Here's All You Need To Know About 'Real Life Raees', Abdul Latif

Here's All You Need To Know About 'Real Life Raees', Abdul Latif

What is the connection between Shah Rukh Khan's 'Raees' and 80s dreaded gangster Abdul Latif? Well, hold your breath because it is his story. Yes, the much controversial movie 'Raees' is the life story of an infamous bootlegger, Latif.

Who was Abdul Latif ?

Abdul Latif Abdul Wahab Shaikh was one of the most dreaded personalities in Gujarat in the 1980s. He was also allegedly on good terms with Underworld King, Dawood Ibrahim. He was based out of Ahmadabad and had solid political connections.
Abdul Latif was born to a tobacco seller, Abdul Wahab Sheikh. They lived in a very impoverished state and brought up Latif and six other children in a cramped space of a hut.
He had seen hardships during his childhood days and wished no more to be in the same condition. When Latif was in his 20s he started off as a small-time bootlegger; he use to wait on tables in gambling dens and started serving liquor as a teenager. In his initial days, he worked with a bootlegger named Allah Rakha, who also was an owner of a gambling den. Later, he joined Mansoor Ali who was Allah Rakha’s rival and he was also given monthly salary. However, the team did not stay for long as Abdul Latif was accused of theft and their relation turned sour.

He had gained much experience by this time and he turned a Bootlegger himself monopolising the business of illegal liquor in Gujarat. That was merely a beginning of a man who was soon to be a dreaded name in the world of gambling, crime and terrorism. He made sure he was well connected to the politicians and the police system to its roots to have his way in the state.
He extended his wings not just in Gujarat, but also in Daman, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
As he rose to fame in the world that was all darkness and crime, he got deeply involved in kidnapping, gambling, extorting money from builders and businessmen, and contract killing; there was definitely no coming back for him.

It is shocking how he became Dawood Ibrahim’s close contact. It was once that he got involved in a gang war against the underworld king; he sensed that Abdul Latif was a force to reckon with and he befriended Latif, later they became a close associate to each other which also led to Latif being one of the prime suspects involved in the 1993 Bombay bomb blasts.Abdul Latif was the most wanted, involved in numerous cases of murder, kidnapping and bootlegging, was said to be a part of Dawood Ibrahim gang too. He was arrested in 1995 and was housed in Sabarmati Jail on a pending trial. He met with a tragic end, any gangster alike – he was encountered whilst he tried to escape the Sabarmati Jail in the year 1997.

Connection with movie 'Raees'

It was last year in a local court of Gujarat that Latif's son, Mushtaq Ahmad had filed a petition against Shah Rukh Khan, for defaming his late father. He also sought an injunction against the release of the film. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan was issued a notice regarding the same.

The later half of the movie shows Latif's life in a very defamatory light and is damaging to the family's reputation, as per the suit and demands INR 101 Crores in damages. 

However, Shah Rukh Khan rubbished any such claims and maintained that 'Raees' was a pure work of fiction.

The 51-year old actor, along with the makers and producer Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar along with director Rahul Dholakia denied the movie having any resemblance to the gangsters life. 

"In view of certain media reports that claim that the film 'Raees' is based on a real-life story and rumours to that effect being circulated, we take this opportunity to clarify that the Story of the film 'Raees' is a pure work of fiction, Not based on any person; living or dead.

"All those making such claims will realise it themselves, once they see the film. It is an imagined crime thriller set against the backdrop of Gujarat," the makers said in a statement.