Dawood's Mentor

by S. Hussain Zaidi

Tired of being bullied, a scrawny, impoverished Dawood Ibrahim is looking for a saviour, Khalid Khan Bachcha, who would teach him the ropes of handling a bunch of hooligans. Instead, what he gets is a mentor who eventually transforms him into a cunning mafia boss. In Dawood's Mentor, Dawood meets Khalid and they eventually forge an unlikely friendship. Together they defeat, crush and neutralize every mafia gang in Mumbai. Khalid lays the foundation for the D-Gang as Dawood goes on to establish a crime syndicate like no other and becomes India's most wanted criminal.

Genres: Crime, Nonfiction, True Crime, India

300 pages, Paperback

First published April 5, 2019

About the author

S. Hussain Zaidi is a prominent Indian author, journalist, and screenwriter celebrated for his invaluable contributions to the world of crime reporting, investigative journalism, and storytelling. Born on February 28, 1962, in Mumbai, India, Zaidi has left an indelible mark on the literary and cinematic landscapes of India, particularly in the realm of crime and the Mumbai underworld.

S. Hussain Zaidi embarked on his career as a crime reporter, where he honed his skills in uncovering hidden truths and delving into the intricacies of organized crime in Mumbai. His early experiences as a journalist provided him with a deep understanding of the criminal world and its dynamics.

Over the years, Zaidi transitioned from journalism to writing and screenwriting, bringing his unparalleled insights and storytelling prowess to a wider audience. His unique ability to humanize the characters in his narratives, whether they are criminals or law enforcement officers, sets his work apart.

"Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts" - Zaidi's book "Black Friday" is a compelling account of the 1993 Bombay bombings. It presents a factual and thorough examination of the events leading up to the blasts and their aftermath.

"Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia" - This critically acclaimed book stands as one of Zaidi's most notable works. It meticulously traces the evolution of organized crime in Mumbai over six decades. The book offers a comprehensive and gripping account of the city's criminal history.

"Mafia Queens of Mumbai: Stories of Women from the Ganglands" - In this compelling book, Zaidi sheds light on the powerful and enigmatic women who played significant roles in Mumbai's underworld. He tells their stories with empathy and detail, providing a fresh perspective on the world of crime.

S. Hussain Zaidi's influential literary works have transcended the confines of the written word and made a powerful impact on the silver screen. Some noteworthy adaptations of his books include:

"Black Friday" (2007) - Directed by Anurag Kashyap.
"Shootout at Wadala" (2013) - Directed by Sanjay Gupta.
"Class of '83" (2020) - Directed by Atul Sabharwal.
"Gangubai Kathiawadi" (2022) - Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, among many others.

In addition to his contributions to the film industry, S. Hussain Zaidi has harnessed his creative prowess in the realm of film and web series production. His noteworthy productions encompass projects like "Bard of Blood" and "Scoop" on Netflix, as well as the recent addition "Bambai Meri Jaan," available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

S. Hussain Zaidi has played a pivotal role in nurturing emerging literary talents within the authorship realm. Notably, individuals such as Bilal Siddique, Neeraj Kumar (Commissioner of Delhi Police), Kashif Mashaikh, and many more have found their path to success as authors under his guidance. This mentoring initiative is facilitated through "Blue Salt Media," an imprint in collaboration with Penguin India.

S. Hussain Zaidi's work, both in literature and cinema, continues to captivate audiences with its gritty realism, engaging storytelling, and insights into the complex world of crime and law enforcement in India. His contributions have not only enriched the true crime genre but have also served as a source of inspiration for aspiring writers, journalists, and filmmakers.

Reviews

[Shazia Noor · Rating 4 out of 5]

❞The first principle he learnt was: 'Contacts Get You Contracts’. He also developed other axioms by combining English and Arabic, such as, ‘Risk Mein Rizq Hai’, meaning when you take risks, you enhance your sustenance.❞

“Dawood’s Mentor” contrasting my usual reads, astonishingly captivated me throughout the book.

From the very beginning, even the acknowledgments part grabs your interest and indulge you along.

