Zaidi’s nonfiction book Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia, was the inspiration for Shootout at Wadala, but its basis in reality is undermined by Gupta’s overly stylized approach and too many camera tricks, though the ‘80s costumes are striking and the actors wear them well. Of course, the established crime bosses vow that this will never happen, and a long and confusing progression of setups, betrayals, massacres and acts of revenge takes place until the film’s bloody ending. He settles in Mumbai and swears to become the “lion” of crime there. Jail hardens Manya, so he escapes with a jailhouse friend in a thrilling scene featuring death-defying stunts atop and under a speeding train. Hussain Zaidi with Gupta, finds honest young college student Manya Surve (Abraham) unjustly accused of a crime and sentenced to life in prison. Shootout is a prequel of sorts to the 2007 Indian crime drama Shootout at Lokhandwala, which detailed another police action that took place in 1991 and was written by Gupta for director Apoorva Lakhia. The film’s sex and violence - though coming as no surprise to those familiar with Gupta’s previous work, such as Kaante and Zinda - will set it apart from typical Bollywood family fare and top-liner Abraham (a bulked-up former model), though on his way up, hasn’t yet become a must-see box office draw, so box office prospects are limited both in India and overseas.
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