There
is
no
denying
the
fact
that
Once
Upon
A
Time
In
Mumbai
has
fast
turned
out
to
be
one
of
the
most
awaited
films
of
the
season.
Credit
it
to
the
Ajay
Devgn
factor
as
he
seems
to
be
walking
in
straight
from
the
days
of
Company,
the
charm
of
Emraan
Hashmi
who
seems
to
be
on
a
role
reversal
of
sorts
after
Gangster,
the
music
by
Pritam
which
has
everything
going
right
for
it,
the
Bobby
nostalgia
that
has
been
created
by
Prachi
or
the
mystery
called
Kangana
Ranaut
which
seems
to
follow
her
film
after
film.
Kangana
Ranaut
-
a
mystery,
something
that
led
to
names
like
Madhubala
and
Meena
Kumari
being
thrown
around
as
the
reference
points
for
the
role
of
an
actress
that
she
plays
in
this
Milan
Luthria
directed
film.
Still,
there
was
no
concrete
information
coming
in
from
any
quarters.
Now
that
the
film
is
just
a
few
days
away
from
release,
a
couple
of
shocking
truths
have
been
revealed.
First
and
foremost,
it
has
been
declared
that
Kangana's
character
is
indeed
based
on
an
actual
heroine
from
the
70s.
Secondly,
the
actress
in
picture
is
neither
Madhubala
nor
Meena
Kumari
but
a
small
time
actress
whose
name
was
Sona.
A
girl
who
had
actually
acted
in
a
couple
of
Bollywood
films
in
the
70s,
Sona
was
also
the
love
of
Haji
Mastan
on
whom
Ajay
Devgn's
role
in
the
film
is
based.
Since
Kangana
plays
the
female
lead
opposite
him,
it
was
obvious
that
the
reference
point
was
Sona.
"Well,
I
have
been
told
that
Haji
Mastan
was
in
love
with
this
girl
called
Sona",
Kangana
says
in
a
hush-hush
tone,
"She
was
a
Madhubala
look-alike
and
a
struggler
during
the
70s.
When
the
two
came
together,
they
became
romantically
involved.
He
even
went
on
to
make
a
movie
for
her."
A
quick
Google
search
assures
that
Kangana's
claims
were
indeed
true.
Sona
did
actually
work
in
a
couple
of
films
though
the
one
which
was
notable
was
Raj
Khosla's
Kuchche
Dhaage
where
she
had
Vinod
Khanna,
Moushumi
Chatterjee
and
Kabir
Bedi
for
company.
Incidentally,
another
striking
factor
about
this
casting
and
the
film
was
that
Moushumi's
screen
name
here
was,
as
you
guessed
it
right,
Sona.
Cut
to
2010
and
there
are
obvious
similarities
in
Kangana's
characterisation.
As
Rehana
-
an
actress,
she
plays
the
love
interest
of
Sultan
(played
by
Ajay
Devgn)
who
is
a
don
in
the
Mumbai
of
70s.
"Rehana
is
basically
a
cross
between
Madhubala
and
Sona.
She
is
really
desired
and
is
madly
loved
by
Sultan",
confirms
Kangana.
Unlike
Sona
though,
Kangana
gets
the
perks
of
playing
a
superstar
instead
of
a
struggler
in
the
film.
"Ajay's
character
feels
connected
to
her
because
he
knows
her
only
through
the
big
screen.
Once
the
two
fall
in
love,
Rehana
becomes
really
vulnerable.
You
can
say
that
while
Ajay
is
the
positive
force
of
the
film,
Emraan
is
the
negative
force
and
I
am
the
romantic
force."
Of
course
Kangana,
we
would
like
to
believe
that!