Shootout at Wadala

After watching this latest film from Sanjay Gupta, who already has more than 4 inspired gangster movies to his name as a director, I was honestly thinking that what could be the reason behind attempting such a clichéd, all seen before kind of film by him, at such a scale. Because even when there have been a number of films already made on the same subject in the past, the team feels no harm in trying it once again, taking WE the viewers as granted following the good old typical routine act of our Hindi film industry as usual.

Now though the narration of SAW begins with a promise of being different, showcasing some calm well directed scenes featuring John Abraham as a sincere student. The film simply moves on to a completely familiar path with nothing new to share with its audience as soon as the transformation of a common man into an underworld don is there. The technically sound director in Sanjay Gupta keeps surfacing repeatedly with promising scenes ensuring that something terrific is coming up soon. Yet that doesn't happen at all till the predictable climax of this 150 minutes long film and all those interesting build-ups truly fall flat without anything substantially novel happening on the screen.

Partly based on the book "Dongri To Dubai" by Hussain Zaidi, its once again all about the rise of gangster groups and their clashes with the police in Bombay during the 70s and 80s. But haven't we seen this all in many earlier films made by Ram Gopal Verma, Milan Luthria, Apoorva Lakhia and many others? And haven't we already made too many projects on this subject in the past decade or more?

Certainly the makers don't think so as they constantly go on making films on similar subjects only which sometimes makes me feel that, Isn't this glorifying the crime on screen in a certain way? And Isn't this encouraging the 'picking up a gun culture' in a subtle manner in the questionable social structure around us in the present times?

Because while watching it as a common man, frankly its very easy to get pumped up seeing the hero picking up a gun and shooting the other, in a well shot slow motion sequence along with some high voltage background score running at the back. And this point gets proved perfectly when Mahesh Manjrekar clearly says in one of his dialogue in the film that, "Yaar Yeh Amitabh Bachhan Ne To Sabki Baja Ke Rakh Di Hai".

Now he actually says so because that was the time (in the mid 70s) when Amitabh's angry young man image was being formed with energetic films such as ZANJEER, DEEWAR, SHOLAY, TRISHUL, ADALAT & more. And ironically in the film, an Ambulance is also used by the policemen to arrest the powerful gangster, just like Amitabh uses it in TRISHUL.

Anyway that subject has always been a debatable one since ages, so coming back to SHOOTOUT AT WADALA, it does give you some lively sequences to feel the magic of cinema. Such as the first murder committed with John's assistance, his brother being killed in the jail, Manoj Bajpayi & Sonu Sood's fantastic entry, Anil Kapoor & his team arresting the big goon in his own local area and Anil's conversation with Jackie Shroff towards the end. However all these good scenes fail to lift up the movie from an average platform due to its continuous monotonous tone which even tends to go boring after the interval.

Further as its seems, the makers truly knew that they were not having anything fresh in their script so maybe that's the reason of including not 1 or 2 but 3 item songs in it featuring, Sunny Leone, Priyanka Chopra and Sophie. And it really feels awkward writing Priyanka's names along with the other two. Moreover, I also felt that Sunny Leone was fast becoming the new age 'Huma Khan' of the film industry with all her item songs deliberately added to show her physical assets only. However this isn't all what is thrown in to woo the audience, as SAW also has many abusive dialogues spoken by the entire cast and then a steamy bedroom scene too of John & Kangna who is there just to fulfill the female requirements of a gangster film.

In the musical department, SAW has a forgettable soundtrack but a great background score which supports all its action sequences brilliantly. The flashback point doesn't really gel well but the film has been edited skillfully which always have been a merit of a Sanjay Gupta film in the past.

So then for what SHOOTOUT AT WADALA can be seen once? It can be seen if you are interested in watching the fairly realistic account of those decades in Bombay when the underworld was cropping up. And it can be seen if you really are a big fan of all those actions sequences being shown with a slow motion editing & pumping background score on the screen.

Plus it can be seen only because of John Abraham and Anil Kapoor together since they both have given their best to the film unarguably. Particularly its one of the career best performances of John whereas Anil once again makes you look at him with both surprise and praises together. Supporting them Manoj Bajpayi is in a class of his own,Sonu Sood surely takes a step further in his career and Tushar Kapoor tries hard to deliver the light moments in an otherwise tense script. The rest of the cast acts perfectly fine but its only the 'all seen before' and clichéd content of the movie which turns it into a mere average one in the end. Hence you can easily make a choice if that interests you.

