Dawood Ibrahim and his life have always fascinated Bollywood filmmakers. They’ve tried multiple times to tell his story or depict his influence over the Indian underworld through films, however, none made direct references to the mobster by using his name.
Interestingly, the obsession hasn’t ended after multiple failures and this time, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment, have chosen the digital medium for it. They are making a web series titled Dongri to Dubai, which is an adaptation of Hussain Zaidi’s book Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia.
The series will reportedly show Dawood Ibrahim’s early life, the other mob bosses and his gang members. The gangster’s story has remained a constant source of inspiration in Bollywood films. Movies like Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, starring Ajay Devgan and Imran Hashmi, made many indirect references to Dawood’s origin story. However, the character was named differently i.e. Shoaib Khan (Imran Hashmi). Other films which may have touched upon different aspects of the mobster’s life and his affiliations include D-day, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara, Black Friday, D and many more.
Farhan’s series is going to make a direct reference to the life of Dawood Ibrahim, with no sugar-coating and the primary character is named after him as well. Avinash Tiwari, who is known for his role in Laila Majnu, will play Dawood. Kay Kay Menon, Angira Dhar and Amyra Dastur are also in the cast.
According to a recent interview, Amyra shared that they were in the middle of filming when the lockdown in India was announced. They are uncertain now as to when the filming will be completed.
While we are intrigued to see this series unravel, we are also certain it’ll come with an unhealthy dose of Pakistan-bashing and distortion of historical facts.
