Who Was Real Life ‘Sapna Didi’? She Inspired Triptii Dimri’s Role In O’Romeo, Wanted To Kill Dawood

After Haider and Kaminey, Shahid Kapoor again joined hands with Vishal Bhardwaj in the movie, O’Romeo. The movie was released on February 13, 2026, and as of now, the movie, which was made reportedly on a budget of Rs. 125 crore, made Rs. 8-9 crore on the opening day, as reported.

To mention O’Romeo got a good response from the audience, and Shahid Kapoor and Triptii, who were the leads of the movie, have been receiving praises for their masterclass acting skills in the movie. The movie was said to be inspired by Hussain Zaidi’s book ‘Mafia Queens of Mumbai‘. So, while the movie is running in the theatres, let’s know everything about the inspiration behind Triptii’s character, ‘Afshan’, whose real name is ‘Sapna Didi’ aka ‘Ashraf Khan’.

Who was ‘Sapna Didi’, inspiration for Triptii Dimri in the movie, O’Romeo?

Triptii Dimri’s role in O’Romeo is said to be inspired by Mumbai’s fearless gangster, Sapna Didi, whose real name was ‘Ashraf Khan’. If the reports are to be believed, ‘Ashraf’ had the ‘sapna’ (dream) to kill Dawood Ibrahim, which led her to adopt the same name. She reportedly once said:

“It is my dream to kill Dawood. It is the only thing I think about night and day. It’s my sapna. I think I’ll call myself Sapna, dream and Sapna, after all, is a name acceptable to both Hindus and Muslims.”

To mention, it was Ashraf’s husband, Mehmood Khan, who was killed by Dawood Ibrahim’s team, as reportedly he refused to take part in any of the illegal activities of the former. It was Ashraf who then decided to take revenge on her husband’s murderer, which led her to be associated with Hussain Ustara, who inspired Shahid Kapoor’s role in the movie.

How did Sapna Didi avenge her husband, Mehmood Khan’s death, being associated with Hussain Ustara?

Ashraf got to know that just like her, Hussain also wanted to kill Dawood Ibrahim, and thus, she joined hands with him. Hussain Ustara, on the other hand, started helping her, while teaching her how to ride a bike, and do martial arts. If a report by the Indian Express is to be believed, Ashraf used to come to Hussain’s house to take lessons, and in the process, he reportedly fell in love with her.

Ashraf, who took the name of Sapna, was yet to know about Hussain’s profession. Back then, Hussain worked as a gangster and as an informant for the cops, as reported. Ashraf, on the other hand, was gathering support from local dons, and got to know about the fact that to harm Dawood, she needed to harm his business. Sapna started following the same route, by collecting details of bars and gambling dens in the city and providing them to the crime branches.

Ashraf and Hussain reportedly moved to Nepal with the same mission about harming Dawood’s business, when they had a filmy encounter with goons, and they ended up sharing their feelings for each other. However, an Indian Express report revealed that Sapna and Hussain parted ways at a later time. If the report is to be believed, Sapna was once being followed by goons, and by then she was scared for her life. Reportedly, she reached Hussain’s home, and was vulnerable.

How was Sapna Didi killed?

Sapna Didi’s wish was to kill Dawood Ibrahim. However, although she planned a whole lot of plans to kill him, she couldn’t be successful. If the reports are to be believed, Sapna plotted that she would kill Dawood during an India-Pakistan match in Sharjah. Reportedly, in 1994, Sapna was brutally killed by Dawood Ibrahim’s henchmen. As per News24’s report, she was attacked 22 times at her home, and it was so intense that her neighbours refused to open even their windows and doors to help her.

Triptii Dimri’s role as ‘Afshan’

Triptii Dimri did an amazing role in her portrayal as ‘Sapna Didi’ in the movie, O’Romeo. Talking about the same, she, in one of her IG posts, revealed that ‘Afshan’ isn’t just a character, but the actress felt that Sapna had fire and fragility in the same breath, who felt deeply, loved fiercely and fought with everything she had. The role challenged the actress, and as per her, it demanded honesty from her and pushed her beyond her comfort zone, which makes her feel grateful. If the reports are to be believed, she was paid Rs. 6 crore for her role in the movie.

What do you think about Triptii’s role as ‘Afshan’, inspired by Sapna Didi?

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