Rani Mukherjee & Vishal Bhardwaj at Mafia Queens

Rani Mukherjee & Vishal Bhardwaj at the boom launch of Mafia Queens of Mumbai

Television industry producer Ekta Kapoor and actress Rani Mukherjee launched the book while Filmmaker Vishal Bharadwaj interacted with author and crime journalist Hussain Zaidi.

Smuggling, gun-running, drugs, terrorism — for many decades, Mumbai has lived under the shadow of the underworld. Dawood Ibrahim, Karim Lala, Varadarajan Mudaliar: these are names that any Indian would recognize. Analyzed in print, immortalized 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 alongside, sometimes leading and manipulating men in the underworld to run their own illegal businesses. Here, for the first time, crime journalists 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 legends 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.

About The Author
S. Hussain Zaidi is considered one of the leading crime journalists in the country. He is the author of the bestselling Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts and is currently the resident editor of The Asian Age, Mumbai. Jane Borges too is a journalist with The Asian Age, Mumbai.

Rani once said she doesn't like reading books...anyway, that's not the point. For a moment, I thought she was signing a film with Vishal named Mafia Queen and I got very excited. 😆