Shootout At Wadala Review

One Line Review: Action, attraction, muscles, power, revenge, naachgaana and lots of high voltage dhishum dhishum, altogether designs the crime saga 'Shootout At Wadala'.

Positive Points: Excellent script, Great character performances, Good direction, Power-packed action sequences, Fast and furious storyline, Foot-tapping music.

Negative Points: Vague storyline at some point of time, Lacks realism in certain scenes.

Plot: Manohar Arjun Surve (John Abraham) is a common man from Mumbai. Vidya (Kangana Ranaut) is his love interest. Manohar Surve, aka Manya Surve has many dreams in his eyes waiting to be fulfilled, just like any other layman. Bhargav Surve, who is Manya's brother, has his strings attached to the underworld. One black day, the entire situation takes 360 degree turn when some gangsters attack Bhargav at his home.

The actual story commences with a flashback narration between ACP Ishaq Bagwan (Anil Kapoor) and Manya Surve. This conversation takes place after Manya survives at least eight to ten bullets. So, in this blood-filled conversation, Manya recites the story about how he turned gangster from an innocent college-goer. Manya gets wrongly accused of a murder and gets life imprisonment. This incident proves a drastic change in the life of Manya Surve, which compels him to show his gray side to the world and he starts living life on an edge. Manya's brother Bhargav Surve gets murdered in the jail in the hands of a criminal. This episode opens the doors of underworld for Manya Surve and he leaves no stone unturned to make himself the strongest man to take revenge.

After meeting Shaikh Munir (Tusshar Kapoor) and Veera in the jail, Manya decides to form his own gang, Hindu Gang. At the same time, the city of dreams witnesses another set of bhais ruling over it - Zuber Imtiaz Haskar (Manoj Bajpai) and Dilawar Imtiaz Haskar (Sonu Sood). Manya decides to destroy the evil powers possessed by Haskar brothers, who were the root cause of riots Mumbai city was facing. Here begins the real story with intense physical violence and revenge games between the Hindu Gang (Manya and his cronies) and Haskar brothers.

To know what happens next, rush to your nearest theatre to enjoy the show.

Direction And Other Technical Aspects: The director Sanjay Gupta has explored the underbelly of Mumbai by entering in dark alleys of 70's and 80's. The movie is inspired by author Hussain Zaidi's book 'Dongri to Dubai'. Gupta has delightfully added layers to the storyline based on this book. Eventually, he has succeeded in coming out with a glossy outcome in the form of this movie. The director has sketched the scenes so well, that when next time one starts reading the book 'Dongri To Dubai', the person can actually visualize the actual phenomenon happening. The director has maturely handled the balance of Manya's nature; he is hot headed and violent for gangsters, whereas, for his lady love, he instantly turns soft hearted and emotional person. This thing depicts the human aspect of a gangster. In all, Gupta has handled the overall content splendidly.

Stirred by a true incident of Manya Surve's encounter at Wadala in Ambedkar College on 11 January 1982, the film lives upto the viewers' expectations and takes the audience back to bygone era. The entire film is full of powerful dialogues or can be said as punches and deserves claps and whistles. The story becomes predictable after a certain point of time. Excessive use of adult language often makes the film unbearable and disgusting.

Performance: Muscular and spectacular John Abraham has done a good job and excelled in exhibiting his negative side, but for a reason. The handsome hunk John has excellently portrayed Manya Surve and his hard work is reflected in his performance, albeit there was a room for improvement in terms of his facial expressions. The role of fearless ACP essayed by Anil Kapoor is worth appreciation. He had depicted a strong-minded ACP, who thinks from his brain and not from his heart and delivers a hard hitting performance. Kangana has played her part very gracefully, though sometimes she appears artificial.

The biggest surprise in this movie is the new look and effortlessly astonishing performance of Tusshar Kapoor in the role of 'Shaikh Munir'. Manoj Bajpayee gives full justice to his role as 'Zuber Imtiaz Haksar' with suitable facial expressions and sturdy dialogue delivery. Sonu Sood is a brilliant and stylish actor is an undeniable fact and once again he has proved it playing 'Dilawar Imtiaz Haksar' in an exceptional way.

Raju Kher does not suit at all in the role of a Police inspector. He tries to copy Anupam Khers style very badly. Ronit Roy looks apt in the role of Police inspector keeping his television superstar image intact. The other actors like Mahesh Manjrekar, Soni Razdan, Jackie Shroff, Arif Zakaria, Raju Mavani and Ranjeet gives great support and contributes well in movie.

Music: Though all of the songs do not blend with the storyline of the movie, the tracks sound foot tapping and melodious. No need to mention the three hot item songs rendered by three beauties, Priyanka Chopra in 'Babli Badmaash', Sophie Choudhary in 'Aala re aala Manya aala' and Sunny Leone in 'Laila' succeeded in quivering the big screen with their electrifying performance.

Final Verdict: 'Shootout At Wadala' is a full paisa wasool entertainer to enjoy with your friends or spouse! The film is a real feast for hard hearted avid movie lover. Lots of drama with power-packed action sequences, dialogue baazi, rocking songs and the blood game is what the movie is all about. Need we say more?