Shootout At Lokhandwala (SAL) was so genuine in both the plot & its character portrayal that it has a cult following. I could say the same for Shootout At Wadala (SAW) had it been short, non-monotonous & authentic.

First of all, the makers made a mistake in adapting an already published work. Unlike Hollywood, it hardly works in Bollywood. Secondly, too many characters played spoilsport with the marvelously carved screenplay. Character depth is very shallow, running time is too long, plus the story is clichéd. And to fill the gaps, they include not 1, not 2 but 3 item numbers to the audience's horror. With a faux pas in non-linear narration, SAW ends without making mark its predecessor was successful in.

Abraham is great, Kangana is straight outta her "Gangster" role (plus her accent spoils everything), Manoj Bajpai is terrific, Sonu Sood was sleeping all over the movie while Anil Kapoor is only a man of his words, with certain supporting cast fooling around. Jackie Shroff was wasted. Tusshar is better than he was in SAL.

Music is good but repetitive, editing is very well done, cinematography is good & the total feel is in parallel to the genre it is based on. But, since the foundation is rickety with same old story (nice guys-bad guys), SAW doesn't live up to the expectations. The negations are high, especially the lack of clever censorship & punchy dialogues.

BOTTOM LINE: SAW is a strict crime movie probably worth a watch which depends on personal interests. Some may like it, some may not.

MESSAGE: The illusion that gangsters are born mischievous is wrong.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO

Profanity: Critical | Sex: Strong | Nudity: Mild | Violence: Infinity | Gore: Very Critical | Alcohol: Strong | Smoking: Mild | Drugs: No | Vulgarity: Strong

The screen writing is watertight. Although it takes time to settle down, the solid writing in the second hour keeps you on the edge. In fact, the turn of events in the second half takes the film to its zenith. A large chunk of SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is devoted to high-voltage action sequences. Unlike some recent films, the action here is raw and real, reminiscent of the films of the 1980s. On the whole, SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is a fire-brand, paisa vasool entertainer. Brutal and electrifying, it is one of those theatre-going experiences that has a plot, is packaged well and has content drama, action, dialogue, songs, performances that works big time with the avid moviegoer. Sanjay Gupta delivers a solid punch!

SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is a crime/thriller directed by Sanjay Gupta, and starring John Abraham, Tusshar Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpayee & Kangana Ranaut.

The film revolves around the life of Manohar Surve (John Abraham), who was a simple boy, interested in a good education. His brother gets into a fight with a crime lord, and due to his girlfriend's incessant begging, he helps his brother out. However, he didn't do anything although his brother killed him. The police come and take Manohar to prison for life under Section 302, even though he begs them to let him go because he didn't do anything. In prison, he befriends Sheikh Munir (Tusshar Kapoor), where they plan their escape which proves later to be successful, turning Manohar Surve to Manya Surve, on an ambition to become the don of Mumbai. The rest of the film involves Manya, involving himself with crime lords like Dilawar and Zubair Imtiaz Haskar (Sonu Sood and Manoj Bajpayee) as well as ACP Afaaque Bhaagran (Anil Kapoor), an honest cop trying to put an end to all of the crime in Mumbai.

Okay, so when I saw the trailer to Shootout at Wadala, I totally wanted to see it. So I booked my ticket for a late night show recently when it came out. The movie was given a strict A rating which I expected. So when the movie started it was pretty normal, but then the gore started. There's stabbing...shooting...killing. It's all pretty much that. And I was alright for it for a while, but then it got a little disturbing. Like, shoving a guy's head into a gola machine. However there are just two scenes like that in the film. This movie is a gang movie, we are supposed to expect that, and well that's the reality, since this movie is based on the real life of Manya Surve, with a few people's names changed like Dilawar Imitiaz Haskar, who was actually Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar in real life. The movie is a little bit disturbing at times but its not a bad film to watch. I feel Sanjay Gupta has directed it EXTREMELY well, considering he managed to make us all see that this is the reality of the case. But even if we cut out the gore, the one thing that also bothered me was the item numbers. Take for example, 'Laila'. Sunny Leone is a pornstar in real life, and they needed a prostitute for the film. They really didn't need to take her. She was extremely unneeded, and her dance moves were extremely vulgar, which really annoying me. The one with Priyanka Chopra, 'Babli Badmaash' was extremely good. It wasn't vulgar, and it was a normal item song, which I appreciated after watching Sunny Leone dance around in her fashion.

