Organised crime in India

The powerful trio of Haji Mastan, Varadarajan Mudaliar, and Karim Lala enjoyed backing from their communities.

Karim Lala and his family members' groups operated in the Bombay docks. They were often called "Afghan mafia" or "Pathan mafia", terms coined by Bombay law enforcement because the majority of this crime syndicate's members were ethnic Pashtuns from Afghanistan's Kunar province. They were especially involved in hashish trafficking, protection rackets, extortion, illegal gambling, gold smuggling, and contract killings, and held a firm stranglehold over parts of Mumbai's underworld.[4] Lala controlled bootlegging and gambling in the city in 1940, and was the undisputed king of the trade until 1985.

Haji Mastan, originally known as Mastan Haider Mirza, was a Bombay-based Tamil Muslim mobster who became the first celebrity gangster in the city of Bombay.[5] Born in 1926 in a Tamil family in Pannaikulam, near Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu,[5] At age 8, moved to Bombay with his father. The father-son duo ran a small cycle repair shop in Crawford market. 10 years later, in 1944, Mastan joined the Bombay docks as a porter and from there entered organized crime. He worked in association with Karim Lala and by the 1960s became a rich man. He amassed millions from smuggling gold, silver, and electronic goods, and expanded his clout in the film industry by investing his money with directors and studios, in film production in Bollywood.[6] As Mastan's influence in Bollywood grew, he began to produce films himself and was a well-known producer.[5]

Varadarajan Mudaliar (born Varadarajan Muniswami Mudaliar), popularly known as Vardha Bhai, was a Bombay-based ethnic Tamil Hindu mafia mobster. He came to be known as Vardhabhai, operated from the early 1960s to 1980, and was accorded equal clout to Haji Mastan and Karim Lala. Starting off as a porter, he had his first brush with the crime world when he began selling illicit liquor. He commanded much respect within the Tamil community and ran a parallel justice system where his verdict was the final law of the land and binding in areas such as Dharavi and Matunga, which are believed to have a large presence of Tamils. The Tamil mob boss, in tandem with Haji Mastan, ventured into stealing dock cargo. He later diversified into contract killings and the narcotics trade. He enjoyed a successful stint in the 1970s controlling the criminal operations in the east and north-central Bombay. Karim Lala commanded south and central Bombay, and the majority of smuggling and illegal construction financing was Haji Mastan's domain.[6]

D-Company is the organised crime group controlled by Dawood Ibrahim, which originated in Mumbai. It has been argued that the D-Company is not a stereotypical organised crime cartel in the strict sense of the word, but rather a collusion of criminal terrorist groups based around Ibrahim's personal control and leadership.[7][8] Ibrahim is currently on Interpol's wanted list for cheating, criminal conspiracy, and running an organised crime syndicate;[9] and he was number two on The World's 10 Most Wanted list.[10] He is accused of heading an illegal empire against India and Indians. After the 1993 Bombay bombings, which Ibrahim allegedly organised and financed with Tiger Memon,[11] both became India's most wanted men.[12][13] According to the United States Department of the Treasury, Ibrahim may have had ties with Osama bin Laden.[14][15] Consequently, the United States declared Ibrahim a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" in 2003 and pursued the matter before the United Nations, in an attempt to freeze his assets around the world and crack down on his operations.[16] Indian and Russian intelligence agencies have pointed out Ibrahim's possible involvement in several other terror attacks, including the 2008 Mumbai attacks,[17][18] as per Interpol.[9][19][20][21] Ever since he took to hiding, his location has been frequently traced to Karachi, Pakistan, a claim which Pakistani authorities have denied.[22]

Chotta Rajan is the boss of a major crime syndicate based in Mumbai. He was a former key aide and lieutenant of Dawood Ibrahim. Starting as a petty thief and bootlegger working for Rajan Nair, also known as Bada Rajan (Big Rajan), Chhota Rajan took over the reins of Bada Rajan's gang after Bada Rajan's murder. Later, he was affiliated with and operated at the behest of Dawood in Mumbai and eventually fled India to Dubai in 1988. He is wanted for many criminal cases that include extortion, murder, smuggling, drug trafficking and film finance. His brother is said to produce films financed by Rajan. He is also wanted in 17 murder cases and several more attempted murders. Chhota Rajan was arrested in Bali by Indonesian police on 25 October 2015.[23] He was extradited to India on 6 November after 27 years on the run and is currently awaiting trial in CBI custody.[24]

Arun Gawli's gang is based at Dagdi Chawl in Byculla, Mumbai. He started his criminal activities there and used the rooms there for keeping kidnapped persons, torturing them, extorting money from them and murdering them. The police raided the premises several times and finally broke his operations. He has been arrested several times for criminal activities and detained for long periods during a trial. However, he could not be convicted in most of the cases as witnesses would not depose against him for fear. He was finally convicted for the murder of Shiv Sena leader Kamalakar Jamsandekar by a court in August 2012. Gawli and eleven others were found guilty of Jamsandekar's murder.[25] From 2006 to 2010 some hit groups lead by youths came in power in Mumbai. A group lead by a south Indian youngster (Name unknown) was the most powerful amongst them but disappeared after 2010 but gangs are still active. [Information from an Inspector worked in Thane district 2013]

The dacoit film was a genre of Indian cinema that began with Mehboob Khan's Aurat (1940) and gained popularity with its remake Mother India (1957) as well as Dilip Kumar's Gunga Jumna (1961). A subgenre is the Dacoit Western, popularized by Sholay (1975). These films are usually set in rural India, and often inspired by real dacoits.

