden, especially among slum dwellers of Mumbai during his life time.
HAJI MASTAN HYDERABAD CONNECTION
Haji Mastan had Hyderabad connection. He had relatives and friends. I was invited for an interview with Haji Mastan on his philanthropic activities in Mumbai and his plans to take up in Hyderabad too on February 20, 1989.
One of his associates who was looking after his new organisation called me up and requested me to meet him in person.
I along with Deccan Chronicle colleagues Joseph Nathan, Mohd. Abdul Mannan and Danny (Dhananjaya), photographer met him in a palatial house in Banjara hills, Hyderabad, a stone's throw from KBR Park.
He warmly welcomed us and spoke on various issues including politics. But during the two hours he would not say he is or was a smuggler or don!
'Mein business man hun.. smuggler Nahi" he quipped when asked on being called underworld Don and smuggler. But not in so many words he admitted his writ runs in Bombay.
He narrated an incident while coming from Hyderabad airport to the Banjara Hills residence in car. For flouting of law, he was challaned by a police man on his way to Banjara Hills. "This would not have happened in Bombay (now Mumbai). None would dare to stop my car and do that to me" he retorted.
To avoid escalation of the issue, he paid the challan with identifying who he was.
Frail looking Haji Mastan claimed that he was wrongly projected as a mafia don and smuggler when in fact he was a business man, social worker.
But he was lively and spoke on films, politics etc during the informal chat. We had a fairly good interview.
Haji Mastan spoke more about his philanthropic works, political activity and avoided digging his past. He parried questions on underworld activities in Bombay.
However, after coming back to office our Editor PNV Nair asked me how the interview went on. I said it was good but told him that he would not like to talk about bygone days and wanted to speak on his political and charitable activities.
Haji Mastan had launched Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh (Indian Minorities Protection League) is a social and political organization registered as a political party in Mumbai, earlier Bombay until his death in 1994.
From 1994 to today, the BMSM chairman has been Sundar Shaekhar. In the Lok Sabha elections in 2004 BMSM fielded three candidates in Maharashtra and got 8000 odd votes. It also fielded Bano Bee in Madhya Pradesh.
He was planning to launch his outfit in Andhra Pradesh, particularly Hyderabad.
Don't depict him as smuggler and don: Haji Mastan's son warns Rajinikanth
Any such attempt will attract legal action, a letter from him to the superstar said.
Confirming that he had sent a notice to Rajnikanth, Sundar Shaekhar told Deccan Chronicle over phone that late Haji Mastan Mirza, who hailed from Tamil Nadu was a businessman and founder of Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh.
"Depicting him as smuggler and underworld don is highly unacceptable and defamatory. He was never convicted in any court for smuggling or underworld activities," he said.
He further said that it would be apt for Rajnikanth to discuss about the life of Haji Masthan with him.
"I am interested in making a biopic on him as am a producer and a registered life time member of Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association," he said.
Hrithik Roshan as Haji Mastan?
Deccan Chronicle | DC Correspondent
The actor has been approached by his Guzaarish director for a role in Alia Bhatt's Gangubai Kathiawadi . 
Hrithik Roshan
Even as Hrithik Roshan ponders over whether to give his nod to Farah Khan’s Seven a.k.a Sattrangi, he has been approached to portray a very serious role for the Alia Bhatt starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi by his Guzaarish maker Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
While some say that the actor has refused the film, others insist that he is awaiting Farah’s final narration of her film before he takes a call on what to do next.
Gangubai Kathiawadi is a female-driven film and there is a very interesting character of Haji Mastan in it. "Bhansali has been in talks with Hrithik Roshan for that role, but Hrithik wants to do something significant after WAR.
The success of the film and its entry into the `300 crore club has suddenly put pressure on an actor," says our source adding that Hrithik now has to decide whether to go in for a commercial project or a film that has been draped in art as is the case of SLB’s films.
Gangubai was sold off to the red light area by her boyfriend and even though she ran many brothels, she was a mother figure to the girls in Kamathipura. Her photo frame still adorns many walls in Mumbai’s red light district.
Alia had played a minor role compared to Ranveer in Gully Boy and if Hrithik declines the offer, it would be a good chance for the Jayeshbhai Jordaar actor to do a quid pro quo depending on his dates. So time will tell who will greenlight the redlight film.
Found this interesting writeup
DATE
July 02 2022
WRITTEN BY
Swapnali
Kadam
THE
OUTLAWS OF BOMBAY -EP02 HAJI MASTAN
Mastan mirza, famously called Haji Mastan , is arguably called the biggest name in the smuggling industry of Bombay, who rose from extreme poverty to a city revolving around him is really something not so regular and one would need a case study on how a person with such serious allegations went to become a public servant through politics and also produced films.
Born in 1926 in Madras Presidency, Haji Mastan originally known as Mastan Haider Mirza at the age of 8 migrated with his father to Mumbai. The father son duo ran a small cycle repairing shop in Crawford market which wasn’t enough to feed the family. 10 years later in the year 1944, Bawa joined Bombay docks as a porter and this changed his life forever.
He worked in association with Karim Lala and by the 1960s he became a rich man. He even started financing his money in Bollywood and became a film producer.
Amitabh Bachchan whose character in Deewar was influenced by Mastan met him personally along with Salim. Being a film producer he had good relations with many of the stars of the yesteryears such as Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dharmendra, Firoze Khan and even Sanjeev Kumar.
Very early in his career, Mastan realised the importance of being seen among famous personalities from politics and the film industry as a symbol of power.
Therefore, he deliberately hobnobbed among the city's rich and famous and was frequently seen with Bollywood personalities at public functions. Mastan was arguably the most influential mafia don of his time.
At his peak, Mastan operated a powerful smuggling syndicate to Mumbai and along the Gujarat coast and later diversified into film financing and real estate business.
Mastan was known to be a shrewd businessman and a cunning deal-maker. He always
maintained friendly relations with the police and government officials and
often promoted peace between rival gangs, and was good friends with Lala and
Mudaliar.
Haji Mastan was not a dreaded don because never in his life he had killed anyone or shot a bullet on another. But you cannot deny the fact that he was a mobster and was a big time smuggler who reigned for 20 years.
Though Haji Mastan wasn’t a dreadful criminal he gave birth to all the dreadful gangsters, especially Dawood Ibrahim who became his successor and changed the face of the Indian Mafia once and for all.
The likes of modern-day gangsters – Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Rajan, Chhota Shakeel, Arun Gowli – were all trained by Haji Mastan. He taught them the nitty-gritties of international smuggling, a craft he was a master at.
He always asked them to stay away from ending human lives, through drugs, guns or any other means.esponsible for hundreds of deaths, collectively, they were the mutants of his class. Dawood Ibrahim, Chhota Rajan, and Chhota Shakeel have built their empires through fear of death. Their lieutenants did the actual killings.
Haji Mastan fell madly in love with the famous Bollywood actress, Sona, and married her. He adored her so much that he even financed a few movies for her, and gifted her a bungalow situated near actor Dev Anand’s house, in Juhu.
After leaving smuggling behind, Haji Mastan entered politics and floated ‘Laghumati Muslim Dal’. He owned a huge mansion in the posh locality off Peddar Road, opposite Sophia College. He joined hands with anti-drug abuse activists like Dr. Yusuf Merchant and implored the youth to stay away from killer drugs.
He died due
to cardiac arrest in 1994.
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