Nonfiction

Mafia Queens Of Mumbai: Stories Of Women From The Ganglands

Mafia Queens Of Mumbai: Stories Of Women From The Ganglands

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-05-01 06:53:55
  • Update Date：2025-09-13
  • Status：finish
  • Author：S. Hussain Zaidi
  • ISBN：9380283776
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Summary

Smuggling， gun-running， drugs， terrorism for many decades， Mumbai has lived under the shadow of the Underworld。 Dawood Ibrahim， Karim Lala， Varadara- jan Mudaliar: these are names that any Indian would recognise。 Analysed in print， immortalised on film， their lives， their gangs， their 'businesses' are out there for anyone who wants the information。 But there have been women， too， who have been part of this murky side of the city， walking along side， sometimes leading and manipulating men in the Underworld to run their own illegal businesses。 Here， for the first time， crime journal- ists S。 Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges explore the lives of some of these women， and how， in cold blood， they were able to make their way up in what was certainly a man's world。 From Kamathipura to Dongri， from assassins to molls， this is a collection that tells the stories of women who have become legend in Mumbai's streets， lanes and back-alleys。 Absorbingly told， impeccably researched， Mafia Queens of Mumbai reveals a side of Mumbai's Underworld that has never been seen before。

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Reviews

Ritwika Chakraborty ，

A very easy， and light read。 Definitely worth picking up， to have an overview of the lives of mafia women of yesterday's Mumbai。 But the book doesn't go into the deep research depths， it gives an eagle-eyed viewpoint of these women's adventurous lives。 I was hooked on it after watching the phenomenal Gangubai Hindi movie。 Picking up Dongri to Dubai next！ A very easy， and light read。 Definitely worth picking up， to have an overview of the lives of mafia women of yesterday's Mumbai。 But the book doesn't go into the deep research depths， it gives an eagle-eyed viewpoint of these women's adventurous lives。 I was hooked on it after watching the phenomenal Gangubai Hindi movie。 Picking up Dongri to Dubai next！ 。。。more

Rashmi Ranjan ，

？

Shihab Khan ，

Gangubai🖤

Mona ，

The premise is interesting。 The first 2 stories are riveting。 Post that， the other 4-5 seems to be fillers without too many details or context。

Neha Vora ，

What a wonderful book， Staying in Mumbai especially in the 80s - 90s era and hearing a lord about the Dons and underworld Mafia etc， this book was also so refreshing to read from the perspective of the Mafia Queens aka the Women in the industry of Mafiagiri。 Obviously women have to mark their presence in each industry right。。。Having interacted with both the authors Jane Borges and S。 Hussain Zaidi through our book club， It was such a delight to see the book was written with a neutral perspective What a wonderful book， Staying in Mumbai especially in the 80s - 90s era and hearing a lord about the Dons and underworld Mafia etc， this book was also so refreshing to read from the perspective of the Mafia Queens aka the Women in the industry of Mafiagiri。 Obviously women have to mark their presence in each industry right。。。Having interacted with both the authors Jane Borges and S。 Hussain Zaidi through our book club， It was such a delight to see the book was written with a neutral perspective without glorifying or demeaning any of the Mafia queens mentioned in the book。 I was hooked to learn the tenacity， the grit， the determination of each of these ladies who had come to rule the underworld by their own choice， desire or by the virtue that their love for their respective partners made them choose this world wittingly or unwittingly。 It was also good to visit the bylanes of Mumbai city especially the underbelly areas like Dongri， Kamthipura， The Deepa Bar etc。 Starlets like Monica Bedi， Preeti Jain and Tarannum Khan have used their beauty to the hilt and others like Rubina and Papamani gave a damn about beauty and ruled the underworld on the basis of their brain powers。A good read especially for anyone interested in topics like organised crime， terrorism， extortion etc。 。。。more

Vanika ，

3。5/4 starsThis is a really interesting a fun read。 And covers eight women mafia leaders（？）。 As someone who knew nothing about the Indian organised crime/ gangster background， it was an interesting foray into the subject。 I loved that it focused on women， but I did think the author assumes you have some idea about the timelines， since the side players are casually mentioned without much background。 The fact that the author is a crime reporter， also means that this was super easy to read， enterta 3。5/4 starsThis is a really interesting a fun read。 And covers eight women mafia leaders（？）。 As someone who knew nothing about the Indian organised crime/ gangster background， it was an interesting foray into the subject。 I loved that it focused on women， but I did think the author assumes you have some idea about the timelines， since the side players are casually mentioned without much background。 The fact that the author is a crime reporter， also means that this was super easy to read， entertaining at points and also kind of reads like a crime beat。 Things I loved- It didn't romanticise or even explain away the choices and their uhm， career path。 But gave you a view of what it entailed。 I think my only gripe with the book is that it doesn't detail any of the women really。 It gives you the cliff notes version of their lives and goes into a little detail regarding pivotal moments。 But beyond that， it's not particularly in-depth。 I actually tried googling some more information or detailed timelines， but not much seems to be available on line。 Go figure。 。。。more