Examples of the genre:

• Aurat (1940)
• Mother India (1957)
• Gunga Jumna (1961)
• Sholay (1975)
• Bandit Queen (1994)

In the early 1970s, a new genre of Indian crime films and gangster films arose, set in urban India: Bombay underworld films, later called Mumbai underworld films. These films are often inspired by real Mumbai underworld gangsters, such as Haji Mastan, Dawood Ibrahim and D-Company. These films are often set around Mumbai slums such as Dharavi or Juhu, and gangsters in these films often speak with a Tapori or Bombay Hindi street dialect.

The genre was pioneered by screenwriter duo Salim-Javed. They began the genre of gritty, violent, Bombay underworld crime films in the early 1970s, with films such as Zanjeer (1973) and Deewaar (1975).[32][33] They reinterpreted the rural themes of Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957) and Nitin Bose's Gunga Jumna (1961) in a contemporary urban context reflecting the socio-economic and socio-political climate of 1970s India,[34][35] channeling the growing discontent and disillusionment among the masses,[34] and unprecedented growth of slums,[36] and dealing with themes involving urban poverty, corruption, and crime,[37] as well as anti-establishment themes.[38] This resulted in their creation of the "angry young man", personified by Amitabh Bachchan,[38] who reinterpreted Dilip Kumar's performance in Gunga Jumna in a contemporary urban context.[34][35]

By the mid-1970s, gritty, violent crime films and action films about gangsters (Bombay underworld) as well as bandits (dacoits) had become popular. The writing of Salim-Javed and acting of Amitabh Bachchan popularized the trend, with films such as Zanjeer and particularly Deewaar, a crime film inspired by Gunga Jumna[32] that pitted "a policeman against his brother, a gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan" portrayed by Bachchan; Deewaar was described as being "absolutely key to Indian cinema" by Danny Boyle.[39] Along with Bachchan, other actors that rode the crest of this trend include Feroz Khan,[40]

The popular crime films written by Salim-Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan reflected the socio-economic and socio-political realities of 1970s India, channeling the growing popular discontent and disillusionment among the masses, and the failure of the state in ensuring their welfare and well-being, in a time when prices were rapidly rising, commodities were becoming scarce, public institutions were losing legitimacy, smugglers and gangsters were gathering political clout,[34] and there was an unprecedented growth of slums.[36] The cinema of Salim-Javed and Amitabh Bachchan dealt with themes relevant to Indian society at the time, such as urban poverty in slums, corruption in society, and the Bombay underworld crime scene,[37] and was perceived by audiences as anti-establishment, often represented by an "angry young man" protagonist, presented as a vigilante or anti-hero,[38] with his suppressed rage giving a voice to the angst of the urban poor.[36]

Later milestones in the genre include Ram Gopal Verma's Satya (1998) and Company (2002), based on the D-Company, which both offered "slick, often mesmerising portrayals of the Mumbai underworld" and displayed realistic "brutality and urban violence." Another notable film in the genre was Black Friday (2004), adapted from Hussein Zaidi's book of the same name about the 1993 Bombay bombings.[39][41][42][43]

The genre later inspired the film Slumdog Millionaire (2009), which drew inspiration from Mumbai underworld films. Its influences included Deewaar,[44][45] Satya, Company, and Black Friday.[39][41][42][43] 1970s Bollywood crime films such as Deewaar and Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) also have similarities to the heroic bloodshed crime genre of 1980s Hong Kong action cinema.[46] Deewaar had a Hong Kong remake, The Brothers (1979),[47] which went on to inspire John Woo's internationally acclaimed breakthrough A Better Tomorrow (1986),[48][47] which set the template for the heroic bloodshed genre in Hong Kong cinema.[49][50]

Examples of the Mumbai underworld film genre:

• Zanjeer (1973)
• Deewaar (1975)
• Don franchise (1978–2012)
• Nayakan (1986)
• Salaam Bombay! (1988)
• Parinda (1989)
• Baashha (1995)
• Satya (1998)
• Company (2002)
• Black Friday (2004)
• Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007)
• Slumdog Millionaire (2008), a film inspired by Mumbai underworld films from Indian cinema
• Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) and Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! (2013)
• Shootout at Wadala (2013) a film is about Life Of Manohar Arjun Surve (Manya Surve)
• Sacred Games (2018), a Netflix-produced television series based on the Mumbai underworld
• K.G.F (2019)

• Gangs of Wasseypur (film series)
• Amaran (1992)