Review: Shootout at Lokhandwala

Shootout at Lokhandwala

Directed by: Apoorva Lakhiya

*ing: Sanjay Dutt
Vivek Oberoi (he has returned to his old spelling from Viveik)
Suneil Shetty
Arbaaz Khan
Tushhar Kapoor
Shabbir Ahluwalia
Etc etc etc

Rating: [5/10]

Ex-Justice Dhingra (Amitabh Bachchan) whimpers and barks as ACP A. A. Khan (Sanjay Dutt) and his colleagues [Sunil Shetty as Kaviraj Patil; Arbaaz Khan as Javed Shaikh] from ATS (Anti Terrorist Squad) sit before him and relive the complete 6-hour shootout at Lokhandwala and the events that led to it.

Claiming to be based on "true rumours" and very close to the actual 90's shootout, the film is as close to reality as India is to Uzbekistan. It is commercial, stylish, heroic and entertaining that life isn't!

The movie starts off with the dreadful scenes of the shootout venue being cleaned and washed off the blood and brains that are spilled all over the place, by Khan and his comrades.

According to the "true rumours" doing the rounds, the film is not only the shootout but it actually builds up to the coveted shootout which is only the final and the most rocking 30 minutes of the film.

Maya Dolas (Vivek Oberoi) and his gang [Shabbir Ahluwalia as RC; Rohit Roy as Fatim (Fatoo); Aditya Lakhia as Doubling] operating under BHAI from Dubai join hands with the dreaded shooter Bhuwa (Tushhar Kapoor) to spread terror in the then west-Bombay. Scenes like Maya's entry where he emerges from the auto-rickshaw, dancing slowly and ends up killing a target in the noisy procession give you a hard-core adrenaline pump! Also when Maya and his buddies barge in to Dagdi Chawl and kill Gawli's men is jaw dropping and gruesome. Apart from a couple of well choreographed action scenes, the sense of styling, a couple great performances and the climatic shootout, the film actually has NOTHING new or refreshing to offer. It in fact bores you to an extent where you want the shootout to just happen and then it does which is the ultimate highlight of this so called realistic movie. The final shootout is not very close to the actual one at Lokhandwala but it is entertaining no doubt. All the gangsters including Maya are eliminated in very unique manners. The action is gripping and gross. Whereas in reality, all the Maya's men were shot dead with guns and not by any other means (especially not by hand).

Of the performances, Vivek Oberoi will steal your heart once again after Company. I had personally started hating him but no more. He will remind of Chandru from company but with a very nasty, sarcastic and stylish twist. He emerges as the clear winner here. He is especially great in the close-up shots. Look out for him when he is talking to BHAI on the phone with a very respectful but sarcastic tone. He is A-Grade.

Sanjay Dutt as A. A. Khan is superb. He is ruthless, sensitive, courageous and gutsy, just as we can imagine the actual cop must have been. Arbaaz and Suneil are like-able and pass muster, so do Maya's dudes.

Amitabh Bachchan as Dhingra packs a punch in the tailor-made, extended role as always!

The sorest and the most pathetic drawback of this enterprise is Tushshar kapoor as Bhuwa, he fails with his dialogue delivery as well as his expressions. As the dangerous shooter, he couldn't scare a goat. Casting him turns out to be the biggest blunder other than commercializing the whole shootout.

I will not say Shootout at Lokhandwala is a bad film. It has ample style, loads of attitude and glossy class but it lacks any kind of plot, story or screenplay.

Shootout is the same old wine but in a very new, shiny, attractive and fake bottle.

- Abbas Aziz Dalal.