S. Hussain Zaidi is an Indian crime writer and former investigative journalist. You might have seen/read his notable works that is Dongri to Dubai, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, Black Friday etc. There has been a few adaptations that I didn’t know about earlier. Like “Shootout at Wadala”, “Phantom”, “Dongri to Dubai”.

And.

“Gangubai Kathiawadi”. From where my obsession started. I LOVED Gangubai and got to know afterwards that it was based on Zaidi’s book. IDK why Zaidi’s name instantly caught my attention and pulled me in to grab one of his books and read.

[And it happens to be a coincidence or what idk. But. One fine day, my boss was discussing Dawood in the office and told me about Zaidi’s books and that he owns one. He was too cool to lend it to me and I’m grateful for it.]

I have a lot to say about the author and his other books but let’s keep this one about “Dawood’s Mentor” only. Just know that I’ve developed a great interest in this whole Dawood thing and the author, of course.

Now, coming back to this book!
It revolves around the mentor-protégé relationship where Khalid is the mentor and Dawood is protégé. From Dawood’s schooling to him leaving the country, it has everything. How he used to smuggle and a lot of things. There are many other names mentioned from underworld.

This book is an eye inside the mafia world. I loved reading about Khalid and Dawood’s first meeting. At times, it made me feel like I’m watching 80’s or 90’s action movie. But it is all true. All of those things have actually happened and that’s what stimulated my interest more. Abusive language has been used bluntly at many parts.

It can be read in one or two sittings easily. I’m looking forward to read more books by this author now. And the first one would be ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai’ surely!

❞As the saying goes in the Mumbai mafia, ‘Beimani ke saare dhande imaandaari se hote hain(All dishonest businesses are executed with the utmost honesty)’.❞

[Pooja Anand · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Dawood’s Mentor’, the latest book by the writer tries to claim that whatever and where ever Dawood is today, he owes most of it to his teacher, Khalid Khan. A name, a tale, a person quite unknown to general public till now.

The book accounts how Dawood meets Khalid and becomes awestruck of Khalid’s fighting technique and how they eventually forge an unlikely friendship. It describes how Khalid’s tackling different situations lays the foundation for the D-Gang as Dawood goes on to establish a crime syndicate and becomes India’s most wanted criminal.

Tired of being bullied, a scrawny, impoverished Dawood was looking for a savior when Khalid taught him the ropes of handling a bunch of hooligans. Dawood once saved Khalid from a police case and since that day Khalid became indebted to Dawood. A mentor-mentee relationship was forged with Dawood getting a mentor who eventually transformed him into a cunning mafia boss.
It is a story of Khalid, an educated Pathan from Bhopal who came to Mumbai for a short trip before he applied for a job in the Police force, however, he ended up joining the smuggling business and leading it as the first Indian smuggler to smuggle gold and precious metals like diamonds. The book along with reciting Khalid’s tale, gives its reader glimpses of Khalid’s family history, skirmishes between different gangs in 1960s to 1970s, and the war between Dawood and the Pathan gang. The book nicely throws light on how an economics graduate becomes Mumbai’s ganglord Bashu Dada’s man Friday, his success in smuggling, meeting with Dawood, break-up with Bashu, and joining hands with Dawood and ultimately leading to Khalid's leaving Dawood on good note and henceforth. It is interspersed with present-day author’s meetings with Khalid.

The engaging nature of the narrative is interesting starting from the first chapter that mentions the attack on Dawood by Pathan gang’s Amirzada and Alamzeb to introducing the Pathan in Dawood’s life, the narrative is fascinating. Each chapter is an eye-opener with an introduction to new characters, game-changing scenarios, Khalid’s thought process leading to his success, hits and misses and his principles.

However, unlike the previous books by the author where the narration has been explosive and full of action, this book appears to be tamer. It appears the author is more cautious in writing about the characters and their deeds as they affect directly the author’s and his associates’ lives. Through the narratives of Sanjay Gupta and threats he received, the logic behind timid narration becomes understandable.

