SHOOTOUT AT WADALA MOVIE REVIEW

Sanjay Gupta is known for his movies which are high on machismo and extravagance. He showcases his heroes in all their glory and some of his works like Kaante and Shootout at Lokandwala are a case in point. His new feature, Shootout at Wadala shows on screen, the first ever registered encounter by the Mumbai police in 1982 and it is partly based on the book Dongri to Dubai.

After being sent to jail for a crime that he didn’t commit, Manohar decides to become the kingpin of the Mumbai underworld as he realizes soon enough that there is no place in society for a timid and straightforward human being like him. He starts from scratch and becomes the dreaded gangster Manya Surve, in the company of a handpicked set of fellow henchmen. Obviously there are gang wars aplenty and the Imtiaz Haskar brothers and Manya’s little gang don’t see eye-to-eye.

The Mumbai Police finally decide that enough is enough and Manya is framed as the target for their first-ever bloody encounter.

This is one of those raw and loud action movies that keep coming from time to time and the action on screen is riveting in parts with the climatic encounter taking the cake for its sheer bloody impact and the way it has been presented in graphic detail. The dialogs carry a lot of punch and are filled with liberal dose of expletives. Watch out for those wicked yet funny double entendre peppered across the lighthearted scenes.

The cast of the movie is required to be macho, heroic and filled with pride, and each of them fits the bill perfectly, be it the cops or the gangsters. The stone-faced John Abraham puts his mountainesque physique to good use and his muscles look their brutal best in this movie, which is among his career best acts. But when he hams at the top of his voice, it is an ear-sore. Tusshar Kapoor has played such loyal sidekick roles plenty of times and he is at ease here as well. Sonu Sood and Manoj Bajpayee display authority and some cold-blooded menace as the gangster brothers. Anil Kapoor, Ronit Roy and Mahesh Manjrekar portray the ambitious, honest and effective side of the Mumbai Police and it is a solid display by them as well.

The ladies in the movie are either there for the numerous item numbers or for some really explicit love making scenes. Kangana Ranaut takes care of the latter in the company of John Abraham in two steamy bed sequences while the likes of Sunny Leone and Sophie Choudhary deliver their share of sleaze in the raunchy item numbers. Priyanka Chopra also makes an appearance and gives the movie some superstar appeal in the Babli Badmaash number.

The movie suffers from a really loud background score which overshadows the dialogs and the three item songs aren’t special either, with Babli Badmaash and Laila Teri getting good mileage in the promos on air.

The film carries a gritty and raw look and cinematographers Sameer Arya and Sanjay.F.Gupta have given it lot of energy and life.

Ultimately, even though the movie is pretty long at around two and a half hours, it doesn’t lose grip or pace and delivers enough drama for the price of the ticket money.