= Shootout At Wadala = Reviews+BO Collection - Page 2

• Sneha May Francis

Blazing guns, ear-splitting action stunts, blood-soaked punches, sexy bombshells and macho men screeching till their facial muscles tremble or those running in slow motions, are all ingredients that dress up director Sanjay Gupta's newest bloody battle of the bad boys.

Although, he has (partly) borrowed from the pages of S Hussain Zaidi's 'Dongri to Dubai', Sanjay does spin a gritty tale of deceit, betrayal, revenge and brotherhood to depict the "first-ever encounter" in Bombay.

He even weaves in Bollywood's influence on the baddies, with numerous references to Amitabh Bachchan's "angry young man" image.

Much like his earlier action flicks, even in this one, every shot is luminously textured. This time by celebrated art director Sabu Cyril, who makes the impossible possible – making bloodied battles appear pleasing to the eye!

The murky dealings of the big, bad world of the Mumbai mafia has enticed many Bollywood filmmakers, but it's Sanjay, who last sidetracked with the forgettable 'Pankh', who goes on to prove that he has what it takes to pack a punch.

He's also got writer Milap Zaveri to thank for the killer lines that lends a strange, poetic tone to the blind rage. It tips over the edge at times, but it's forgiveable.

However, it's the sluggish edit, which clocks his epic battle at 2-hours-and-30-minutes that punctures the narrative, leaving the gory proceedings of a wounded Bombay of the 1980s long-drawn out.

It would've worked, considering we've applauded Anurag Kashyap's two-part epic mafia warfare 'Gangs of Wasseypur' that ran into nearly five-hours of reel time. And, that too without any item girls.

Sanjay, however, runs out of visual and creative elements to sketch out the menacing life of Manya Surve, who unlike his immoral peers, was ignored by history.

'Shootout At Wadala' is definitely an honest attempt that chronicles Manya's eccentric life from a righteous simpleton to a bloodcurdling monster.

It was life's circumstances that shakes up Manya, and shoves him from one extreme life to another.

And, along the way, he collects men who are armed with muscle and brawn, and who turn into his extreme loyalists.

Set over the 1970s and 1980s, the narrative shifts from the present to the past, and recreates his struggles and sacrifices, and his undying desire to rule Bombay.

There was no method to his madness, and he was evidently blinded by his ambition. Yet, there was something extraordinarily affable about him.

Like his earlier movies, Sanjay's still unable to shake away the Hollywood influences, and this one has a scene straight off 'Reservoir Dogs', where the gangsters sit down to chit-chat about life and its curious theories.

John Abraham gives Manya Surve his all. This is by far his finest, and mostly, flawless act. From the innocence of a college-going student to the majestic fighter he turns into, John shades Manya's eccentricities in matured strokes. From flexing his muscles, to pounding his rivals, he's the desi Hulk in all its glory.

If there's a shortfall, it only appears when he counters Manoj Bajpai's Zubair and Sonu Sood's Dilawar. The lanky brothers, who refuse Manya a place in their gang, are incredibly superlative.

John's cronies – Tusshar Kapoor as his faithful second-in-command and Siddanth Kapoor as the crazy Gyanchod – are faultless.

The screenplay, however, focus entirely on Manya's trials and tribulations, never allowing us to discover and empathise with his gang.