10 years of Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai: Still one of my strongest performances, says Randeep Hooda

Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai (2010) was a multi-starrer gangster drama which saw Randeep Hooda in the role of ACP Agnel Wilson. As Milan Luthria's film, released on 30 July 2010, completed 10 years today, Hooda went down memory lane and recalled how he had initially turned the part down but the director persuaded him to come on board.

Hooda had already played a role modelled on gangster Dawood Ibrahim in 'D' (2005) and felt it would be a step down to play a cop in a film focusing on gangsters. "But Milan spoke to me again and again. In fact, once I finished my part, they told me I had to shoot the entire part as an old man. Earlier, Wilson was planned as a young man," he said.

A few days ago, Luthria had also tweeted about how Hooda had declined Wilson's role not once but three times: "Randeep Hooda declined the role of Agnel Wilson thrice, concerned about how his character would pan out in a multi-starrer. I promised him that it would be a role he would not regret doing."

In retrospect, Hooda is glad Luthria persuaded him to play the part. "It's very rare in a gangster drama like Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai that a cop's role stands out as much as the gangster's," he said. "I think Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai started a beautiful trend in my career. Ten years later, it’s still one of my strongest performances."

The film, which also starred Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Kangana Ranaut and Prachi Desai, was loosely based on the lives of gangsters Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim. The film was a hit at the box office and its success led to a sequel, Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai Again (2013).