Mumbai Mafia: Police vs the Underworld

I know, I know, here’s yet another crime documentary or film from India about the underworld. And somehow our obsession never wanes. With the popularity of films such as Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2, Shootout at Lokhandwala, Shootout at Wadala and series such as Sacred Games, Delhi Crime, and the Crime Stories documentary series, our audiences have spoken: they love gritty crime series.

Mumbai Mafia: Police vs the Underworld explores the oft-told story of Dawood Ibrahim and his gang of merry men in the D-company. If you truly want to go into the details, I’d strongly suggest reading Indian journalist Hussain Zaidi’s book on Dawood Ibrahim and his cohorts. He is one of the persons interviewed for this documentary film.

The film also interviews the ‘encounter [killing] cops’ that went after Dawood Ibrahim. Those who started the ‘encounter killing’ trend when the mafia’s influence got out of hand. It shows how they were lauded at first and, later, demonised and held accountable for the brazen tactics they employed in trying to ‘solve’ crime rates.

For this month, we recommend turning your attention to some Netflix productions based on real-life characters who impacted the world, for better or worse…

We also hear from Dawood Ibrahim’s former neighbours and one member from his company that managed to get away. His rise among the ranks of Mumbai’s underworld dons to completely dominating it, the bomb explosions at the Mumbai Stock Exchange that shook the country, to the mafia’s influence in Bollywood — all of it is documented.

Even for those who have lived through these times, Mumbai Mafia offers a well-produced, quick look back at the brutality and audacity of this one man who has continued to elude authorities worldwide for decades.

Pelé

This sensitively produced documentary about one of football’s legendary greats, Pelé, is worth watching. The logline reads simply as, “Against the backdrop of a turbulent era in Brazil, this documentary captures Pelé’s extraordinary path from breakthrough talent to national hero.”

Pelé is the only footballer in history with three World Cup titles under his belt. This documentary uses astounding archival footage and provides unprecedented access to the football legend, and we can see him visibly become emotional as he reviews footage from the past. Among other people, we also speak to his almost equally legendary teammates, Jairzinho (Jair Ventura Filho), Roberto Rivellino and Mário Zagallo.

You get a primer in history about the extraordinary 12-year period in which Pelé went from young superstar in 1958 to national hero in 1970 during a radical yet turbulent era in Brazil. With the renewed interest that the eastern world has in football, following the Fifa World Cup that was held in Qatar last year, and the fact that the sport uses a made-in-Pakistan ball, this is well worth a watch for Pakistani audiences.

Rise of the Empires: Ottoman Mehmed Vs Vlad

his series has been doing exceptionally well in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Central Asia, among other regions. As perhaps it should — all of these regions have had their history told through the series.

This is the second instalment of the Turkish docu-series Rise of Empires: Ottoman. It begins a few years after Sultan Mehmed II conquered Constantinople, the jewel of the Byzantine Empire, and focuses on his blood feud with Vlad III, aka Vlad the Impaler, aka Vlad Dracula. While the prince of what is now Romania wasn’t actually a vampire, he did have a predilection for power and violence.

The scale of the production is immense and, even if you’re not a history buff, the sets, costumes and cinematography provide a rich visual feast. While most of Rise of Empires continues to be dramatic re-enactments of history, they are done with insight from historians and other academics.

This is a very highly rated series on both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes. Anyone who misses watching popular Turkish dramas on TV such as Mera Sultan (Magnificient Century) and Ertugrul should definitely watch this — although fans of the latter have expressed disappointment online that this Rise of the Empires doesn’t depict religion as strongly.

Oh well, sometimes history of different empires is just that — the rise and fall of dynasties.

Published in Dawn, ICON, January 15th, 2023