All in all, another masterpiece on Mumbai underworld, narration and flow are excellent. However, I would have liked more details about the mentor (Khalid) than the mentee (Dawood). The book ends up being another description of Dawood’s life and people who played an important part in his life, rather than a full-fledged story of Khalid.

[Yash Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

S. Hussain Zaidi's book, Dawood's Mentor, The Man Who Made India's Biggest Don, is the interesting story of Khalid Khan Pacha, aka Khaild Khan 'Pehlewan', who was not only the mentor of Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar but the one who played a crucial role in the rise of the latter in the underworld. The usp of this book is that the author himself went to Dubai to meet Khalid Khan to listen to his side of the tale before telling it to the larger audience. Do read this book if you are interested in reading about the Mumbai mafia and their mind-boggling stories.

[Ishwinder Sialy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book accounts how Dawood meets Khalid and becomes awestruck of Khalid's battling strategy and how they ultimately fashion an impossible companionship. It portrays how Khalid's handling of various circumstances establishes the framework for the D-Gang as Dawood proceeds to set up a criminal organization and turns into India's most needed crook.
Be that as it may, dissimilar to the past books by the writer where the portrayal has been unstable and loaded with activity, this book seems, by all accounts, to be tamer. It seems the writer is more mindful recorded as a hard copy about the characters and their deeds as they influence straightforwardly the writer's and his partners' lives. Through the stories of Sanjay Gupta and the dangers he got, the rationale behind meek portrayal becomes reasonable.
Worn out on being harassed, a skinny, devastated Dawood was searching for a rescuer when Khalid showed him the ropes of taking care of a lot of criminals. Dawood once saved Khalid from a police case and since that day Khalid became obligated to Dawood. A tutor mentee relationship was manufactured with Dawood getting a guide who ultimately changed him into a guile mafia chief.
Every part is a stunner with a prologue to new characters, game-evolving situations, Khalid's manner of thinking prompting his prosperity, hits and misses and his standards.

[Sagar Chamoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars


Summary
The book chronicles how Dawood meets Khalid and they eventually forge an unlikely friendship. From the first time Dawood saw Khalid, he idiolized him and the latter helped him in smuggling business along with introducing contacts in Dubai and Pakistan. Together they defeat and neutralise every mafia gang in Mumbai including Haji Mastan, Pathan Gang and Bashu Dada. Khalid lays the foundation for the D-Gang as Dawood goes on to establish a crime syndicate and become India's most wanted criminal.

Conclusion
We all are aware about Dawood, but this book is about the person who he owned his power & life to aka Khalid Khan. Just like Dongri To Dubai : Six Decades of The Mumbai Mafia & Black Friday: The True Story Of The Bombay Bomb Blasts in this book as well S. Hussain Zaidi has done a thorough research and in spite of being a non fiction the book holds it grip till the very end and is an absolute delight to read.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

#Binge Reviewing my previous Reads # True Crime #Indian Underworld and Terrorism

If *Dongri to Dubai* was the legend of Dawood Ibrahim’s rise and *My Name is Abu Salem* the melancholic endnote of an empire, then *Dawood’s Mentor* is S. Hussain Zaidi’s act of excavation — digging into the forgotten roots of that empire, into the figure who first lit the match that would set Mumbai’s underworld ablaze.

This book is Zaidi’s tribute to the man who shaped a monster, the prototype before the prototype — the one who taught Dawood how power works, how fear is currency, and how the streets can be conquered not just with violence but with vision.

Where Zaidi’s earlier works focused on the glittering infamy of the dons themselves, *Dawood’s Mentor* pulls back the curtain on **Kaskar Ibrahim**, Dawood’s father, and the men who schooled him in the underworld code — Haji Mastan, Karim Lala, and the lost generation of smugglers and dockyard syndicates who defined the Bombay of the 1960s and ’70s. It’s a fascinating, almost nostalgic journey — the prequel to the mayhem we’ve already read about.

Moreover, in true Zaidi style, the book hums with street rhythm, brimming with cigarette smoke, betrayal, and that slow, dangerous charm of crime before it became corporatized.