Chaitalee Ghosalkar ，

Call it the lack of attention by the media on these women， or the dearth of people providing information to the writers， but this book comes of short on the informatory value。 Of course， one can't not compare this one to Zaidi's splendid from Dongri to Dubai， and that works against the author。 The stories are short， often point to point; so much so that wikipedia might provide better content in today's age Call it the lack of attention by the media on these women， or the dearth of people providing information to the writers， but this book comes of short on the informatory value。 Of course， one can't not compare this one to Zaidi's splendid from Dongri to Dubai， and that works against the author。 The stories are short， often point to point; so much so that wikipedia might provide better content in today's age 。。。more

Tamanna Sahni ，

The book wasn’t always visually vivid， but I could still sense all of the emotion。 The writer used this strategy to make you connect with each Mafia Queen， even if she was a hardened criminal。

Sahana Ramesh ，

I listened to the audible。 For some reason I don't find it interesting。 The narration could have been better。 I listened to the audible。 For some reason I don't find it interesting。 The narration could have been better。 。。。more

Sagar Chamoli ，

4 starsOverviewUnderworld in Mumbai have normally been associated with dons like Dawood， Haji Mastin， Karim Lala or Varadarajan Mudaliar。 However， there are few women's who have there fair share as well and this is what exactly this book has covered。 It tells 13 true stories of women who were involved in criminal activities in Mumbai。ConclusionI have already read few books of S Hussain like Dongri To Dubai : Six Decades of The Mumbai Mafia and Black Friday: The True Story Of The Bombay Bomb Blas 4 starsOverviewUnderworld in Mumbai have normally been associated with dons like Dawood， Haji Mastin， Karim Lala or Varadarajan Mudaliar。 However， there are few women's who have there fair share as well and this is what exactly this book has covered。 It tells 13 true stories of women who were involved in criminal activities in Mumbai。ConclusionI have already read few books of S Hussain like Dongri To Dubai : Six Decades of The Mumbai Mafia and Black Friday: The True Story Of The Bombay Bomb Blasts and after reading this one， can say he is definitely the best crime writer in India。 Overall， it is a very well researched and well written book and I will highly recommend to anyone interested in non-fiction crime novels。 。。。more

Soulinpages ，

I simply wish there were more details included in the stories。That being said， I don't like any of them regardless of their circumstances。 I have no intention of condoning crime。 I simply wish there were more details included in the stories。That being said， I don't like any of them regardless of their circumstances。 I have no intention of condoning crime。 。。。more

findingnimi ，

Interesting read。。。 wish we cn hv biography what we hv read is frm their people their stories their words would hv been more interesting 。but overall loved it amazed ，sympathy u knw all kinds of feeling poured in 。。。

Adisha Mishra ，

This book is， what I like to call， a one-sitting book。 Hardly 200-250 pages， this book covers a subtly detailed journey into the lives of the some of biggest female Mafiosi this country had to see。 The way the chapters are written， one can just not be excited to know what is coming next or the reaction of the characters。 I absolutely fell in love with the Mafia， and that's a hard thing to do。。。 make a civilian fall for a criminal just with some words。 Please give it a read！ This book is， what I like to call， a one-sitting book。 Hardly 200-250 pages， this book covers a subtly detailed journey into the lives of the some of biggest female Mafiosi this country had to see。 The way the chapters are written， one can just not be excited to know what is coming next or the reaction of the characters。 I absolutely fell in love with the Mafia， and that's a hard thing to do。。。 make a civilian fall for a criminal just with some words。 Please give it a read！ 。。。more

