''Shootout at Lokhandwala'' is a 2007 Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

action thriller film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

written and directed by Apoorva Lakhia and produced by Sanjay Gupta, and

Ekta Kapoor Ekta Kapoor (born 7 June 1975) is an Indian television and film producer, known for her work in Hindi television and Bollywood cinema. She is the founder of Balaji Telefilms, Balaji Telefilms Limited, where she serves as joint managing directo ...

. Based on the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout, a real-life gun battle between gangsters and the

Mumbai Police The Greater Mumbai Police (Marathi language, Marathi: बृहन्मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Brihanmumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay City Police'') is the Police, police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a cit ...

, it stars

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi,

Arbaaz Khan Arbaaz Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 4 August 1967) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Bollywood, Hindi cinema, in addition to Telugu cinema, Telugu, Urdu and Malayalam, Malayalam cinema. Since his debut in 1996, he ha ...

, Tusshar Kapoor, Rohit Roy,

Aditya Lakhia Aditya Lakhia is an Indian character actor. He did his schooling from Mayo College, Ajmer and graduation from St. Xavier's College, Ahmedabad. He began his acting career in 1988 playing small roles and worked as an assistant director in '' A ...

, and Shabbir Ahluwalia in pivotal roles.

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 (

) interviews the three leading members of Bombay's

Anti-Terrorism Squad An Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is a special counterterrorism unit present in several state police agencies of India including Maharashtra Police, Gujarat Police, Kerala Police, Uttar Pradesh Police, Rajasthan Police, Bihar Police, Jharkhan ...

(ATS) — Additional Commissioner of Police Shamsher S. Khan ( Sanjay Dutt), Inspector Kaviraj Patil (

Sunil Shetty Suniel Shetty (born Sunil V. Shetty; 11 August 1961) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, and entrepreneur, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, with appearances in Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Nicknamed as Anna, Shetty ha ...

) and Constable Javed Sheikh (

) — to defend them in their upcoming inquiry. Khan explains to Dhingra that he hand-picked 27 of Bombay Police's best-enlisted men and officers to help combat crime, borrowing the concept from the

LAPD The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

SWAT A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...

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 so as to deter future incidents.

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

( Vivek Oberoi), the second-in-command of the ' boss in Dubai', runs the latter's criminal activities in Bombay with his gang. Maya's ambitions are fuelled by his mother ( Amrita Singh), growing to the point where he wishes to assert his independence from Dubai and take over Bombay for himself. Khan's ATS focusses 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, causing Maya to retaliate 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, 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 Lokhandwala. 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

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 *

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 *

as Doubling, a member of Maya's gang * Ravi Gossain as Aslam Kasai, a member of Maya's gang *

Aftab Ahmed Khan Aftab Ahmed Khan (27 February 1940 — 21 January 2022) was a former Indian people, Indian police officer (Indian Police Service, IPS) and politician from Mumbai. He is noted for his encounter killings of gangsters from the Mumbai organized cr ...

as Commissioner Krishnamoorthy * Akhilendra Mishra as JCP Tripathi * Daya Shankar Pandey as Gotiya, the police informant *

Shrivallabh Vyas Shri Vallabh Vyas was an Indian film and television actor. He was known for films including '' Sarfarosh'' (1999), '' Lagaan'' (2001), '' Abhay'' (2001), '' Aan: Men at Work'' (2004), '' Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero'' (2005), ...

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

and

playing cops, and Ravi Gosain (Aslam Kesai) 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 can the scene.

Controversy

The film sparked much controversy regarding the fictionalised portrayal of the incident. Sikh groups complained about the wrongful portrayal of 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 Jawed Sheikh (also spelled Javaid and Javed; born 8 October 1954) is a Pakistani actor, film director and producer who works in Lollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for working in the Hindi films ''Om Shanti Om'', '' My Name Is Anthony G ...

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

Director Sanjay Gupta confirmed a sequel of the film. In early 2012, it was announced that the prequel ''

Shootout at Wadala ''Shootout at Wadala'' is a 2013 Indian Action film, action-crime film written and directed by Sanjay Gupta (director), Sanjay Gupta. The film stars Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee, Tusshar Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and Sonu Sood. It is ...

'' would star

John Abraham John Abraham (born 17 December 1972) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Known for his stoic action hero persona, he is a recipient of a National Film Award along with nominations for four Filmfare Awards. Abraham ha ...

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, in addition to Indian television and international films. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a ...

, Kangana Ranaut, Tusshar Kapoor,

Manoj Bajpayee Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of numerous accolades including four National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, and two ...

and

Sonu Sood Sonu Sood (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian actor, film producer, Model (person), model, humanitarian, and Philanthropy, philanthropist who works predominantly in Hindi cinema, Hindi, Telugu cinema, Telugu and Tamil cinema, Tamil films. He is k ...

. 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

External links

* {{Balaji Telefilms 2007 films 2000s crime action films 2000s Hindi-language films Films set in Mumbai Indian crime action films Films about organised crime in India Indian films based on actual events Films set in 1991 Films scored by Anand Raj Anand Films scored by Strings (band) Films scored by Biddu Films scored by Mika Singh Films scored by Euphoria (Indian band) D-Company Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police Indian gangster films Balaji Motion Pictures films Action films based on actual events Indian historical action films Films directed by Apoorva Lakhia Hindi-language films based on actual events Encounters in India Indian police films Religious controversies in film Religious controversies in India Sikhism-related controversies Biographical films about gangsters Indian biographical films 2007 action thriller films Indian action thriller films Films about murder Films about police brutality 2007 controversies Films shot in Mumbai Fiction about the insurgency in Punjab Films about terrorism in India