Handlung

The intrigue of the Shakespearean tragedy 'Macbeth' is transposed to the Mumbai underworld.

Aabaji (Jahangir Khan) is a powerful Don in Mumbai underworld.Maqbool is his right hand and most loyal person and both share a great bond.Two corrupt cops Pandit and Purohit on payroll of Aabaji on seeing Maqbool's ambition predict that soon he is going to take over reins of underworld from Aabaji.Nimmi whose keep of Aabaji but she and Maqbool are secretly in love she asks Maqbool to kill Aabaji and take the throne as in future he will be just like a pet in front of Aabaji's son in law Guddu.Maqbool is torn between his love for Nimmi and loyalty towards Aabaji he finally kills Aabaji and the the guilt of his murder starts to haunt him and Nimmi.Maqbool's greed to take over the throne for Nimmi's love leaves everything shattered.—alex.mjacko@gmail.com

Macbeth meets the Godfather in present-day Bombay. The Scottish tragedy set in the contemporary underworld of India's commercial capital; two corrupt, fortune telling policemen take the roles of the weird sisters, and "Duncan" is Abbaji, the head of a crime family. Abbaji's mistress and Maqbool plot and carry out his death; the sea plays the role of Birnham wood.—James McLeod

Jahangir Khan, called "Abbaji" as a title of respect, is a powerful and influential Mumbai (the Indian name for Bombay)-based gangster involved in several criminal activities. Through the cooperation of two prophesying policemen (and through them, connections to national politicians), he has never been arrested, and carries on, knowing that money and bribes will assist him throughout his life. Things turn ugly when his mistress, Nimmi, starts to have an affair with one of his men, Maqbool, who has aspirations of succeeding Abbaji one day. Things come to a boil, Maqbool kills Abbaji, and his dreams come true when he takes over as the new underworld leader, without realizing that he, too, has become a target of another faction of Abbaji's men.—rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Jahangir Khan/Abbaji (Pankaj Kapoor) is the aging leader of a criminal gang. Nimmi (Tabu) is his mistress. Members of the gang include Maqbool (Irfan Khan), Kaka (Piyush Mishra) and his son Guddu (Ajay Gehi), and 2 cops Pandit and Purohit (Puri and Shah respectively). Maqbool and Nimmi love each other, but since Maqbool will not defy Abbaji openly, their affair is kept secret. Nimmi wishes to leave Abbaji and live with Maqbool, but realizes the futility of it while Abbaji is alive. So, she slowly but surely begins to put ideas in Maqbool's head . . .—Amodini (http://hindimoviereviews.blogspot.com)

The film is based on William Shakespeare's Macbeth, with the Mumbai underworld as its backdrop. Miyan Maqbool (Irrfan Khan) is the right-hand man of Jahangir Khan (alias Abba Ji) (Pankaj Kapur), a powerful underworld don. Maqbool is grateful and feels a close connection and personal indebtedness to Abba Ji. Seeing their close relationship but also sensing Maqbool's ambition, two corrupt policemen (Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah) predict that Maqbool will soon take over the reins of the Mumbai Underworld from Abba Ji.

Nimmi (Tabu) is Abba Ji's mistress, but she and Maqbool are secretly in love. Nimmi encourages Maqbool's ambitions and persuades him to kill Abba Ji to take over as Don. Maqbool is torn between his love for Nimmi and his loyalty to Abba Ji, but he begins to prepare the ground for becoming a Don by ensuring that others in the line of succession cannot interfere. Finally, Maqbool murders Abba Ji in cold blood while he is in bed at night, with Nimmi next to him. Maqbool gets away with the murder and takes over as Don, just as planned, but both he and Nimmi are haunted by guilt, seeing Abba Ji's ghost and unable to wash the blood from their hands. There is also suspicion, within the gang, of Maqbool's role in the death of Abba Ji, and eventually the lovers meet a tragic end.

In addition to the portrayals of the three tragic heroes, the film offers performances by supporting cast members, in particular Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah. The two open the film in their roles as black comic relief corrupt police inspectors-cum-astrologers, predicting the fall of Abba Ji-who has them on his payroll-and the rise and fall of Maqbool. Contrary to the original play, the corrupt cops are not just passive soothsayers. In an effort to sustain what they refer to as "balancing forces," they are also actively involved in shaping events, like aiding in providing information to Abba Ji's enforcers to wipe out a rival gang, using subtle nuances in coercing Maqbool to shift loyalties, deliberately botching an "encounter" attempt on Riyaz Boti (Macduff) and subsequently setting up an alliance between a rival politician (the incumbent one was backed by Abba Ji) and a fleeing Guddu (Fleance) and Riyaz Boti against Maqbool.