A bombshell legal move threatens to derail Shahid Kapoor’s ‘O Romeo’ just before its premiere. Sanobar Sheikh, whose father Hussain Ustara inspired a key role, has approached the courts to ban the film for its allegedly defamatory portrayal.
‘My father wasn’t the violent thug shown in the movie,’ Sanobar told reporters. ‘He was a good samaritan helping police dismantle gangs, authorized with licensed arms and armor.’ The trailer’s violent sequences, crude language, and aggressive demeanor clash with his real persona.
Alerted by Shahid’s lookalike photos and character details earlier, Sanobar’s resolve hardened post-trailer. She proposes edits to align with truth or fictionalize fully without allusions. Factual errors abound: Ustara, a filmmaker, treated associates like kin, not lovers as scripted from Zaidi’s ‘Mafia Queens.’
Family wounds reopen after 28 years, with public scrutiny intensifying. ‘We face judgments daily; no one deserves this in the name of cinema,’ she said. Endorsements from contemporaries affirm Ustara’s anti-crime role, separating grit from brutality.
With Tripti Dimri opposite Shahid, ‘O Romeo’ grapples with this reputational storm, underscoring Bollywood’s challenges in adapting real stories sensitively. The court’s verdict could reshape release strategies and spark wider debates on biographical integrity.