Varadarajan Mudaliar
| Varadarajan Mudaliar | |
|---|---|
| 200px Varda bhai |
|
| Born | 1st March 1926 Tamil Nadu |
| Died | Madras 1988 |
| Occupation | Smuggler |
Varadarajan Muniswami Mudaliar, also known as Vardhabhai (1926–1988) was a Tamil from Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu, who rose to be a mafia don in Mumbai, India. Most active in the 1970s, he was the link in the underworld history between old time mafia men such as Haji Mastan.
Varadarajan started as a porter in Mumbai's Victoria Terminus Station in the 1960s. His emergence in the underworld was largely through bootlegging and matka operations. Later, he diversified into contract killings, smuggling and dock thefts. He ruled the underworld well in to the 1980s. In the 1980s, he almost ran a parallel judiciary system, dispensing justice within his community. Varadarajan Mudaliar came into light after the reign of Karim Lala. At that time, Karim Lala, Varadarajan and Haji Mastan were the trio that ruled the Mumbai underworld.
Varadarajan was very active in the Matunga and Dharavi areas of Mumbai. He organized the annual Ganesha festival in Matunga. However, after the collapse of the cotton mills in Mumbai in the mid 1980s, their relevance ended.
In the mid 1980s, police officer Y C Pawar targeted Varadarajan. By the end of the 1980s, most of Varadarajan's gang members had been imprisoned or eliminated by Pawar, and Varadarajan himself had to flee to Chennai. Varadarajan died in Chennai in 1988, aged 62. In 1987, the Tamil film maker Mani Ratnam made his film Nayakan, loosely based on Varadarajan's life. Actor Kamal Hassan played the lead role. The Hindi movie Dayavan, produced and directed by Feroz Khan (released : 21 October 1988) was based loosely on the life of Vardarajan.
It is said that these three had good standings with their communities and looked after their interests.
[edit] In popular culture
In 1987, the Tamil film maker Mani Ratnam made his film Nayagan (meaning Leader), loosely based on Varadarajan's life. Actor Kamal Hassan played the lead role.
The Hindi movie Dayavan, starring Vinod Khanna (1988) was a Hindi adaptation of Nayagan
In a television interview, Amitabh Bachchan is reported to have modeled his dialogues in the movie Agneepath, based on Vardarajan Mudaliar.[1]