Pooja Prabhu ，

I picked this book up as a new experience， when I first hearrd of Gangubai Kathiawadi， thanks to SLB movie in the theatres。 And the grit Gangubai's character is shown to posses， was what made me curious to read her story， written by the one whose book was inspiration for the movie。 And I was not disappointed。If you are looking for sweet endings， roses and blossom， this book is not the one for you。 The harsh reality of our world， and the women who braved it to survive and rise amongst hardened cr I picked this book up as a new experience， when I first hearrd of Gangubai Kathiawadi， thanks to SLB movie in the theatres。 And the grit Gangubai's character is shown to posses， was what made me curious to read her story， written by the one whose book was inspiration for the movie。 And I was not disappointed。If you are looking for sweet endings， roses and blossom， this book is not the one for you。 The harsh reality of our world， and the women who braved it to survive and rise amongst hardened criminals， in a man's world- this is what the book's about。So its your choice- read it， or watch the movie on Gangu and move on。P。 S。 Its a shocking read for the innocent and sheltered。 Also， do ask you relatives and parents who lived in Bombay at the time。 Chances are， they may shed a more personal light on these stories。Mine did 。。。more

Chandrika ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Started off well but in the end it just completely lost track。 It became sensational， salacious and downright insulting。 Shocker， beautiful women can also be smart and con leering men。

Raisa Ashraf ，

This book， My God！ Such an effing rollercoaster read！It's usually not an easy task to break my reading slumps。 But this one not only made me break away from the slump but also made sure I experienced all kinds of high and rush while reading it。 That too with a lot of ease （to say the least）。 Not an easy task I must say！ This book， My God！ Such an effing rollercoaster read！It's usually not an easy task to break my reading slumps。 But this one not only made me break away from the slump but also made sure I experienced all kinds of high and rush while reading it。 That too with a lot of ease （to say the least）。 Not an easy task I must say！ 。。。more

Sharanya ，

Interesting stories。 Weird writing。

Shashwat ，

Wonderfully written， and fascinating stories。 A slice of Mumbai I had never heard of before

Nandhini ，

I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Radhika Apte ， Rajkumar Rao and Kalki Kochelin。 This book is about 13 women who played major roles in the Mumbai Underworld Scene and who were put in this situation not by choice but by Men but these women chose to make the best of it by rising to power and how！ Its an interesting read as its True story based on case documents and media reports。 I was surprised to find bollywood names and cricketers in this 。 My favorite stories were 1。 Th I listened to the audio version of this book narrated by Radhika Apte ， Rajkumar Rao and Kalki Kochelin。 This book is about 13 women who played major roles in the Mumbai Underworld Scene and who were put in this situation not by choice but by Men but these women chose to make the best of it by rising to power and how！ Its an interesting read as its True story based on case documents and media reports。 I was surprised to find bollywood names and cricketers in this 。 My favorite stories were 1。 The Matriarch of Kamatipura2。 The Narco Empress3。The Willy Old WomenPS: The audio version has sound effects and even a rap song :） 。。。more

Rosemary ，

If you are on a day off， and just want to pick up some light-hearted， entertaining crime -themed non-fiction， then Mr。Zaidi's writing won't disappoint you。 But， if you are really looking for a thoroughly detailed autobiography， or an authentic academic analysis of Mumbai's underworld and their Mafia Queens， then skip this one。The introduction says "We have taken literacy license only in those places where we feel it is absolutely necessary to add graphic drama to the story。" Well， guess what， th If you are on a day off， and just want to pick up some light-hearted， entertaining crime -themed non-fiction， then Mr。Zaidi's writing won't disappoint you。 But， if you are really looking for a thoroughly detailed autobiography， or an authentic academic analysis of Mumbai's underworld and their Mafia Queens， then skip this one。The introduction says "We have taken literacy license only in those places where we feel it is absolutely necessary to add graphic drama to the story。" Well， guess what， the whole book feels like a "graphic drama" for me。 I am not interested in picturing Red District's virgin deflower ritual， or Mumbai Don's unrequited love。 I understand there were obstacles gaining information before writing the book; it is dangerous and people in the underworld won't trust you enough to tell。 But I still feel like the team behind the book has not done enough research for this supposedly promising topic。 I'd rather see they focus just one woman's life， particular exactly how she manages to expand her crime syndicate， rather than an anthology of thirteen women's story。 Hell， one of them technically isn't even a Mafia Queen！ The whole book is like reading a checklist of what they have done， but we as readers like to know "Why" and "How"！ You can't explain these in just three chapters！ 。。。more

Lavannya Menon ，

Admittedly i read this only after the movie， Gangubai Kathiawadi。 But damn， these women and their guts， at a time when women were belittled a little more than we are today。 P。S。 Not condoning their approach， but definitely worth knowing about。

