Shootout at Lokhandwala

Overview

Aftab Ahmed "A. A." Khan, head of the ATS, attacked the Lokhandwala Complex on 16 November 1991 with a force of around 400 armed policemen. Dreaded gangster Maya Dolas was hiding in the complex. The leading protagonists in the film have slightly different names than their real-life counterparts, and the film caption is "based on true rumours."

Plot

In 1992, former chief justice Dhingra (Amitabh Bachchan) interviews the three leading members of Bombay's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) — Additional Commissioner of Police Shamsher S. Khan (Sanjay Dutt), Inspector Kaviraj Patil (Sunil Shetty), and Constable Javed Sheikh (Arbaaz Khan) — to defend them in their upcoming inquiry. Khan explains to Dhingra that he hand-picked 27 of Bombay Police's best enlisted men to help combat crime, borrowing the concept from the LAPD SWAT team. Following Operation Blue Star in 1984, several Sikh extremists fled to Bombay and began establishing a base in the city, engaging in violence, extortion, and other subversive tactics. The death of his best officer at the hands of the extremists prompts Khan to obtain clearance from police commissioner Krishnamurthy (A. A. Khan) to encounter those responsible for the officer's death. Khan asks journalist Meeta Matu (Diya Mirza) to cover the incident to deter future incidents.

Maya (Vivek Oberoi), the second-in-command of the gangster Dawood Ibrahim, runs the latter's criminal activities in Bombay with his gang. Maya's ambitions are fuelled by his mother (Amrita Singh), to the point where he wishes to assert his independence from Dubai and take over Bombay for himself. Khan's ATS focuses on Maya's gang after a police informant connects them to a string of murders in the city. The ATS encounters one of Maya's gang members, and Maya retaliates by killing the informant's relative. The ATS contacts the gang members' families to try and convince them to surrender, but the gang threatens and attempts to bribe the members of the ATS in return. Maya, while meeting Khan, tells him to keep their families out of it.

When prominent city builder Wadhwani (based on Gopal Rajwani, the owner of the building the movie was set in) refuses to pay Maya Rs. 40 million in protection money, claiming to deal directly with Dubai, Maya kidnaps Wadhwani's son. Wadhwani complains to the boss, who asks Maya to return the child immediately. Maya refuses, stating that he has upped his demands and that he wants control of Bombay. Tipped off by an informant (who, Dhingra alleges, called from Dubai), Khan learns that Maya's gang is located at a flat in Swati building in the Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri. In November 1991, the ATS lays siege on the building with a large force of police. The police kill Wadhwani's son, allowed to leave by Maya to see if any from his flat will be allowed to surrender. During the subsequent shootout, Maya's gang tries to escape by various means, contacting Dubai, bribing a senior officer to intervene on their behalf, and even firing a rocket-propelled grenade as a distraction, but fail. Maya and each member of his gang is eventually killed.

While critical of Khan and the ATS throughout the interview, during their inquiry, Dhingra defends them in court by pointing out that the likes of Khan are necessary to safeguard the public against criminals. Khan and the ATS are acquitted.

Cast

• Amitabh Bachchan as Dhingra, a former chief justice
• Sanjay Dutt as ACP Shamsher Khan, Head of ATS
• Suniel Shetty as Inspector Kaviraj Patil, a member of ATS
• Vivek Oberoi as Maya Dolas
• Arbaaz Khan as Head Constable Javed Sheikh, a member of ATS
• Tusshar Kapoor as Dilip Buwa, a member of Maya's gang
• Rohit Roy as Fatim “Fattu”, a member of Maya's gang
• Shabir Ahluwalia as RC, a member of Maya's gang
• Abhishek Bachchan as Sub Inspector Abhishek Mhatre, Shamsher's protégé
• Dia Mirza as Journalist Meeta Mattoo
• Amrita Singh as Ratnaprabha Dolas, Maya's mother
• Neha Dhupia as Rohini, Shamsher's wife
• Aditya Lakhia as Doubling, a member of Maya's gang
• Ravi Gossain as Aslam Kasai, a member of Maya's gang
• Aftab Ahmed Khan as Commissioner Krishnamoorthy
• Akhilendra Mishra as JCP Tripathi
• Daya Shankar Pandey as Gotiya, the police informant
• Shrivallabh Vyas as Wadhwani
• Aarti Chabria as Tarranum “Tanu”

Production

Many scenes were shot on actual locations at the Lokhandwala Complex in Mumbai. There was a chase sequence with Sunil Shetty and Arbaaz Khan playing cops, and Ravi Gosain (Aslam Kesai) running through Lokhandwala. It would have been difficult to shoot this sequence with the public around. Hidden cameras were used at five places, and the two actors ran 200 meters at the real location to shoot the scene.

Controversy

The film sparked much controversy regarding the fictionalised portrayal of the incident. Sikh groups complained about the wrongful portrayal of the Sikhs as extremists. This led to Sikh groups wanting the film banned and "bitterly" opposing the film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack for Shootout at Lokhandwala was released during April 2007 by T-Series.

Awards and nominations

[[53rd Filmfare Awards]]

• Nomination: Best Villain – Vivek Oberoi

[[9th IIFA Awards]]

• Won: Best Villain – Vivek Oberoi
• Won: Best Action – Javed Sheikh and Ejaz

2008 Star Screen Awards

• Nomination: Star Screen Award for Best Villain – Vivek Oberoi

2008 Zee Cine Awards

• Nomination: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role – Vivek Oberoi

Stardust Awards

• Nomination: Stardust Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role – Vivek Oberoi
• Won: Stardust Standout Performance of the Year - Vivek Oberoi
• Nomination: Stardust Award for Best Music Director – Mika Singh
• Nomination: Stardust Award for Best Playback Singer – Mika Singh

AXN Action Awards

• Won: Best Action film – White Feather Films
• Won: Best Action Actor – Sanjay Dutt
• Won: Best Action Actor in a Negative Role – Vivek Oberoi
• Won: Best Action Sequence – Javed Sheikh and Ejaz

Film series

Prequel

Main article: Shootout at Wadala

Director Sanjay Gupta confirmed a sequel to the film. In early 2012, it was announced that the prequel Shootout at Wadala would star John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Tusshar Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee, and Sonu Sood. Abraham is featured as the lead protagonist gangster Manya Surve; Ranaut appears as his girlfriend, Vidhya Joshi, and Sood appears as Dawood Ibrahim.

Future

References

References

1. "Shootout at Lokhandwala – Movie". Box Office India.
2. "Shootout At Lokhandwala - Based On True Rumours".
3. (16 May 2007). "Shoot Out at Lokhandwala Controversy". Movie Tonic.
4. (12 August 2011). "Shootout at Lokhandwala Movie Review – Reviewed by Vox Media". Movies.sulekha.com.
5. "hhpulse.com". hhpulse.com.
6. "Sikh groups demand ban on 'Shootout at Lokhandwala' – Bollywood News". Bharatwaves.com.
7. (8 April 2009). "मोटापा बढ़ा तो बनोगे दिल के रोगी". Samaylive.com.