THE MUMBAI/BOMBAY UNDERWORLD(1940s-Present day)
The Mumbai Underworld or the Bombay Underworld refers to the organised crime network in the city of Mumbai(formerly Bombay),in Maharashtra.
With time,the Mumbai Underworld has been dominated by several different groups and mobsters.
The crimes were initially smuggling ,gambling and illegally selling liquor but with time they turned into more serious crimes like murder.
Underworld in the 1940s-1980s
The three figureheads of this underworld were Karim Lala,Haji Mastan and Varadarajan Mudaliar.
KARIM LALA
Karim Lala(Abdul Karim Sheikh Khan) was a pashto speaking pashtun from Kunar province ,Afghanistan who had come to Bombay with his family in the 1920s.
He and his family members operated in the Bombay docks.
They were often called “Afghan mafia” or “Pathan mafia” by the Bombay Law enforcement because the majority of the crimes were done by ethnic pashtuns.(specifically from Kunar province of Afghanistan)..
They were involved in hashish trafficking,protection rackets,extortion,illegal gambling,gold smuggling and contract killings.
Lala controlled bootlelegging and gambling in the city from 1940 onwards and remained the king of this trade till 1985.
HAJI MASTAN
Haji Mastan or Mastan Mirza or Sultan Mirza was originally from Tamil Nadu.
He moved to Bombay at the age of 8 from Pannaikulam in 1934 with his father.
The father son duo intially worked in a cycle repair shop and later Mastan started working in the Bombay docks.
He then entered the underworld and worked along with Karim Lala in the 1960s.By the 1960s,he had become 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.As Mastan's influence in Bollywood grew, he began to produce films himself and was a well-known producer.
Haji Mastan with Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu(both were bollywood actors)
Haji Mastan with Sunil Dutt
VARADARAJAN MUDALIAR
He was popularly known as Vardha bhai and was a tamil hindu mafia mobster.
He was an infamous gangster from the 1960s to 1980s along with Karim Lala and Haji Mastan.
Mudaliar also started working initially in the Bombay docks and later started selling illicit liquor.He was much respected in the tamil community and ran a parallel justice system where his verdict was the final law of the land specially in areas like Matlunga and Dharavi(which had a huge diaspora of tamils).
He was intially involved in stealing dock cargo and then into contract killings and narcotics trade.
Mudaliar controlled most of the underworld in east and north central bombay in the 1970s.
Karim Lala commanded south and central Bombay, and the majority of smuggling and illegal construction financing was Haji Mastan's domain.
Underworld from 1980s to present day
D-COMPANY
D-company is an organised crime group which is controlled by Dawood Ibrahim.
It is more like a criminal terrorist group and not just an organised crime group involved in petty smuggling,killing.
Ibrahim is currently on Interpol’s wanted list for cheating,conspiracy and running an organised crime syndicate.
In 2008,he was at number two in the Forbes list of top 10 most wanted men.
He is accused of heading an illegal empire against Indians and he is also accused of the 1993 bombay bombings..
1993 Bombay blasts..
His name was associated with Osama Bin Laden also and also in the 2008 Mumbai attacks..
2008 Mumbai attacks
Ever since he took to hiding..he is frequently traced to Karachi,Pakistan but the Pakistani authorities have denied this claim.
CHOTTA RAJAN
Chotta Rajan also runs a major crime syndicate in bombay.He was initially a lieutenant under Dawood Ibrahim.
He initially started as a bootlegger and is accused of extortion,murder,smuggling,drug trafficking and film finance.
He is accused of 17 murders also and was finally caught in Bali on 25th October,2015.
He is now awaiting a trail in CBI custody.
ARUN GAWLI
He started intially as a kidnapper who kidnapped people,tortured them,extorted money from them and killed them.
The police raided his premises many times and finally ended his operations.He has been arrested many times and has been detained for long periods.
Yet he was not convicted because of lack of evidence.
He was finally found guilty of murder of Shiv sena leader Kamalakar Jamsendekar in August 2012.
RELATIONS WITH BOLLYWOOD
These mafia dons have been associated with bollywood.
From 1970s,there have been major influences on bollywood by this underworld which can be seen in their movies..
Don(1978) inspired from the lives of these underworld gangsters..
Once Upon a time in mumbai(Ajay devgn’s role is inspired from Haji Mastan and Dawood ibrahim)..
Ajay devgn as Karim lala in Gangubai Kathiawadi
The Bombay underworld not just influenced bollywood storylines but also actors,directors etc..
Dawood Ibrahim with Anil Kapoor
Dawood Ibrahim with actress Mandakini
Today,we know how bollywood actors are into drugs too which is again an influence by these mafia dons..