Director Vishal Bhardwaj Defends O Romeo After Gangster's Daughter Objects to Film

Why Vishal Bhardwaj Didn't Ask Hussain Ustara's Family Before Making O Romeo? Filmmaker Finally Speaks Out

Director Vishal Bhardwaj has finally revealed why he did not ask for permission from gangster Hussain Ustara's family before making his new film O Romeo. At the film's trailer launch event, the filmmaker said he bought the rights to a book, so family approval was not required.

The film stars Shahid Kapoor as Hussain Ustara and is based on Hussain Zaidi's book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Bhardwaj told reporters he owns the rights to this story. He said the basic idea and characters come from the book, but the filmmakers added many made-up elements.

"I didn't think permission was needed because it is based on a book," Bhardwaj said. He added that any permissions should have been handled by author Hussain Zaidi, not by him.

Ustara's daughter, Sanober Shaikh, recently spoke out against the film. She said the director never asked their family before showing her father's life on screen. She also disagreed with the romantic scenes between Shahid Kapoor's character and Triptii Dimri's character, who plays gangster Sapna Didi.

Bhardwaj was earlier planning a different film called Sapna Didi with Deepika Padukone as underworld figure Rahima Khan and Irrfan Khan as Hussain Ustara. That project was dropped after Irrfan Khan died and the team had creative disagreements.

When asked if O Romeo is the same as the shelved film, Bhardwaj said they are completely different. "That script and cast was different. This is a different film," he explained. He said O Romeo went through many rewrites and the story changed significantly during development. He never expected the film would have this title when he first started working on it.

O Romeo also stars Nana Patekar, Avinash Tiwary, Tamannaah Bhatia, Farida Jalal, and Disha Patani. Vikrant Massey will appear in a special role. Sajid Nadiadwala is producing the film, which will release in theaters on February 13.

The film blends the real story of Mumbai's underworld with fictional elements, creating, as Bhardwaj calls it, a fresh take on the gangster genre.