Shootout at Lokhandwala


Shootout at Lokhandwala is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Apoorva Lakhia and produced by Sanjay Gupta and Ekta Kapoor. Based on the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout, a real-life gun battle between gangsters and the Mumbai Police, it stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, Arbaaz Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Rohit Roy, Aditya Lakhia, and Shabbir Ahluwalia.
WWW shootoutatlokhandwala.com

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 — Additional Commissioner of Police Shamsher S. Khan, Inspector Kaviraj Patil, 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 to help combat crime, borrowing the concept from the LAPD SWAT 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 to encounter those responsible for the officer's death. Khan asks journalist Meeta Matu to cover the incident to deter future incidents.
Maya, the second-in-command of the gangster Dawood Ibrahim, runs the latter's criminal activities in Bombay with his gang. Maya's ambitions are fuelled by his mother, to the point where he wishes to assert his independence from Dubai and take over Bombay for himself. Khan's ATS focuses 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, and Maya retaliates 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, while meeting Khan, tells him to keep their families out of it.
When prominent city builder Wadhwani 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, Khan learns that Maya's gang is located at a flat in Swati building in the Lokhandwala Complex, Andheri. 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

Production

Many scenes were shot on actual locations at the Lokhandwala Complex in Mumbai. There was a chase sequence with Sunil Shetty and Arbaaz Khan playing cops, and Ravi Gosain running 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 shoot the scene.

Controversy

The film sparked much controversy regarding the fictionalised portrayal of the incident. Sikh groups complained about the wrongful portrayal of the 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.
#TitleSingerLyricistComposerDuration
1"Mere Yaar"Sunidhi Chauhan, Anand Raj AnandDev KohliAnand Raj Anand05:01
2"Aakhri Alvidaa"StringsAnwar MaqsoodStrings04:39
3"Ganpat"Mika SinghMika SinghMika Singh04:29
4"Unke Nashe Mein"Sukhwinder Singh, Anand Raj Anand, Mika SinghSanjay GuptaAnand Raj Anand04:49
5"Live By The Gun"BidduBidduBiddu04:22
6"Sone De Maan"Dr.Palash SenDr. Palash SenEuphoria04:45
7"Ganpat "Mika SinghMika Singh, Virag MishraMika Singh05:47
8"Aakhri Alvidaa "StringsAnwar MaqsoodStrings06:24
9"Unke Nashe Mein "Sukhwinder Singh, Anand Raj Anand, Mika SinghSanjay GuptaAnand Raj Anand05:25

Awards and nominations

[53rd Filmfare Awards]

[9th IIFA Awards]

2008 Star Screen Awards

2008 Zee Cine Awards

Stardust Awards

AXN Action Awards

Film series

Prequel

Director Sanjay Gupta confirmed a sequel to the film. In early 2012, it was announced that the prequel Shootout at Wadala would star John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut, Tusshar Kapoor, Manoj Bajpayee, and Sonu Sood. Abraham is featured as the lead protagonist gangster Manya Surve; Ranaut appears as his girlfriend, Vidhya Joshi, and Sood appears as Dawood Ibrahim.