A legal dispute appears to be taking shape ahead of the release of Shahid Kapoor’s upcoming film O Romeo. Sanober Shaikh, daughter of Mumbai gangster Hussain Ustara, has reportedly served a legal notice
to the makers of the film and has objected to what she believes could be a negative depiction of her father in the project. The notice seeks compensation amounting to Rs 2 crore and asks that the payment be made within seven days.
There has been no official statement from the filmmakers confirming that O Romeo is based on any real-life individual. However, industry speculation has long suggested that the film may draw inspiration from stories associated with Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi. Fueling these assumptions further, the teaser, released on January 10, mentioned that the film is inspired by real events.
According to a recent report by Bollywood Hungama, the notice was sent last week and addressed to producer Sajid Nadiadwala of Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and director Vishal Bhardwaj. It claimed that O Romeo presents Hussain Ustara in an unfavourable manner, allegedly harming the family’s reputation.
In addition to the monetary demand, Sanober has also urged the makers to stop or cancel the film’s release until her objections are resolved to her satisfaction.
When Vishal Bhardwaj clarified film is not a biopic
Shahid's name in the film is Ustara and in 2018, Bhardwaj had announced a film with Irrfan in which his character's name was also Ustara.
Back then, Bhardwaj had also shared a long post on Facebook informing everyone about the postponement of his film with Irrfan and Deepika Padukone due to their health.
He wrote, "I am pushing back the film by a few months as both of my lead actors are down with different health problems. Irrfan is down with jaundice and it will take him a few weeks to recover and Deepika Padukone's back problem which had previously developed during the shooting of Padmaavat has now resurfaced. Her role in the film is very physically demanding and the doctor has advised her not to do any strenuous work for a couple of months."
While at that time there were reports that it was a biopic on Sapna Didi, Bhardwaj had clarified that it is not. The filmmaker wrote, "I would also like to clear that the film is still untitled and is not based on Rahima Khan/Sapna Didi’s life. Yes, it’s a takeoff from the story Femme Fatale from Hussain Zaidi’s book Mafia Queens of Mumbai but as we worked on this idea, the story and screenplay have taken on a new identity and shape which is nowhere close to the above-mentioned names. Hence, it’s definitely not a biopic (sic)."
About O Romeo
O’Romeo features a sprawling ensemble cast that includes Shahid, Triptii Dimri, Avinash Tiwary, Farida Jalal, Vikrant Massey, Nana Patekar, Tamannaah Bhatia, Disha Patani, Aruna Irani, Hussain Dalal, Resh Lamba and Rahul Deshpande. The film marks Shahid's fourth collaboration with Vishal Bhardwaj after Kaminey (2009), Haider (2014) and Rangoon (2017).
O’Romeo is scheduled to hit theatres on February 13. It will clash with Shanaya Kapoor and Adarsh Gourav's Tu Yaa Main.