Zaidi’s title is perfectly chosen. “Mentor” here does not just mean teacher; it’s a loaded word. It carries a sense of shaping, of influence, but also of unintended consequence. The mentor in this case becomes the maker of a myth — and perhaps its first victim. The book moves through that liminal space where moral lines blur, where decency collides with ambition, and where a father’s lessons in survival become a son’s doctrine of domination.

In *Dawood’s Mentor*, Zaidi once again proves why he’s not just the chronicler of Mumbai’s crime syndicates but their moral archaeologist. He doesn’t merely list events — he interprets them. He shows how Dawood’s cunning, his business-like approach to crime, and his strange charisma were not spontaneous eruptions of evil but inherited behaviours, refined and weaponized over time. Through conversations, police archives, and old newspaper accounts, Zaidi reconstructs how Bombay’s docks, with their black markets and bribes, became the training ground for a new kind of criminal — one fluent in both the slang of the street and the language of money.

The real triumph of this book lies in its emotional undercurrent. Zaidi could have easily written this as a straight procedural — another dossier of organized crime. But instead, he gives it a beating heart. The relationship between Dawood and his father Ibrahim Kaskar, a disciplined constable who found himself battling the very forces he helped create, becomes the moral axis of the narrative. You can feel Zaidi’s quiet empathy as he sketches the old man — proud, poor, conflicted — trying to raise his sons with values he himself can no longer believe in.

There’s a deep, almost Greek tragedy vibe here: the father as moral order, the son as rebellion incarnate.

Comparatively, *Dawood’s Mentor* feels leaner, more psychologically intense than *Dongri to Dubai*. While the latter was panoramic — a saga of Bombay itself — *Mentor* is introspective, drilling into the moral and emotional architecture behind the legend. It’s Zaidi writing like a novelist, not just a journalist. He lingers on glances, silences, small betrayals — the spaces between events where people lose themselves to their own choices.

What Zaidi captures beautifully is that shift in *values* — the generational turn from men like Haji Mastan, who sought power wrapped in dignity and codes of loyalty, to Dawood Ibrahim, who turned those codes into commodities. The book’s tone reflects that transition: smoky, melancholic, half-elegy, half-confession. You can feel that Zaidi, who’s been chronicling this world for decades, is both fascinated and haunted by it. He knows that in writing about these men, he’s also writing about the city that made them — about Mumbai’s perpetual dance between glamour and grime.

One of the most poignant threads in *Dawood’s Mentor* is the idea of **moral inversion**. Dawood’s “mentors” — Mastan, Lala, Gawli, Kaskar — believed in rules, in some twisted sense of honour among thieves.

However, Dawood, their brightest student, learned the wrong lessons too well. He realized that in a corrupt ecosystem, morality was a liability. He cut his ties, internationalized his operations, and reduced crime to a business spreadsheet. Zaidi does not excuse him, but he does make us understand the inevitability of that transformation. Dawood was the product of an era that prized cunning over conscience.

When you stack this book against *Byculla to Bangkok* and *My Name is Abu Salem*, it functions like the missing prologue. *Byculla* showed the fallouts — the splintered gangs and the loss of control. *Abu Salem* chronicled the lonely exile of a man who believed he could inherit the empire. *Dawood’s Mentor* rewinds the reel — asking how the empire came to be in the first place, and what kind of soil it grew from. The three together form a dark genealogy of crime: father, son, and disciple— power, corruption, collapse.

Zaidi’s language, as always, walks that perfect tightrope between reportage and literature. He writes with precision, yet there’s a strange beauty to his sentences — a lyricism born of long familiarity with darkness. He does not dramatize violence; he isolates it, lets it echo. The result is a narrative that feels lived, haunted, and undeniably human.

You can see his evolution as a writer here too. *Dongri to Dubai* was energetic, bold, and bursting with information. *Byculla to Bangkok* was brooding, fragmented, almost weary. *Dawood’s Mentor* is elegiac — slower, reflective, soaked in moral fatigue. It’s not just a book about crime; it’s a book about memory and consequence.

