Who was Hussain Ustara? The Mumbai underworld don who challenged Dawood Ibrahim and inspired Shahid Kapoor's O Romeo

Who was Hussain Ustara: Mumbai has never merely been a city; it has always been a mood. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when the docks hummed with smuggling routes, the mills were collapsing, and the underworld was redrawing its own maps of power, one name sliced through the noise with chilling clarity — Hussain Ustara. In an era dominated by Dawood Ibrahim’s towering influence, very few dared to stand upright, let alone stand apart. Hussain did both.

His legend was not built solely on violence — though there was plenty of that — but on defiance. On the audacity to operate independently when syndicates were swallowing the city whole. On loyalty in a world that traded allegiance like currency. And on a blade so precise that it became his identity. Decades later, his story still refuses to fade. It resurfaces in crime literature, police lore, and now, in Hindi cinema — because some lives are too cinematic to be forgotten.

Who Was Hussain Ustara Before The Fearsome Reputation?

Long before he became a whispered warning in Mumbai’s back alleys, Hussain Ustara was born Hussain Sheikh. He grew up in Mumbai at a time when survival often blurred into criminality. In neighbourhoods where opportunities were scarce and tempers shorter still, street fights were initiation rites.

Like many young men drawn into the city’s underbelly, Hussain began with small-time muscle work — protection rackets, intimidation, settling scores. But he was not destined to remain a foot soldier. His ascent was rapid, propelled by a reputation for cold efficiency. While others relied on spectacle, Hussain cultivated silence. And in the underworld, silence can be more frightening than gunfire.

How Did A Blade Turn Into A Name?

Nicknames in the underworld are rarely poetic. They are earned. According to noted crime journalist and author S. Hussain Zaidi in his acclaimed book Dongri to Dubai, Hussain Sheikh acquired the moniker ‘Ustara’ after a particularly brutal confrontation.

An ustara — a sharp razor-like blade — became his signature weapon during a fight so precise and vicious that even doctors reportedly struggled to assess the depth of the wound inflicted. It was not chaos; it was calculated violence. That single episode transformed Hussain Sheikh into Hussain Ustara.

In crime circles, the name travelled faster than any police file. And once a name inspires fear, it becomes armour.

Why Did He Refuse To Bow To Dawood Ibrahim?

The late 1980s marked Dawood Ibrahim’s meteoric consolidation of power. Alliances were demanded. Loyalties were enforced. Most rivals either aligned or disappeared.

Hussain Ustara chose neither.

Their rivalry started cause of territorial power struggles and conflicting loyalties within the fragmented underworld ecosystem. In a world governed by hierarchy, Hussain’s refusal was more than rebellion — it was provocation.

Few men publicly challenged Dawood’s dominance. Fewer survived long enough to remain relevant. Hussain’s defiance etched his name into underworld folklore.

Who Was Sapna Didi And Why Did Her Path Cross With Hussain’s?

If Hussain’s story was defined by resistance, Sapna Didi’s was defined by revenge.

Born Ashraf Khan, she had no initial ties to organised crime. Her life altered irrevocably after her husband, Mehmood Khan, was killed by Dawood Ibrahim’s gang. Grief hardened into resolve. She did not retreat. She recalibrated.

Sapna Didi set out to infiltrate and challenge the very machinery that had destroyed her life. Hussain Ustara became instrumental in that transformation. As per reports, he trained her rigorously —

physical combat for survival, motorbike riding for swift movement, and weapon handling for precision.

Together, they made plans that unsettled both the underworld and law enforcement. In a male-dominated criminal landscape, Sapna Didi emerged as a rare and formidable figure — driven not by ambition, but by vengeance.

What Happened During The Sharjah Cricket Match Plot?

Among the most audacious chapters of this saga was Sapna Didi’s alleged plan to assassinate Dawood Ibrahim during a cricket match in Sharjah. The choice of venue was symbolic — cricket being the subcontinent’s grand spectacle, where high-profile figures often felt untouchable.

In 1994, Sapna Didi was brutally killed. Her death marked the violent end of a revenge mission that had captivated police dossiers and criminal circles alike. Her story remains one of the rare instances in Mumbai’s organised crime history where a woman rose to such prominence — feared, watched, and ultimately silenced.

How Did Crime Literature Preserve Hussain Ustara’s Legacy?

Much of what the public knows about Hussain Ustara stems from investigative journalism and crime writing. S. Hussain Zaidi’s Dongri to Dubai is one of the most important accounts of Mumbai’s underworld evolution, documenting Hussain Ustara as a significant player.

The book talks about Ustara's rivalry with Dawood Ibrahim and his association with Sapna Didi — framing these relationships as pivotal moments in the city’s criminal history. Zaidi’s meticulous reportage ensured that Hussain’s story moved beyond rumour into recorded narrative.

Crime trivia enthusiasts often note that many Bollywood scripts have quietly borrowed from Zaidi’s research over the years.

Why Is Hussain Ustara Being Talked About Again?

The Hindi film industry has always been fascinated by real-life crime sagas. From the docks of Dongri to the corridors of Dubai, Mumbai’s underworld has inspired some of Indian cinema’s most memorable characters.

Hussain Ustara’s name has resurfaced because actor Shahid Kapoor is set to portray a character named Ustara in O Romeo, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. While the film stops short of declaring itself a biopic, its parallels to Hussain’s life are unmistakable.

Cinema, after all, thrives on stories that already feel larger than life.

What Is Shahid Kapoor’s ‘Ustara’ In O Romeo Like?

In O Romeo, Shahid Kapoor will be seen playing a hitman named Ustara who falls in love with Afsha, portrayed by Triptii Dimri. The narrative weaves romance with violence — a familiar yet compelling cocktail.

The teaser showcases a brooding, blood-streaked protagonist caught between passion and peril. Observers have quickly drawn comparisons to the real Hussain Ustara, especially given the layered relationship between crime and a woman driven by emotional intensity — reminiscent of Sapna Didi.

However, the filmmakers maintain that the film is fictional, merely inspired by real events rather than a factual recreation.

When Is O Romeo Releasing And Who Is Backing It?

Produced by Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, O Romeo is set to release on February 13, 2026. Whether the film leans closer to romance or realism remains to be seen.

What Truly Sets Hussain Ustara Apart From Other Gangsters?

Many underworld figures chased power. Some chased wealth. A few chased notoriety.

He resisted Dawood Ibrahim when most would not. He trained and supported Sapna Didi’s quest for vengeance. His weapon of choice was not flamboyant, but frighteningly precise. Even his nickname carried surgical sharpness. Perhaps that is why his story lingers. Not because he ruled the city, but because he refused to be ruled. In Mumbai’s layered criminal history, where legends blur into myth and myth occasionally becomes cinema, Hussain Ustara remains a blade-edged memory — sharp, unresolved, and impossible to ignore.