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| Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Arbaaz Khan, Viveik Oberoi | | Director: Apoorva Lakhia | | Music: Strings, Anand Raj Anand, Euphoria |
Anupama Chopra, Consulting Editor, Films
The Mumbai underworld has become such a regular fodder for Bollywood that I wonder if mafia men will soon ask filmmakers for some sort of copyright fees.
After the dons and hitmen of last week’s Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, we have Shootout at Lokhandwala this week.
Lokhandwala is a bustling locality in suburban Mumbai. One summer day in 1991, five criminals were counting 70 lakh rupees in a flat when 200-odd policemen surrounded the building. What followed was a six-hour shootout at the end of which all the criminals were dead.
From that haze of bullets and bodies, many stories emerged. Top cop A A Khan, who headed the police assault faced inquiries from his own department and legal charges of human rights violations.
But director Apoorva Lakhia and producer Sanjay Gupta have wisely announced that their film is based on true rumors.
So we aren't seeking truth here but a visceral movie experience. Happily Lakhia and Gupta deliver that.
The first half of Shooutout feels like a class of Mumbai Mafia 101. The men in the Anti-Terrorist Squad, led by Khan, explain the events that led up to the fateful day.
Lakhia sets up his characters and their evolution. You might find yourself getting restless here—the transitions are clunky and the item songs strictly standard-issue fare.
But all the disparate threads come together in the second half leading up to the bloody, messy climax.
Shootout isn’t for the faint-hearted. Gangster lives are nasty, brutish and short. After the first 10 minutes, I lost track of the body count. But Lakhia leavens the graphic violence with textured characters and emotions.
The heroines don't have much to do but the heroes sink their teeth into the story.
The surprise here is Vivek Oberoi. The actor gets back his groove as the malevolent Maya Dolas. He is outstanding.
Lakhia glorifies both the cops and the gangsters with high-speed shots and thundering background music.
But he also shows that both are frighteningly alike in their speed, agility and taste for the kill. There are no heroes here. Just ruthless men fighting a losing battle. Lokhandwala is a taut, well-told journey into this frightening world. Watch it.
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Surfer Speaks....
the biggest gainer from this movie is vivek.a great performance by him after some pathetic performances in fool n final,home deilevery.the song sung by mika is excellent.hats off to the director -- abhi
Blood, Guns, Slangs, Weapons, Style, Raw, Glamour are some of the typical keywords that describe a Sanjay Gupta flick (Kaante, Musafir, Zinda) in no time (be it as a producer or a director).Same is the case with his latest film Shootout at Lokhandwala directed by Apoorva Lakhia (of Mumbai se Aaya Mera dost and Ek Ajnabi fame) which his and Sanjay Dutt's production house White Leather Films along with Shobha and Ekta Kapoor's Balaji Motion Pictures have in offering.
The performances are too many to talk about. Small screen actors(Roy,Ahluwalia) set the screen on fire being ignited by the big screen masters like the Senior Bachchan-as natural as ever.But the performers to stand out in the crowded street are Viveik Oberoi as Maya Dolas and my personal favorite Sanjay Dutt as ACP Aftab Ahmed Khan respectively.Music of the film is in well sync with the script. Never does it seemed forced.Hope Apoorva sails on the same boat in his upcoming releases (which im sure would include a project under the White Leather Films too) and does a good job as done here. A really well crafted film, Shootout at Lokhandwala deserves all the success, pomp and splendor without any second thoughts. It needn’t crave for the same. It comes home automatically. I wish good luck to one and all. One very big thing which should and will appeal to your eyes is Lakhia’s way of approaching the script,i.e-his “Realism” on “Reelism”.
-- anant shrivastava (zanicalanant@yahoo.com)
shootout
-- basu dev (dev_yesboss007@yahoo.co.in)
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