There’s also a strong undertone of journalistic nostalgia running through the text. Zaidi, after all, belongs to a generation of crime reporters who knew these men — who shared tea with their henchmen, visited their crime scenes, sat in police stations for hours to extract a single quote. *Dawood’s Mentor* feels like his way of paying tribute to that bygone era — when information travelled by whispers, when fear had a human face, and when the underworld still felt like part of the city’s pulse rather than a shadowy offshore abstraction.

But perhaps the most striking thing about the book is how it reframes Dawood himself. Zaidi doesn’t give us the don in his prime — the global fugitive, the terror financier. Instead, he gives us the boy. The one who watched, learned, rebelled.

The one who inherited both discipline and defiance. In that sense, *Dawood’s Mentor* is less about the making of a gangster and more about the making of an identity. Dawood’s journey is not just criminal — it’s existential. It’s the story of a man who spent his life outrunning his father’s shadow and ended up becoming its darkest extension.

Zaidi, in his later works like *Dangerous Minds* and *Headley and I*, continues to probe this psychology — how ordinary men cross the line from legality to transgression, often believing they’re doing something necessary, even noble. *Dawood’s Mentor* sits squarely at the root of that inquiry. It’s the origin myth of Indian organized crime, told with the restraint of a historian and the empathy of a storyteller.

By the time you finish it, you realize it’s not just about Dawood’s tutor but about the moral fabric of a nation — how systems of corruption breed talent, how poverty moulds ambition, and how entire generations learn to survive by bending the law until it breaks. The tragedy of *Dawood’s Mentor* isn’t just that a man like Dawood was born — it’s that a city, a police system, and a government all helped him thrive.

And this is where Zaidi stands apart from most crime chroniclers. He’s not chasing shock value; he’s holding up a mirror. Every time he writes another chapter in this sprawling underworld chronicle, he’s forcing us to confront our own complicity. Because Mumbai’s gang wars weren’t fought in isolation — they were enabled by votes, by silence, by fascination. We watched these men rise, turned them into legends, and then pretended horror when the bullets came home.

In the comparative lens, *Dawood’s Mentor* acts as both prequel and epilogue — a circle closing around the myth. *Dongri to Dubai* was about rise and empire; *Byculla to Bangkok* about dispersion and decline; *My Name is Abu Salem* about delusion and downfall. *Dawood’s Mentor* is about *origin and inheritance*. It is Zaidi returning to the source — not to glorify, but to understand how evil, like talent, is sometimes taught.

In the end, the book lingers less as a dossier and more as a lament. You can sense Zaidi’s exhaustion, his quiet grief for the city he’s chronicled all his life. He’s watched its underbelly mutate — from gangs to syndicates to networks, from blood to data. And yet, as *Dawood’s Mentor* reminds us, the heart of it all hasn’t changed. The same hunger beats beneath every don’s story: the need to matter, to be seen, to rise above invisibility.

So when Zaidi writes of the young Dawood watching his father enforce discipline in the lanes of Dongri, you almost feel the shadow of destiny tightening. The mentor never knew he was teaching a legend. The legend never knew he was writing a tragedy. And Zaidi — part reporter, part poet — remains the last man still telling their stories with both awe and warning.

*Dawood’s Mentor*, then, isn’t just another true crime chronicle. It’s the story of inheritance — of how corruption, like power, passes from hand to hand, from street to street, from generation to generation.

It’s Zaidi’s way of saying that the real crime was never just smuggling or murder; it was the quiet normalization of both. And in telling that truth, he cements his place not just as Mumbai’s crime historian, but as its reluctant conscience — forever wandering between the law and the legend.

Give it a go.

[Geeta Ramani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawood's Mentor by S Hussain Zaidi.

For Indians today, Dawood is a national enemy, a man larger than life. But the Don of the underworld too had a mentor - Khalid Pehelwan. Everyone wished for an 'honest' deputy like Khalid, who could take their business to the next level. This is the story of the enigmatic Khaled and how together they created the 'Don' of the underworld.