Graceson ，

Interesting stories written in very interesting style！ I came to know about this book from the story of Gangubai Kathiawadi- recent film。 As written by Vishal Bharadwaj in the forward of this book， reading this book is like watching a bollywood film。

japnik ，

Remarkable stories。 Good mix of mumbai underworld history and entertainment。

Thuhufa ，

This was a very informative book， but a poorly written one。 I wish the writer had made some kind of analysis or thought more deeply about the people he was writing about to find common threads， social and political factors that were overarching， and talked about it in more detail。 Instead this seemed like a report of the peoples lives just a recollection or compilation of interviews。 The content itself was very interesting， with one of the most interesting aspects being the “underworld” connecti This was a very informative book， but a poorly written one。 I wish the writer had made some kind of analysis or thought more deeply about the people he was writing about to find common threads， social and political factors that were overarching， and talked about it in more detail。 Instead this seemed like a report of the peoples lives just a recollection or compilation of interviews。 The content itself was very interesting， with one of the most interesting aspects being the “underworld” connections to Bollywood and the role of religion among it all。 。。。more

Sushmita Kumar ，

I’m amazed by the women in this book。 Yes， they’re gangsters， but ten times smarter than their male counterparts - mainly because of the oppressive circumstances they grew up in。 A common theme I noticed amongst the women is that they were forced into terrible situations they had to get out of， which led them to this life of crime。 My favorite chapters are the stories of Sapna Didi and Jenabai。 I was also shocked by the lawlessness and crime in Mumbai during the 80s and 90s。 Will definitely read I’m amazed by the women in this book。 Yes， they’re gangsters， but ten times smarter than their male counterparts - mainly because of the oppressive circumstances they grew up in。 A common theme I noticed amongst the women is that they were forced into terrible situations they had to get out of， which led them to this life of crime。 My favorite chapters are the stories of Sapna Didi and Jenabai。 I was also shocked by the lawlessness and crime in Mumbai during the 80s and 90s。 Will definitely read more books by this author！ 。。。more

Mugdha ，

3。5 *

Jemin Ojha ，

This book is truth off kamathipura

sal ，

It was educational but the writing lacked any finesse。

Jeyanth ，

Reality is stranger than fiction。 This book describes about 13 women who were in or were a part of the Mumbai Underworld over the past 5 decades。 This was a compelling read but I was not able to read all of it in one go。 Can recommend this if you are interested in true crime related non-fiction。

Uttara Srinivasan ，

I picked this book up to read the source material of Gangubai Kathiawadi’s story that is now being widely screen across cinemas in India starring an established actor and made by a celebrated director。 The story itself is hardly 30 pages but fairly well written and impactful （sold into prostitution by her husband， a woman who becomes the “leader of Kamathipura” and even manages a meeting with Pt。 Nehru）And so are the stories of the other four key women that Mr。 Zaidi writes about。 We meet-tJenab I picked this book up to read the source material of Gangubai Kathiawadi’s story that is now being widely screen across cinemas in India starring an established actor and made by a celebrated director。 The story itself is hardly 30 pages but fairly well written and impactful （sold into prostitution by her husband， a woman who becomes the “leader of Kamathipura” and even manages a meeting with Pt。 Nehru）And so are the stories of the other four key women that Mr。 Zaidi writes about。 We meet-tJenabai the unknown adviser to the masters of the time （Haji M`astan， Vardharajan Mudaliar， Karim Lala） all of whom are well covered in media and popular culture-tSapna-Didi alias Ashraf， the woman who has vowed vengeance on Dawood Ibrahim himself and makes the journey from wronged widow to -tMahalakshmi Papamani – the elusive drug dealing mystery woman who stumps the author too with a tale and theatrics-tMonica Bedi – who I must admit I had forgotten about till I started reading and it all came screaming back to me， an actor will A-list movies even if not enough acting chops who was in fact Abu Salem’s girlfriend （wife？）-tAnd the wives of dons who held fort as their husbands walked in and out of prison， molls who stepped into important roles for their mafia bosses while appearing to be nothing more than dangerous liasons and finally a cricket betting bar dancer with big name connections and a small town girl turned big town mafia boss with independent operationsThere is something quite liberating about this book。 These may be stories of criminals but the stories of these women behind these crimes who lived on the other side of the law deserve to be told as much as we tell the stories about the men who need no introduction anymore given how integrated they are in Mumbai and therefore India’s history 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Mafia Queens Of Mumbai: Stories Of Women From The Ganglands

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Mafia Queens Of Mumbai: Stories Of Women From The Ganglands&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Mafia Queens Of Mumbai: Stories Of Women From The Ganglands&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0