This is not some cheesy Bollywood story about gun-toting cool dudes who mouth racy dialogues while looking saloon-fresh. Shootout at Lokhandwala is real, hard-hitting and will catch you by surprise. And kudos go to director Apoorva Lakhia for that.
The story is based on the 6-hour-long encounter between 286 policemen of the newly-formed Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) and six gansters working for underworld kingpin Dawood Ibrahim, and weaves in and out of flashbacks and the present day. ACP Shamsher Khan’s (Dutt) thirst for terrorist blood leads him to form the ATS, for which he handpicks the trigger-happy Inspector Kaviraj Patil (Shetty) and the demure and knowledgeable Javed Shaikh (Arbaaz).
Meanwhile, Maya Dolas (Oberoi) rises to power in the Mumbai underworld, along with his right-hand man Dilip Buwa (Tusshar). After a few threats exchanged between the cops and the dons, the former decide to take matters into their own hands and begin an encounter at the latter’s hideout — Lokhandwala.
Complementing La-khia’s expert direction are stellar performances by the cast. Dutt as Shamsher Khan has a one-track mind, will never go soft, but is also unjustly ruthless at the same time. Vivek Oberoi is menacing in this new role, while Suniel Shetty plays the role of the bad-mouthing sleazy cop Kaviraj to perfection. Watch out for a surprisingly powerful performance by Tusshar Kapoor.
The film’s soundtrack, by the motley crew of Strings, Biddu, Indian Ocean, Euphoria, Shibani Kashyap and Mika Mehndi, is fantabulous — adding myriad colours to each scene. The ownly downer is the screenplay, written by Apoorva Lakhia and Suresh Nair, which proves to be a puzzle of sorts.
Don’t be surprised if you step out of the theatre feeling confused about the country’s law and order situation.