Zaidi writes in a smooth fast flowing style, his English flavoured with the vernacular and this adds to the beauty of the book. He writes with authority, of the Bombay of those days, its sordid lanes and by lanes. After a time, the antics of these smugglers fails to impress and one is left wondering whether there was ever any law and order in Bombay or whether anyone else apart from gangsters and criminals lived in Bombay! It is a disheartening story of how crime was allowed to fester in the financial capital of India, with the participation of both the police and politicians.

Strangely smugglers and gangsters followed one cardinal rule -
“As the saying goes in the Mumbai mafia, Beimani ke saare dhande imaandaari se hote hain - All dishonest businesses are executed with the utmost honesty. "

[Snehal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gr8

Highly Engaging ! Hussain sahab is getting better with his every book. Finished the book in 2 days. Hoof !!!

[Varun Bajpai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another master piece from S.hussain zaidi. The different aspect of mumbai underworld and smuggling era. Throughly enjoyed

[Bhavi Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel every country has that one major criminal, one big don, who has committed brutal sins and has yet been romanticized on the screen so much that their criminal acts are almost forgotten and they even gain a fan following sometimes. One such man would be Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar. One of the most wanted men in India. As someone who has a keen interest in understanding psychology, especially criminal psychology, its a question that always plagues me as to how a man becomes a hardened criminal. Dawood, as many would know, has been wanted for many criminal activities in the country, including the infamous 1993 bomb blasts in Mumbai. But what made this son of a very respected and honest police officer such a big mafia don? Who inducted him into this world and who mentored him through? Are such criminals born or are they made? Was there ever a point of return for Dawood before he went past it and crossed onto the point of no return? What were the events that triggered Dawood to enter this underworld? Would things have been different if these events had not happened or would have happened at some other time or had turned out differently? What was the impact the rival gangs had on Dawood? Was his mentor keeping him grounded or was he the reason for his crossing over to the other side?
These and many more such questions are answered in this book. S Hussain Zaidi is one of my all-time favorite authors, and he is undoubtedly the best criminal investigative journalist India has. His writing style is brilliant and lucid, he builds the narrative smoothly to keep you engaged. I have read many of his previous books - Dongri to Dubai, Byculla to Bangkok, Mafia queens, etc. and each one is amazing, as is this book. Zaidi’s writing, as always, is visual and will paint a picture of every scene in front of your eyes. If you know a bit about Mumbai, that will add to your experience of reading this book. If you don’t, I would strongly recommend googling up the places this book talks about, just a basic few, and look up their images. It would give you a better experience reading this book.
The book explores the story of Dawood’s mentor - Khalid Pehelwan. The book is Khalid’s story, but it is also Dawood’s story because these two stories are inseparable from one another. Ideally, it would be better to read Dongri to Dubai before reading this book, but that is not mandatory, read it even as a standalone book. This is not a sequel, but Dongri to Dubai gives you the facts and information that could help you understand Dawood’s Mentor better, however, as I said, this is not mandatory.
Overall, as always, well-written, kudos to the author for the brilliant investigation and awesome instincts.

[Team KBHR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading books... Just got a copy of this book from Amazon. I have been reading all Mr. Zaidi's books and I am sure that even this will be one of his fine works. One thing i have been noticing ever since i have started reading his books, right from Black Friday till The Eleventh Hour each book have been better than the previous one. Although I am not a crime lover i have never been. But co incidentally I got a hold of his Black Friday, one of my friend gifted it to me. Earlier it was just lying on my shelf untouched and once I ran out of my stock of books and started turning this books pages to have a look and to my surprise i already finished reading it. Since then I have been fan of all his books.

[Sushma Shenoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An underworld Don is always romanticized by many. And to know his story is definitely an engaging read. The language used to narrate the incidents was absolutely brilliant. Amazing work which am sure will be made into a Bollywood flick pretty soon. I mean what's not to like about the thrilling engagement of the greatest Don the Indian soil has ever witnessed. The icing on the cake for this story remains the importance of Dawood's mentor Khalid, in his making.

[AB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hussain Zaidi is known for his compelling narratives in the crime genre. "Dawood's Mentor" is anything like his previous works, you can expect a gripping and well-researched account of the underworld. Zaidi often provides insightful perspectives on the characters and events he covers. If you enjoy true crime and a nuanced exploration of criminal networks, this book is likely to be a worthwhile read.

