Ajay to play Haji Mastan

Ajay Devgan has been finalised to play Haji Mastan in Ekta Kapoor and Suniel Shetty's film, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai. Ajay , who signed on the dotted line last week, is quite excited about the role. This is not the first time Ajay will be playing a gangster. He had played a similar character in Ram Gopal Varma's Company.

A source said, “Both, director Milan Luthria and Suniel Shetty always wanted to cast Ajay as his physical characteristics perfectly match that of Haji Mastan. But it was only last week that Milan went to Phuket to narrate the script to Ajay, where he is shooting for Toonpur Ka Superhero, and things fell into place. Ajay loved his role and immediately signed on the dotted line. Emraan Hashmi has already been signed to play Dawood Ibrahim in the film.”   

Reportedly, Ajay and Milan have been great friends and have done two films earlier - Chori Chori and Kachche Dhaage. The source added, “Milan's film deals with the underworld in the '80s. Haji Mastan and Vardarajan Mudliar are the two vital characters in the film. At that time, Dawood was only a young gangster who was trying to make his mark in the crime world. The leading lady opposite Ajay Devgan will soon be finalised.”   

When contacted, Milan Luthria said, “This genre is Ajay Devgan's forte. Very few can convey intensity as effortlessly and as impressively as he does. For me, it is always a delight to work with a fine actor and a good friend like Ajay.”

 “We have been in discussion with Ajay for a couple of months now. But because of his erratic schedule we couldn't find time to discuss the film in Mumbai. That's when Ajay's manager, Kumar Mangat suggested that we could meet Ajay in Phuket. I went to Phuket with writer Rajat Arora and Ramesh Sippy of Balaji Films and the deal was finalised after a three-day meeting. Apart from the film, it was good to meet my old friend. We have been close right from the days when I was assisting Mahesh Bhatt and he made his debut in Phool Aur Kaante. Ajay has also acted in my directorial debut film, Kachche Dhaage, which was a huge success. The expectations are bound to be high as we are reuniting for this new action film,” added Milan.

 About Haji Mastan  

Haji Mastan Mirza was popularly known as Haji Mastan or Gul Mastan. He was a Mumbai-based gangster and smuggler through the '60s and '70s. Mastan was imprisoned during the Emergency. He became a Muslim leader in 1984 and formed Dalit Muslim Surakhsha Maha Sangh in 1985-86. He passed away in 1994.