Shot in my head!!!

Just returned after watching Shootout at Lokhandwala….. and the first thing that struck me was….. This can’t be Lokhandwala - I stay here!!!

For the uninitiated (which means, you were living in Honolulu all along…) the movie is based on an actual shootout, one of the first of the Mumbai Police Force, in 1991, of Maya Dolas and his gang, at Lokhandwala, and as a person who grew up in this place, (must have been around 5 years of age, when it happened), I have no memory of this incident, although the excitement with which my parents recount the details of that day make me wonder if I missed being a part of the Great Indian Golden era!!!

Coming back to the movie, its thankfully just a two hour affair, which begins with a sizzle…. The start is very gripping… the Sikh riots, the after effects, and definitely Abhishek!!!(My friend suggested moving out of the theatre on his death!!), and the whole plot which the Director set up, for the actual incident… (However, I still couldn’t figure out how the Sardars were connected to Maya/ Dawood!)

It’s the middle segment that actually is the most interesting part of the movie. Be it Maya’s rise to power and Tusshar’s inclusion in his gang or simply the way the whole underworld and Police force works! A good point of the movie was that it showed the happenings of both the sides equally well…. I mean you don’t sit thinking what the Police are up to when Maya’s men are killing people or vice versa. However, in the process, you stop identifying or following one character, like you would normally do in other movies, thereby preventing you from taking ‘sides’, if I may say so.

However it’s the climax/ ending that is a bit drag. Ok, they had to show all the details of how the Police covered the area, and how the media reported, but some parts were not really necessary, like the gang members going the ‘Oh-My-God-I-Can-Die-too’ way with each other and their families or even the scene between Maya’s mother and A. A. Khan. If it was a little more etched out, yet taut maybe the film would have stayed in the mind longer and in a better way. However on the whole, the film is a must watch if you like Violent movies, or movies which are the classic good wins over bad sorts!

Now the part on all the actors! Firstly, was that Neha Dhupia, as Sanjay’s wife??? :-O I almost died laughing on the pairing! Okie, she doesn’t really have a role, so no more on her. Lets go to Abhishek!!!... small role, no dialogues, could have been done by any one! As for Dia Mirza… firstly, why does she fall in love with any and every police officer who speaks like a warrior?? I mean get real, there aren’t Knights in shining armour anymore! Secondly, apart from that she has no role, at all. Then comes Arti Chabria (I actually took pains to google her name….sigh!)… all I could say is too much cleavage and glycerine, nothing more nothing less!

And now to our heroes!!! Firstly, Rohit Roy can’t act!!! Secondly, Shabbir (ooooooh!) doesn’t look that cute on the big screen, nor does he have that acting skills that can make him stand out. Ravi Gosain and the other guy (sorry, out of patience to google any more names!) were pucca second lead characters. While Amrita Singh suited the character of Maya’s mother, she looked more like his elder sister. Tusshar Kapoor, I am sorry was FUNNY!!! I mean, he is the guy who can do Mujhe Kuch Kehna Hai….. not ‘Buva’, especially the scene where he threatens and then hits Sunil Shetty…. So much for wishful thinking, heheheh! Arbaaz Khan…. God, he is goodlooking, but also is amazingly easy in the role, and brings just what the role required. Sunil Shetty is cool in his typical way, mouthing dialogues in his typical way, and showing just one emotion throughout!

Now the main two…. Sanjay Dutt and Vivek Oberoi! And for me, Sanjay Dutt wins hands down, simply because, he stops being Sanjay Dutt and is A. A. Khan all through the movie, sans exception. You soon forget that it’s just a role, and his character goes well in such roles too. Also, the ‘Old Spice’ Music that follows him in the climax… (sorry to the people in the theatre, who couldn’t hear it, thanks to my laughter!) made him feel like a HERO!!! Vivek Oberoi has acted well, yes, but sometimes, he goes overboard in trying to display Maya’s strength and power, it doesn’t come as easily to him, as it did to say, Ajay Devgan in Company, speaking of which, there were some resemblances to that classic. And I did like Vivek in that movie, I mean we all, 5 giggling underage girls who sneeked into the adult movie, loved it when he blushed in that cute scene with Antara Mali (teenage is crazy!!!) but this movie doesn’t get the same effect on me, as his role in Company did, even otherwise.

So, overall while the movie is a good watch, it does have its flaws. It isn’t a movie that can change or create a sort of impact that other similar movies like Gardish, Company, etc did, but it can be watched just because it ends in two hours, is to the point most of the times and doesn’t preach anything. However you should not go to watch it for its songs..(crazy lines, no music or dance and too much cleavage…shudder!!!) , definitely not for Rakhi Sawant’s special appearance (no, its’ not an item song!) or for some crime history fact finding. It’s a serious movie without being taxing on your brains… no doubt all the guys I knew liked the movie, and recommended it! As for me, when is my DVD copy of Cheeni Kum, coming????