[Srinivas Veeraraghavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zaidi is always eminently readable but this is not his best work. The fascination with Dawood has begun to wear a bit thin now. Nevertheless, this was another meticulously researched, well written book.

[Uzma Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read of the formative events that led to the subsequent channels in the Mumbai mafia circle. The narration could be better in some places but the overall concepts and the authenticity of the facts is commendable.

[Draksha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawood's mentor a fresh take on presenting the wise mind behind the crime that makes commoners to think about their safety. It's a book that grants insights about the mentor that taught and protected the biggest don of India, Dawood Ibrahim. A thrilling read.

[Rohit Saksena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently written as usual from Mr Zaidi.
I am a big fan of his writing.
Very well laid out and kept the reader completely engaged.

[Girish Querido II · Rating 4 out of 5]

A potential script for another Bollywood commercial potboiler. Yet another fine work from Hussain Zaidi Saahab that calls for an engaging read. Thumbs up 👍

[Emaan Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book..i am big fan of Dawood ibrahim from Pakistan.My name is Emaan and i want to meet him once in life..i love his personality...

[Vikas · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable albeit tepid read

[Amit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read dongri to dubai.. Now I am very much excited to read this book...

[Abbas Ali Mirza · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best book by S Hussain Zaidi. Apart from the excellent storytelling and narrative, the concept of the book is also too good.

[Arjit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zaidi wrote it all and so simply , no jargons ,no fancy language . Simple and crisp.

[pallav mishra · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book- very easy and racy reading for a non-fiction. But it leaves many questions unanswered- how come folks like Dawood and Khalid stayed away from drugs?

[Gaurav Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing book about an unsung underworld personality who shaped Dawood Ibrahim's smuggling business and persona, through his personality traits of making contacts and sharp business mind. An authentic account of story since Mr. Hussain Zaidi written after meeting and interviewing Khalid Khan in Dubai and got to know about many facts which were unknown untill then.

Book is a story of Khalid Pehelwan about how he, started as Pehelwan in Bhopal and Harda came joined Underworld with Bashu dada and later joined Dawood's gang helping him grew smuggling business and saving his life many times from attacks from rival Pathan gang.

No other crime reporter or author has written extensively about Khalid Pehelwan, so this is a very interesting and must read book to somebody who has interests in knowing about Mumbai underworld and its unknown stories.

[Raza · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a recap of Mumbai mafia from early 70s to early 90s. It focuses on Dalwood and his mentor, khalid. Khalid, educated and a wrestler got involved with a mumbai Don cum silver smuggler. Blinded by power and riches he made his boss bashu, extremely rich by smuggling gold from dubai from the Iranian Arab dubai based GAladari brothers. Then he moved to diamond smuggling. Bashu got jealous and cut him from the gang. But then indias emergency put a lot of these smugglers , including haji mastan and karim lala along either bashu, in jail. When they arrived Dalwood had setup his own gang and was robbing and threatening these old weak mafia bosses.
With no one to challenge him, dawood setup his own gang and brought khalid as his 2nd in command. Khalid brought his smuggling contacts with him and dawood started getting mega rich. Khalid brought vision , scale of ops, smuggling knowhow, physical training and discipline into dawood life.
Pathans , jealous of dawood rising power, struck at him and killed his brother. Dawood hit back and killed a bunch of pathans and wiped out their leaders. Khalid was with dawood during these war years. Eventually khalid got weary of dawood cutting khalid galadari contact and replacing them with pakistani smugglers. Dawood was also trying to become his own man and get out of khalid shadow. Khalid was also hurt by dawood lack of any strong character and morals and his incessant will to dominate others using money or threats. For dawood it was simple ,: you are weak if you are not strong.
Khalid and dawood split ways in late 80s and khalid left smuggling around 1992.

Today dawood and khalid still remain in touch and are amicable. But both are a shadow of their previous power and wealth in 70s and 80s.