The acting is EXTREMELY good, considering its start cast. John Abraham actually did really well as Manya Surve. He always has to scream but at times I really felt he was really Manya and I don't think I am going to see him in Desi Boyz the same way next time. He did his role fantastically as a man who was so innocent and how a simple underestimation turned him the wrong way. Anil Kapoor did well as usual. His role as ACP Afaaque Bhaagran was quite a serious one- an honest cop. So in my eyes, he did it well. Manoj Bajpayee and Sonu Sood, always a pleasure. And Tusshar Kapoor actually did well in this one. Kangana Ranaut was pretty unused in this film, however whenever she was on screen, she did her role well.

On whole, this movie is a treat. If you want to know the whole story of Manya Surve and the first Mumbai Police encounter, see it. But do not see it if you are feint-hearted- its got a lot of gore, honestly. The movie's not as grand as SHOOTOUT AT LOKHANDWALA, which has no relation to this one, but its an alright time if you are watching this movie for the facts. Don't see it for entertainment, because halfway through the film, you may feel disgusted.

So, I'm just going to give this movie a 6/10. It didn't live up to the hype, COMPLETELY, but it did give me some of what I wanted.

Make way for "Bombay ka naya baap, MANYA SURVEEE!"

The prequel to the smash hit, Shootout At Lokhandwala, is based on Hussain S. Zaidi's bestselling investigative book – Dongri to Dubai. Adapting a non-fiction book into a film requires special skills because of the need to sieve all the facts presented in the book into the film's narrative and all this while, keeping the film entertaining! This is exactly the reason I was intrigued to watch this film and to see what Sanjay Gupta had done with the subject material. Story: The story is centered around the first Hindu gangster of Mumbai, Manya Surve (John Abraham) and his meteoric rice and his subsequent fall. Tusshar 'the-producer's-brother' Kapoor is Manya's confidante in this journey. Siddhant Kapoor (Shakti Kapoor's son) makes his debut playing a member of Manya's gang and is called Gyanchod! Every gang has an enemy gang. The opponents here are Zubair (Manoj Bajpai) and Dilawar (Sonu Sood). The cops are also a part of the story. Afaque (Anil Kapoor) and his team members do everything they can to tackle crime in the city. And oh, Manya also has a love interest (Kangna Ranaut).Direction and Miscellaneous: Delving into a subject as serious as this and not messing it up must have been the ultimate challenge for Sanjay Gupta. And to a very large extent, he doesn't mess it up. He keeps the proceedings flow freely. The film doesn't sway from its path and is thoroughly enjoyable thanks to the way Gupta deals with the subject. But why 3 item songs, Mr. Gupta? The cinematography by Sameer Arya is one of the high points of the film. Sanjay Gupta has always been known to make stylish film and here again, Shootout at Wadala looks and feels stylish, thanks to Sameer's deft camera-work. What works as a deterrent for the film is its corny dialogues (by Milap Zaveri). The dialogues are stereotypical and there's an astonishingly large smattering of abuses just for the shock value. Being a period film, the production design and costume design is spot on keeping in mind the commercial aspects. Music and Background Score: The item song featuring Babli Badmaash, featuring Priyanka Chopra is a disappointing set-piece with a forgettable tune. Sophie's song doesn't stay with you for too long, either. Laila, starring Sunny Leone is the most fun of all the songs and Sunny looks sizzling in this one. The background score is strictly average. Acting: Yes, as was expected, SAW is John Abraham's best ever performance. And no, it is still not good enough. John gives it his best but the others in this film overshadow him fair and square. Anil Kapoor hams it up like only he can and that's not a bad thing at all! The best act of this film is reserved for Manoj Bajpai who shines as the cunny Zubair. Sonu Sood also makes a huge impression as Dilawar (the role is based on Dawood Ibrahim, of all people). This film could have been made without Tusshar Kapoor and that wouldn't hurt the film at all. Ronit Roy, Mahesh Manjrekar, Siddhant Kapoor do well in their parts. Kangna Ranaut is hardly there in this brawn fest and she does alright. Conclusion and Box Office Potential: If you keep your expectations in check and wish to be entertained, then you will be entertained. If you are put off by abusive dialogues, bad acting and sleazy item songs, then stay far away. This film plays to the masses with cheezy dialogues, quarter dozen item songs and a lot (A LOT!) of action. Barring any major mishappenings, Shootout At Wadala will be a good money churner for Ekta Kapoor. Positives: Stylish treatment and cinematography The entertaining plot The action set-pieces Manoj Bajpai and Sonu Sood The period sets done right Laila Negatives: Cheezy dialogues filled with abuses Poor acting by the main protagonist Babli Badmaash