UP gangsters: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Tigmanshu Dhulia

Amresh Mishra and I wrote the tale of Raja Mishra, nee Bullett Raja, based on the lives and times of several gangsters from UP, who, unlike Mumbai gangsters, do not kill just for money, do not creep up from behind to shoot, but believe in open challenge, kill for self-respect (maan-samman-swabhiman), and for the sake offriends (dosti-yaari). 

It is this very aspect that makes Bullett Raja a gangster unlike any you have seen before on the big screen. Some of the rangeele characters that we came across while doing our research were: 

Sriprakash Shukla He was one-of-a-kind, who used to kill his targets by informing them well in advance and giving them a notice period! Interestingly, his notices were based on the stature of the target. 

Grace period increased with the increase in stature. He had another peculiar habit. He used to kill his targets in their dens. He killed Virendra Sahi, a dreaded don, at 8 am in Lucknow's posh Indira Nagar colony where he stayed with his mistress, after giving Sahi a 15-day notice. He famously said, "Tu bach sake to bach le Thakur". He also killed Satinder Singh, another dreaded don, a Thakur, right in the middle of Rasai Kala, a Thakur-dominated village near Ayodhya, after giving a one-week notice. 

Maula Karvariya (Misra) After losing his right hand in an accident, Maula used to drive and fire with his favourite 12-bore rifle using his left hand. While shooting, he used to drive his jeep without manoeuvring the steering wheel. In another instance, he drove with his legs while firing. 

Chand Baba He used to be accompanied by a Maulavi when out to kill someone. Before beating or killing someone, he used to ask the Maulavi if he was doing the right thing in the right manner, as per the Shariat. Chand Baba closed down brothels as prostitution was against Shariat. He also attacked the Allahabad city Kotwali in the evening for the first time in North India's post-Independence history. His 300-400 strong youth 'army' threw several handmade bombs at the Kotwali, forcing police officers to shut its gate, something which made people feel that the police had surrendered. 

Mukhtar Ansari Currently serving time in Agra jail, Mukhtar used to travel in seven cars, all with 786 imprinted on them. Brother of Afzaal Ansari, the ex-Communist leader of eastern UP, Mukhtar survived a stand-off with Brijesh Singh, his rival. Singh erected a wall in the middle of Varanasi-Ghazipur road as a makeshift fortress. Mukhtar drove his convoy through the wall, demolishing the 'fortress'. 

Munna Bajrangi A Thakur, Bajrangi has the habit of running just before killing a target. Even if driving a car, he would get off and chase his target. Once, he ran for two kilometres chasing the target while his car trailed behind. Reason: "Shikar ko bhaagne ka mauka dena chahiye!" 

(By Tigmanshu Dhulia)