Top 100 Bollywood Movies of All Time: No.65 - Great Soundtrack Singlehandedly Saved "Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara!"

The Mumbai Underworld has long been feared, as well as fascinated, by the people of India. Many movies have attempted at bringing this mysterious land to life, yet few ever reached the success of Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!. The movie has carved its name in the Top 100 Bollywood Movies Of All Time.

Top 100 Bollywood Movies of All Time - Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!: One of the best stories of Mumbai Underworld got a sequel

Its sequel, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!, was released just 3 years later in 2013, and the film immediately received favorable reviews from critics and audiences alike, mostly for its amazing soundtrack.

Top 100 Bollywood Movies of All Time - Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!: The Plot

Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! takes us to the 1970s, immediately to where the first movie ended. Its predecessor took the audience through the Mumbai Underworld ruled by the protagonist and Robin Hood figure Sultan Mirza.

This time, however, Sultan has been assassinated, and his once student-turned-nemesis Shoaib Khan (Akshay Kumar) took the helm as Mumbai's new underworld kingpin.

12 years have passed since Sultan's death, and it seems like Shoaib is doing as great as ever. However, an old foe, Rawal (Mahesh Manjrekar), would prove to be a needle he would pretty much like to remove.

The rest of the movie centers around Shoaib's journey to finally expand his kingdom across Mumbai along with his only friends: Javed, his former love Mumtaz (Sonali Bendre), and Aslam (Imran Khan), a teenager Khan met during a visit to the slums he grew up in.

Top 100 Bollywood Movies of All Time - Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!: An Unforgettable Soundtrack

Although Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai Dobaara! has an all-star cast, their performance was overshadowed wholly by the positive reception of the film's music. This can mostly be attributed to the talent of Indian composer, Pritam.

The sequel features the ever-charming Akshay Kumar as Shoaib, the beauty Sonakshi Sinha, and teenage heartthrob, Imran Khan, all grooving and dancing to the rhythm of this magical soundtrack. Ye Tune Kya Kiya, the creme of the crop, premiered on YouTube 15 June 2013 as the lead single from the soundtrack album.

Javed Bashir's vocals are a delight to savor and Rajat's lyrics just fit right in: straightforward and catchy. The rest of the album follows the same vein, being extremely memorable and ear-catching.

Top 100 Bollywood Movies of All Time - Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara!: Some trivias about the film

Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! and its prequel Once Upon a Time in Mumbai has been described as having a storyline and characters similar to the real-life criminal Dawood Ibrahim. However, the producers of the movie have repeatedly insisted that Shoaib Khan "could be any gangster and not necessarily Dawood."

Akshay went ahead and reconfirms this notion, saying "I am not playing a real-life character" and "the story is fictional."

After the film's regrettable negative reviews, despite the much-loved soundtracks, Akshay was furious at critics. In an interview, the actor accused them of lacking an understanding of the audience and the basic ideas of filmmaking.

Akshay was nominated Best Actor in a Negative Role in the Zee Cine Awards of 2014.

The film's title has been changed several times. The media first referred to the production as Once Upon a Time in Mumbai 2, and earlier it was officially known as Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Again. The film was ultimately renamed Once Upon ay Time in Mumbai Dobaara! due to the producer's preference.