Actors Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri’s upcoming film O Romeo has found itself at the centre of a controversy even before hitting theatres. The Vishal Bhardwaj directorial is said to be inspired by the story of Hussain Ustara and Sapna, a claim that has not gone down well with Ustara’s family. His daughter, Sanober Shaikh, has accused the makers of misrepresenting her father by portraying him as a gangster, a narrative she maintains is completely untrue and unfair to his legacy.
Hussain Ustara’s daughter slams the makers
In an interview with Hindustan Times, Sanober maintained that she did not threaten the makers but instead sent them a legal notice. She denied issuing any threats to the filmmakers and alleged that the team never sought permission from the family to make a film inspired by her late father’s life.
“They are claiming and showing wrong things about my father. They are saying that we threatened them and asked for ₹2 crore. That’s wrong. They are making such claims for publicity of the film. We have sent them a legal notice,” Sanober tells us.
Talking about the reason she sent the legal notice to the team, Sanober adds, “The makers have stated that the film is inspired by a true story, which is my father’s life. We sent a legal notice because he is being portrayed very negatively and in a completely wrong light. Because of this, our family is facing several problems. We are receiving calls, messages, and videos about my father, with people comparing him to the character shown in the film. My father’s face is being used as someone’s WhatsApp status.”
“The motive to send the legacy notice is that don’t promote wrong stuff. Kisi ki life disturb ho aisa nahi karna chaiyeh entertainment ke liye (One should not disturb someone’s life in the name of entertainment),” Sanober mentions.
When asked about what the makers are saying, Sanober claims, “They are denying everything, saying it is not a biopic or a documentary. But it is inspired from real life. The incidents they have mentioned are from my father’s life. They have picked his look for the character… People are reaching out to us and asking about his life. Kitne logun ko bolein ke nahi woh baba ki life nahi hai? (How many people can we keep telling that this is not baba’s life?)”
Sanober mentions that the ₹2 crore mentioned in the legal notice sent to the team is part of the procedure.
Sanober accuses makers of distorting facts
Sanober also accused the makers of distorting facts, claiming that the characters portrayed by Shahid and Triptii did not share any romantic relationship in real life.
“The makers are showing him to be a violent person. But in reality he was humble and sweet. My father was not a gangster. If you dig deep into it and hear interviews, one would understand that Hussain Ustara actually helped the police. He got into it to end the gangster culture. Now, when we Google his name we get words such as gangster, professional killer, which was not the case before. But my father was not a gangster,” Sanober claims.
About O Romeo
The film’s teaser was released earlier this month. It gave a glimpse into the action-packed saga with a high dose of violence and romance. The film stars Shahid Kapoor as a gunman. The makers or the cast have not specified if O Romeo is indeed based on Hussain Ustara’s life and death or not. Mumbai-based Hussain famously feuded with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
The film also stars Nana Patekar, Vikrant Massey, Avinash Tiwary, Disha Patani, and Triptii Dimri. O’ Romeo written and directed by Vishal Bharadwaj, with Rohan Narula as his co-writer. Sajid Nadiadwala has produced the film which will be released in theatres on February 13.