 |
|
|
|
|
Review
|  | |
Shootout At Lokhandwala: Worth a look
indya.com rating: 3 out of 5*
Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Vivek Oberoi, Tusshar Kapoor,Suneil Shetty, Arbaaz Khan and Amitabh Bachchan
Director: Apoorva Lakhia
Synopsis: Top cop S.S. Khan (Dutt) along with his team mates, Kaviraj Patil (Shetty) and Javed Sheikh (Arbaaz Khan) are facing judicial enquiry and a suspension order for allegedly killing gangster, Maya Dolas (Vivek), and his cronies in a residential complex. As they narrate to their lawyer, Dhingra (Amitabh) the events that lead to the bloodiest and longest running encounter in Mumbai Police history, we are introduced to how Maya and his gang came into existence and what made them so fearless and menacing to society. We are shown how Khan formed the ATS squad which went on an encounter spree. And finally, what exactly happened during the encounter that took place in Mumbai's densest residential area at noon in November, 1991.
Acting: Sanjay Dutt is efficient. Vivek Oberoi delivers an award worthy performance. His constant dazed look coupled with a sadistic smile whenever he commits his crimes is terrific. His phone conversation sequences with his boss and later with his mother in midst of the encounter reassure us of how good an actor he is. Tusshar is ex-pressionless throughout but makes good towards the end. Arbaaz's poker faced humour provides comic relief. Shetty puts on a stylized act. Bachchan hams throughout the film but packs in a punch during the court sequence in the end. Abhishek gets to mouth 3 lines in Marathi and has 2 minutes screen time before getting bumped off. Amrita Singh, as Maya's mom, is the most impressive amongst the females. Dia gets limited scope, while the rest of the gals are relegated to the background. Real top cop A.A.Khan, on whom Dutt's character is based, acts naturally in a cameo role of the Police Commissioner.
indya.com rating: 3.5 out of 5
Direction: Apoorva Lakhia just falls short of making a brilliant film. With a subject like this and various possibilities to explore, he starts off well but then loses focus mid way by concentrating on item numbers and monotonous shootout sequences. However, he redeems himself in the last 30 minutes. His take on the entire climax, the shootout sequence, can be a reference to Bollywood filmmakers on how to shoot a technically classy action piece.
indya.com rating: 3 out of 5
Script: The film remains true in recreating the events that led to the infamous shootout, taking cinematic liberties in between- some pardonable and some not. To its credit, the film presents both sides of the event leaving the audience to decide who they think is right. The first half is gruesome with murder sequences being show one after another and a little restrain here could have helped. It shows Maya as a child who killed his father and during the climax Maya is shown killed on a hand to hand combat by Khan in amidst the shootout- both these are untrue. But the film picks up a valid question at the end when Dhingra, in defense of Khan and his team, questions the judge as to who we would like standing outside our house with a gun, an encounter specialist cop or a dreaded gangster?
indya.com rating: 2.5 out of 5
Music: Anand Raaj Anand, Strings, Mika, Biddu and Euphoria come together to provide the musical score. Two repetitive sounding and looking songs, Mera Yaar and Unke Nashe mein, shot as bar dance sequences are played back to back and appear as road blocks to the pacy narrative. The tapori number, Ganpat also looks forced. The best song of the film has to be Aakhri Alvida with its good philosophical undertones- the number keeps glued, watching it with the end titles rolling.
indya.com rating: 2 out of 5
-- Abhijit Mhamunkar
|
|
|
|
|
|
