Is Shahid Kapoor's O'Romeo based on Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi?
- Elizabeth Sanate
- Jan 18
- 3 min read
Vishal Bharadwaj's O’Romeo has announced itself loud and proud with a teaser released on Jan 10, 2026. From the first glimpse of Shahid Kapoor walking into the frame in a leather jacket, you know this isn’t a character you’ll forget easily. And somewhere between his wild love, his unchecked anger, and his almost painful sincerity, a thought sneaks in: this doesn’t feel random.
Was O’Romeo imagined in a writer’s room?
Or was he shaped by stories Mumbai already knows, stories whispered about the underworld, names like Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi that still carry a weighty resonance when spoken aloud?
If this question ever crossed your mind while watching the film, you’re already part of this conversation.
O’Romeo and the kind of chaos that seems personal
Here’s something interesting: O'Romeo doesn’t behave like movie gangsters usually do.
He doesn’t feel powerful. He feels fragile. His anger comes fast, but so does his love. One moment, he’s terrifying, the next, he’s heartbreakingly earnest. Haven’t we all known someone like that? Someone ruled by emotion rather than logic?
That’s where Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespearean touch becomes impossible to miss. O’Romeo is a Romeo born into guns, slang, and street violence instead of balconies and moonlight.
But ask yourself this: If he’s meant to be a literary figure, why does he feel so grounded in reality? Why does his chaos feel exaggerated yet familiar?
Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi: Are these the ghosts haunting O’Romeo?
The trailer for O’Romeo ends, the screen goes dark, and one thought refuses to leave.
Have we met these people before?
Shahid Kapoor’s character is called Ustara. Not similar. Not close. The same word. Add an underworld setting, a promise of “true events,” and a love story that feels more like a warning than romance, and suddenly, viewers start thinking of Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi.
These were real names once. Real lives. Real fear. Hussain Ustara, a volatile figure from Mumbai’s crime history, was known for violence that felt personal rather than professional. Sapna Didi, played by Tripti Dimri, is a woman whose story was shaped by loss and revenge, moving through dangerous spaces quietly and patiently.
The makers haven’t confirmed it. But cinema doesn’t need to say things out loud for audiences to feel the echoes. Sometimes a name, a silence, or a look is enough to trigger memory.
Is O’Romeo about them?
Or is it borrowing the shadows they left behind?
Right now, all anyone has are clues and unease.
Familiar faces, unclear intentions, and too many secrets
Then there are the others. They might be the most unsettling part.
Nana Patekar’s presence in the trailer is brief, but heavy. The kind of authority that doesn’t shout it just exists. Viewers are already guessing what kind of power he holds, because characters like that usually don’t sit quietly unless they own the room. Still, no names are given. No confirmations. Just a feeling that this person controls more than we’re being shown.
As for the rest of the cast, Vikrant Massey, Tamannaah Bhatia, Disha Patani, Avinash Tiwary, and Farida Jalal, they appear like fragments. A look here. A tense exchange there. Enough to suggest relationships, betrayals, and histories, but not enough to explain them.
Are they allies? Victims? Triggers for what’s to come?
Right now, the trailer keeps them deliberately incomplete. And maybe that’s the point. In stories like this, the most dangerous people are often the ones you don’t fully understand.
So, what do you think about O'Romeo?
For now, O’Romeo is a puzzle with just enough pieces missing to keep people guessing.
The trailer has opened the door to comparisons, theories, and uneasy déjà vu, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Are the similarities intentional? Are we seeing real history dressed up as fiction? Or are audiences simply connecting dots that feel familiar?
Until the film releases, all that exists are questions and that strange feeling that the story might be closer to reality than it first appears.
And that’s exactly why everyone’s watching.
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