[Razeen Muhammed rafi]

ബോംബെ അധോലോക കഥകൾ സിനിമയെ വെല്ലുന്ന രീതിയിൽ വായനക്കാരിൽ എത്തിക്കുന്നതിൽ തഴക്കം ഉള്ള എഴുത്തുകാരൻ ആണ് Hussein Zaidi.
അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ പല കൃതികളും ഒരു ത്രില്ലർ നോവൽ വായിക്കുന്ന രീതിയിൽ വായിച്ചു തീർക്കാൻ സാധിക്കും.
Dawood's mentor എന്ന ഈ കൃതി ദാവൂദ് ഇബ്രാഹിമിന്റെ ഉറ്റ സുഹൃത്തും, മർഗ്ഗദർശിയും ആയി കരുതിപ്പെടുന്ന ഖാലിദ് ഫയൽവാനിന്റെ ജീവിതം ആണ്.
ബോംബെ അധോലോകത്തിലെ കഥകൾ ഒരു സിനിമ കഥ പോലെ Hussein Zaidi ഈ പുസ്തകത്തിലൂടെ അവതരിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. ഒരു സാധരണ പോലീസ് constable ആയ ഇബ്രാഹിം kaskarude മകൻ ആയി പിറന്നു ഇന്ന് ലോകത്തിലെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ പിടികിട്ട പുള്ളി ആയി മാറിയ ദാവൂദിന്റെ ചരിത്രം കൂടി ഖാലിദ് ഫയൽവനിന്റെ കഥയോടൊപ്പം ഗ്രന്ധകാരൻ എഴുതുന്നു.

[Faizan Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The gunman had only one chance. If the bullet missed the target, the man at the other end would certainly gift him a not-so-exquisite death."
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𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 🔻
Dawood's Mentor - by S. Hussain Zaidi.
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The cover of the book is simple and decent, though it could be attractive and eye catchy. But overall it is good enough as the book is written by my Favourite crime Author - Hussain Zaidi sir. The length of the book is about 241 pages which one can easily finish it in a couple of days.
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The book is the pack of 26 chapter which are brilliantly written by Hussain sir. The plot of the book is about Dawood's Mentor (Khalid) and their friendship, by which they together defeated every Mafia gang in Mumbai. Khalid is the most trusted and supportive person in Dawood's life. He lays the foundation for the D-Gang as Dawood goes on to establish a crime syndicate like no other and becomes India's most wanted.
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The book is amazingly written with every possible details including more than dozens of photographs of Dawood and his family. The writing style of book is decent and so are the well developed presentation of the characters in every chapter. I very much enjoyed reading it and i believe you will too if you're going to pick and read it.
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𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅? Yeah definitely recommended to thriller or Crime lovers (readers), everyone who is reading this review and especially to those who is interested in crime fiction writing.
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𝑴𝒚 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 - 5/5 🌟

[Anil Dhingra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zaidi is resourceful and gifted crime author. Here again he comes up with an interesting book about the man Khalid, a wrestler from MP, winner of national title at Delhi but finally a ganglord in Mumbai.
This was the mentor of Dawood who nurtured him before he became the head of the D gang. Throughout his life he looked after and protected Dawood.
Currently a 70 years old residents of Dubai the man was always cautious and never had criminal cases against him.
Through the lives of the characters the author gives insight into how crime in Mumbai, India and the middle East grew between 1960s and 1990.
The only thing is that this genre may not appeal to some people like a few women.
For me Zaidi is always a treat and I pre-ordered the book over a month in advance.

[Vivek · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Hussain Zaidi and he has settled into this genre really well which is evident with the comfortable flow this book had, based on the upcoming wrestler from MP who goes on to mentor Dawood Kaskar. You know this has been reviewed by Khalid Pehelwan himself in the manner in which he is painted all through. Whilst Hussain does a great job at mixing historical facts, corollaries with seemingly first person accounts which is informative and fast paced keeping you engaged, you do feel there is a partisan perspective been shown to the audience. Overall a fun engaging read which throws some light on the prequel to the rise of Dawood as a young boy finds a role model who goes on to be his mentor, partner and life saviour.