A sequel to 2010's Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, the film stars Akshay Kumar, Imran Khan and Sonakshi Sinha, with Sonali Bendre in a special appearance.

The film's title is an intentional misspelling of "Once upon a time in Mumbai Dobaara", done in accordance with Ekta's belief in numerology and astrology.

Footage was shot on the beach in Qantab, Qurum, and at the Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat.

His only friends are Javed (who oversees his illegal work), his former love Mumtaz, and Aslam, a teenager Khan met during a visit to the slums in which he grew up.

Khan, infuriated, diverts the car to the hospital to confront Aslam, who has continued to stay with Jasmine as she recovers from being shot by Rawal.

Their conversation is interrupted by a car's horn honking – running outside, Aslam is ambushed by Akbar after discovering the body of Dedh Tang, who has been killed by Shoaib for aiding the couple in their escape.

Khan responds by telling Aslam that sending Akbar was a mistake, as he must be the one to kill the man he views as also having betrayed him by "stealing" Jasmine.

In the last scene, a bullet-ridden, dejected Khan reads a letter in Urdu he was unable to give Jasmine in the cargo hold of a ship leaving the city forever.

Tanuj Garg, CEO of Balaji Motion Pictures, announced on Twitter that principal photography began on 27 August 2012 in Mumbai.

[9][non-primary source needed] Female lead Sonakshi Sinha joined the cast and crew two days later after completing her previous film, Son of Sardaar, with Ajay Devgn.

Portions of the film were shot on a beach in Qantab, on the corniche in Qurum, and at the Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa in Muscat.

[18][19] The film's visual effects (VFX) were by Reliance MediaWorks, which also produced computer-generated imagery (CGI) for Balaji Motion Pictures and Luthria for its prequel, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010).

[21] Scenes in the Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium in the United Arab Emirates were recreated three-dimensionally with polygonal modelling in Autodesk Maya instead of the live-action plates used for shots in Muscat.

[22] Outdoor shots in Mumbai (such as Colaba Causeway and Ballard Pier) were replaced by interior and exterior live-action plates from Oman.

In the last scene where Khan is lying wounded in the cargo hold of a ship, the camera zooms out to reveal the word Mumbai.

Kumar's entrance on the show was supposed to be accompanied by music after a scene from the prequel (choreographed by director Milan Luthria), followed by an action sequence.

[44] To promote the film, Kumar flew from New York (where he was on holiday with his family) to Birmingham to watch the India-Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy match on 15 June 2013 at Edgbaston Cricket Ground.

[47] Producer Ekta Kapoor promoted the film's second trailer on 5 July 2013, buying prime-time (8 to 11 pm) slots on four television channels.

[50][51][52][53] Kumar, Sinha, Khan, Kapoor and most of the other cast and crew visited the Dargah Sharif (a shrine to the Sufi saint Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer) on Monday morning, 5 August, to pray for the film's success and the well-being of all involved.

[55] Akshay Kumar said of Pacino's response: "A touch of appreciation is always held dearly in an actor's arms, even if it's from the simplest of people like our beloved spot boys.

[58][59] It was promoted at the unveiling of a line of LED televisions by manufacturer Arise India with appearances by Kumar, Sinha, Khan and Kapoor.

[62][63] In an effort to discourage cinema audience from using Mobile phones at theatres with the help of a short-film featuring Kumar in his character, Shoaib Khan from the film.

The latter also recreated the song "Tayyab Ali" which is originally composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and written by Anand Bakshi, from the 1977 film Amar Akbar Anthony.

"[86] She praised Milan Luthria for capturing the essence of the film's setting and Kumar's portrayal of Shoaib Khan: "Bhai act with flamboyance and mojo ...

"[86] Vinayak Chakrovorty gave the film two-and-a-half out of five stars in India Today: "OUATIMD should remind Bollywood what we all always knew: Never make a sequel just for the heck of it if you don't have a genuine idea to entertain".

[87] Subhash K. Jha termed the film as "one of the most ill-timed gangster dramas" criticising the acting of all the three leads, praising only the short cameo of Sonali Bendre.

He criticised the naivety of the three leads: Kumar for his "in-your-face flamboyance", Khan for playing an "urban rich kid slumming it out at a dress-up party"[90] and both for "rat-a-tat punch lines",[90] but praised Sonali Bendre's cameo as Mumtaz.

[92] Luthria and Kapoor have "repeatedly drilled home the notion that Shoaib Khan could be any gangster and not necessarily Dawood"[92] a position that Kumar has also stated.

opened well, with sold-out showings (particularly in Delhi, Mumbai, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Hyderabad) due to its release on Independence Day eve.

[65] After the film's mainly negative reviews Akshay Kumar lashed out at critics, accusing them of lacking an understanding of the audience and the basic ideas of filmmaking.