Haji Mastan.
In the shining world of Bollywood, the eyes of some stars are so deep, which goes into the hearts by penetrating the screen. In Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Wall’, the sharp eyesight, which took a storm of anger and unaware, or in ‘Once Upon a Time in Mumbai’, the stagnant style of Ajay Devgan, which would make the front one in a moment, was not a minor thing. Yeh Nazar, Yeh Ada, Yeh Rutba, not from any script, but from the character of a real life. A gangster who did not shoot, shed blood, but tilted Mumbai in his footsteps. This is the story of a person who gave the crime a shrafat and gave a new style to Bollywood’s heroes. The name of that character was Haji Mastan Mirza aka Sultan Mirza.
Travel from Mastan to Sultan
Born on 1 March 1926 in Kudundar, Tamil Nadu, Mastan was the son of a poor farmer. There was no money in the house, there was no luck. And when hunger knocked on the stomach door, Mastan’s family walked towards Mumbai. A beautiful city of dreams, where glitter and poverty breathed together. At that time people knew Mumbai as Bombay. Mastan’s father opened a small shop of bicycle puncture in Bengali Tola near Crawford Market, Bombay. Mastan sat there, looking at the colorful life of the city and wondering, ‘Will his canvas always be empty?’
Ten years passed slowly in Bombay. And at that time the Quit India Movement was also at its peak, small to big business was all flourishing, but Mastan’s life was still empty and simple. Then suddenly he meets Ghalib Sheikh. Ghalib needed a clever boy who could smuggle the goods with intelligence by becoming a porter on the dock of Bombay. This was the period when the British were looting the treasury of India, and smuggling was a rebellion of a way. Mastan immediately caught this opportunity. He found his purpose. At that time, there was a big business of electronics, expensive watches and jewelry smuggling in our country India. People would choose the path of smuggling to avoid expensive tax being imposed by English. And Mastan again became the king of this game of smuggling. And exactly after 12 years, he met Sukur Narayan Bakhia, a smuggler from Gujarat. The pair of both frozen a lot. The transistors, watches, radio of Philips were all given in dowry in the then weddings. Mastan’s earnings now started touching the sky. One time porter Mastan had now become Mastan Bhai.
Mastan’s amazing style: ‘Sharafat in crime’
Mastan was different. Neither Varadarajan Mudaliar, nor Davud, nor no one else had that thing. Mastan was not just a smuggler, his style was different from others. The style of talking to him, the eyes of speaking on the other side, the art of testing man, and the biggest thing, the morality that he also used to crime. Neither levy, nor slaughter, nor useless violence. Mastan knew that his strength was his image. And this was the reason that Bombay was gradually turned to his style. By 1970 Mastan Haji had become Mastan. He also went on Haj, and now he used to visit Kuligiri, but a trip to influence. This was the style of Mastan, the style of white designer suits, expensive vehicles, cigars in the mouth, and the balcony of the sea shore. Bollywood, who was getting young at that time, was crazy about this style of Mastan.
Bollywood and Mastan’s unique relationship
Bollywood had become Mastan’s mother -in -law. It is said that he was stuck on Madhubala. Both had a good friendship, but could never have a relationship. So later Mastan married Sona, an actress like Madhubala. He invested a lot of money for Sona’s films, but did not succeed. Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dharmendra, Feroz Khan, the stories of Mastan’s Yari from these Bollywood veterans used to echo in the streets of Bombay. His influence was such that people started accepting his work as an unwritten law. Mastan’s crime had become a system.
New Mastan of politics
In 1975, the Emergency shook the country. Mastan also had to go to jail. But his status remained there too. Expensive gifts to officers, VIP treatment, Mastan’s swag was different. But one day he suddenly meets Jayaprakash Narayan in jail. JP’s simplicity and ideas shook Mastan. When he came out 18 months later, he said goodbye to the world of crime. It is said that he had offered money to Indira Gandhi for release, but did not talk. In the Emergency, he also helped many leaders to hide, which later benefited.
In 1980, Mastan tried his luck in politics. He along with Dalit leader Joginder Kavade formed a Dalit-Muslim Security Federation. A gangster’s talk of a Dalit-Muslim unity was the most unique thing of the time. Bollywood star Dilip Kumar also promoted this party a lot, but you know politics is a different thing. Mastan did not get success here. Still, he never fired, nor adopted the path of violence. His influence was from his sharafat.
Mastan’s legacy and change underworld
Haji Mastan died of a heart attack on 25 June 1994, but by then the underworld of Bombay had changed. Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, who once worked for Mastan, ran away from the city since the 1993 bomb blasts. Mastan considered Bombay as his lover, but Dawood gave deep wounds to the same city. At the same time, the adopted son of Mastan, Sundar Shekhar, still runs the Indian Minorities Security Federation in Bombay. Mastan has three daughters, Kamarunisa, Mehrunisa and Shamshad are all three in different cities. Sona’s daughter Haseen Mirza has claimed that she is Mastan’s daughter, and her life was full of difficulties. All these stories are still entangled in the court somewhere.
Mumbai’s new don
Mastan’s story is another important character, Dawood Ibrahim. 19 -year -old Dawood Mastan used to be the biggest fan of one time, but he considered his image weak. Dawood once made a plan to rob Mastan’s briefcase of 5 lakhs. But by mistake, he was robbed of the van of Metropolitan Bank. This was Bombay’s first bank robbery. Dawood’s father, Constable Ibrahim Kaskar, beaten him overnight that day and is born here by a new under -world don Dawood Ibrahim of Mumbai. He moved forward by choosing the path of violence, except Mastan’s Sharafat.
But, Haji Mastan was a gangster and smuggler who made Bombay his crazy with his image. White suits, white shoes, cigars and style of looking at the sea, this was Mastan’s style, which became the source of inspiration for Bollywood heroes. His life was a unique mix of crime, Bollywood and politics. Mastan showed that the image is everything. His story still resonates in the streets of Bombay, of a don who ruled the hearts without shooting. (Report: Sudhanshu Chaurasia)
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