Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! (2013) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Khan wants to eliminate Rawal because Rawal is a rival who challenges Khan's supremacy in Mumbai. After Khan spent twelve years building his empire across Mumbai and the Middle East, Rawal emerges as a threat to his control. Khan views any challenger as dangerous to his reign, so he dispatches Aslam and Jimmy to carry out the hit.

Foreshadowing: Khan's ruthless ascent began in 1975 when he eliminated his own mentor after being publicly humiliated, establishing his method of removing anyone who stands in his way.

• rawal
• khan
• rival
• Mumbai
• power struggle

Khan becomes obsessed with Jasmine because she represents something different from the power and violence that define his life. Unlike everyone else who either fears or serves him, Jasmine remains unmoved by his wealth and status. She tells him directly that she loves neither his money nor his power, which frustrates and intrigues him. This rejection triggers Khan's need to control what he cannot have.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that Khan uses charm alongside fear to get what he wants, and Jasmine's resistance becomes a challenge to his usual methods.

• jasmine
• khan
• obsession
• love triangle
• rejection

Khan manipulates the situation after Rawal arrives at Jasmine's house and shoots her. While Rawal believes he's pursuing his own agenda, Khan uses the chaos to set a trap. He obtains the addresses of Rawal's conspirators and positions a sniper to wait. When Rawal approaches these addresses, Khan's sniper kills him. The entire operation is calculated to appear as if Rawal walked into danger on his own.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Khan demonstrates his strategic thinking by dispatching Aslam and Jimmy for the initial hit, showing he operates through intermediaries to maintain distance from direct violence.

• rawal
• trap
• sniper
• khan
• killing
• ambush

Khan orders Aslam's death after learning that Aslam has romantic feelings for Jasmine. During the celebration of Rawal's killing, Dedh Tang confesses Aslam's feelings for Jasmine, which enrages Khan. Since Khan views Jasmine as his and perceives this as a betrayal by someone he trusted, he sends Akbar to kill Aslam. The discovery that someone close to him desires what Khan considers his rightful prize triggers his violent response.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes establish Khan's possessiveness - he gives Jasmine a 24-hour deadline to accept him, showing he cannot tolerate rejection or sharing.

• aslam
• khan
• akbar
• death order
• jealousy
• loyalty

Jasmine rejects Khan because she is not motivated by wealth or power. She makes clear to Khan that she loves neither his money nor his status. Jasmine sees Khan as a powerful man but not as a lover. Her ambition is separate from material desire, and she values authenticity over transactional relationships. This rejection is why Khan gives her the 24-hour deadline - he cannot comprehend being refused.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that Jasmine is a rising star with her own ambitions, suggesting she is driven by goals beyond material security.

• jasmine
• khan
• rejection
• gifts
• motivation

Khan pauses when Jasmine calls him evil because for the first time, someone speaks an undeniable truth about his nature. Throughout the film, Khan justifies his violence as necessary for survival and power. When Jasmine, someone he desired deeply, looks at him with tears and declares he is truly evil, the words cut through his self-deception. This moment of clarity causes him to drop his weapon, realizing his pursuit of power has cost him everything human.

Foreshadowing: Khan's backstory shows he began his descent after public humiliation, suggesting deep insecurity beneath his ruthless exterior.

• khan
• jasmine
• evil
• conscience
• realization
• climax

The unsent letter symbolizes Khan's ultimate loss - not just of power, but of the ability to connect genuinely with another person. He has spent the film using force and wealth to control others, yet the one thing he truly wanted - Jasmine's genuine love - remained forever beyond his reach. The letter, written in Urdu, represents the vulnerable, human side Khan suppressed to become a don, showing that even after losing everything, he still cannot express his true feelings.

Foreshadowing: Khan's love for Jasmine is established as genuine but expressed through coercion rather than vulnerability, foreshadowing his ultimate inability to truly connect.

• khan
• letter
• ending
• symbol
• lost love
• urdu

Aslam kills Akbar in self-defense after Akbar is sent by Khan to murder him. Following Dedh Tang's death for helping Aslam and Jasmine escape, Khan views Aslam as a traitor who must be eliminated. Akbar arrives to complete this order, but Aslam fights back and kills him with a shovel. The act represents Aslam's transformation from a loyal protégé to someone forced to defend his life against his former mentor.

Foreshadowing: Aslam has demonstrated loyalty throughout the film, even staging the biker gang clash to help Khan evade police, making Khan's order to kill him a profound betrayal.

• aslam
• akbar
• khan
• kill
• self defense
• betrayal

The police craft a plan to draw Khan out of hiding by using Jimmy, who has been arrested but remains loyal and refuses to cooperate. They stage events to make Khan believe his operation is compromised, creating pressure that forces him to move. Aslam also plays a role by staging a clash between rival biker gangs to misdirect police attention. Eventually, the police close in on Dongri where Khan makes his final stand, shooting Inspector Sawant before being overpowered.

Foreshadowing: The film establishes early that Khan has evaded capture for twelve years through careful planning and trusted allies, making his eventual downfall a result of mounting pressure from multiple directions.

• police
• khan
• capture
• manhunt
• jimmy
• aslam

Khan killed his former mentor after suffering a public humiliation. The brutal act of revenge served as the defining moment that established Khan's ruthless reputation. After eliminating his mentor, a formal power handover occurred in 1975, marking the beginning of Khan's reign as Mumbai's dominant don. This backstory explains Khan's philosophy that anyone who threatens or embarrasses him must be destroyed.

Foreshadowing: This origin story establishes the pattern Khan follows throughout the film - any perceived challenge or betrayal warrants extreme violence.

• khan
• mentor
• killed
• 1975
• origin
• humiliation

Jimmy kills Mona, Rawal's girlfriend, accidentally during the mission to eliminate Rawal. The hit was supposed to target only Rawal, but Jimmy's actions cause the operation to spiral out of control. This murder forces Jimmy to flee and eventually leads to his arrest. The unintended killing creates complications in Khan's plans and contributes to the chain of events that eventually expose his operations.

Foreshadowing: Jimmy's loyalty to Khan is established early, but this moment shows how his eagerness can create problems for the organization.

• jimmy
• mona
• rawal
• killing
• hit
• accident

Both Khan and Aslam are drawn to Jasmine, but neither knows of the other's feelings initially. Khan, the powerful don, pursues her with wealth and pressure, buying her a home and demanding she accept him within 24 hours. Aslam, the quiet and loyal protégé, harbors his own feelings but remains silent due to his position and loyalty to Khan. The tension peaks when a late-night rendezvous reveals both men share a forbidden bond with Jasmine, yet their lives remain divided by loyalty and fear.

Foreshadowing: Early scenes show Jasmine making clear she sees Khan as powerful but not as a lover, while Aslam's quiet devotion hints at deeper feelings.

• jasmine
• khan
• aslam
• love triangle
• relationship
• dynamics