Karim Lala | |
|---|---|
| کریم لالا | |
 | |
| Born | Abdul Karim Sher Khan 1911 (1911) |
| Died | 19 February 2002(2002-02-19) (aged 90–91) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Other names | Bade Baba |
| Occupation(s) | Smuggling, narcotics, extortion, contract killing, illegalgambling, forced property evictions[citation needed] |
Karim Lala (1911 – 19 February 2002), bornAbdul Karim Sher Khan in the Samalam Village of the Shegal District ofKunar Province, Afghanistan, was infamous as one of the three "mafia dons ofMumbai" in India for more than two decades from the sixties to the early eighties,[1] the other two being Sultan Mirza (Haji Mastan ) andVaradarajan Mudaliar.[2][3]
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Karim Lala was an AfghanPashtun who emigrated from Kunar, Afghanistan to Mumbai (then Bombay) in the 1920s. His family settled in one of the most densely populated and impoverished Muslim communities ofBhendi Bazaar inSouth Mumbai. Starting as an ordinary worker in the Mumbai docks, he later joined a gang of ethnicPashtuns (calledPathans in India) who worked as illegal recovery agents forMarwari andGujarati money lenders, landlords, and businessmen.[citation needed] These money lenders and landlords employed the burly Pathans whose tall imposing size and intimidating demeanor made it easy to recover money from defaulting debtors and evicting tenants and owners from prime properties in the expensive south Mumbai area.For over two decades, he was the leader of the dreaded "Pathan Gang" that operated in impoverished and crime-infested Muslim ghettos of South Mumbai like Dongri,Nagpada, Bhendi Bazaar, and Mohammad Ali Road. The Pathan Gang was involved in operating illegal gambling (satta) and liquor dens, illegal money recovery, illegal land evictions,kidnapping,protection racket (hafta),contract killing (supari), distribution ofnarcotics andcounterfeit currency. Lala soon rose up the ranks to be the chief of the "Pathan Gang" that became notorious for contract killings, forced evictions from property, kidnapping, and extortion. The gang operated several "carrom clubs" that were a facade for illegal moneylending, gambling, and betting rackets. In the 1970s, Lala agreed to a pact with the other two ganglords,Haji Mastan andVaradarajan Mudaliar to divide Mumbai amongst themselves so that they could freely run their criminal activities without any conflict between each other.
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Due to failing health during the late seventies, Lala gradually transferred the leadership of the Pathan gang to his nephew, Samad Khan and then managed his hotel and transport business. Although Lala had several illegitimate businesses, his legitimate business included two hotels (Al Karim Hotel and New India Hotel) and a travel and passport agency called New India Tours and Travels. Lala remained friendly with his other counterparts -Haji Mastan andVaradarajan. He was also close to Shiv Sena supremoBal Thackeray[4] In 1980, Lala unsuccessfully tried to mediate peace between his nephew, Samad Khan and his rivals,Shabir Ibrahim Kaskar andDawood Ibrahim Kaskar. Lala died on 19 February 2002 at the age of 90 or 91.
During his peak, Lala frequently invited several personalities fromBollywood (Hindi film industry) to his daawats (parties) andEid celebrations. Many characters from Bollywood movies closely resemble Karim Lala and his mannerisms and accent.
The 1973 movie,Zanjeer, the writer duo,Salim–Javed created a Pathan character called "Sher Khan" (played by actorPran) whose mannerisms resembled Karim Lala.
Widely considered to be the inspiration for the magnanimous crime lord Abdel Khader Khan in the 2003 bestselling novelShantaram, Karim shares personal and behavioral similarities with the fictional mafia don.
Malayalam movieChristian brothers(2011) had a similar character named Karim Lala played byR Sharathkumar
Ajay Devgn played the character of Karim Lala inSanjay Leela Bhansali's 2022 filmGangubai Kathiawadi.[5]
He was portrayed byNawab Shah by name of 'Pathan' in Amazon Prime seriesBambai Meri Jaan
