The film is reportedly based on the lives of gangsters Haji Mastan and Dawood Ibrahim, whose characters are supposedly being enacted by Devgan and Hashmi respectively.
But Milan us quick to deny this. He states that it has been wrongly reported in the media that the film is based on Haji Mastan and Dawood.
He further adds that his is a contemporary film though it is set in the 70s and that it is definately not based on any particular gangster as per speculations. Milan claims that his film in fact focuses on many gangsters of the 70s era and should not be considered as the biopic of the above mentioned two underworld dons.
Once Upon A Time In Mumbai is a joint production between Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Motion Pictures and Sunil Shetty's Popcorn Entertainment. Apart from Mumbai, the film is going to be shot in Vishakhapatnam, Dubai and Bangkok.