In Theaters: May 3rd, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 35 minutes (155 minutes)
Rated A for sensitive language, violence and some sensuality/nudity.
Enough
Bang
For
Your
Buck!
SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is the explosive true story of the war between Dawood, Manya Surve & Inspector Isaaque Bagwaan and the first encounter killing in Bombay. In 1982, Bombay witnessed an infamous encounter in Lokhandwala. The news was telecast by the BBC and covered extensively by the media across the country and internationally. Till date more than 820 encounters have been recorded in the files of Mumbai police, but where did it all begin? Who started it? When, where and how did it happen? SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is the answer to all these questions - the unbelievable true story of the first ever encounter in Bombay. An epic story, with overwhelming machismo. It outlines the rampant gang wars in Bombay and culminates in an explosive 3-way face-off between the dreaded gangster Dawood, the notorious & charismatic gangster Manya Surve & Inspector Isaaque Bagwaan. Based on S. Hissain Zaidi's book "Dongri to Dubai - Six Decades of The Mumbai Mafia".
Shootout at Wadala captures the grit and grime of the mean streets to perfection. The film is generally entertaining without attaining the sort of innate quality that could attract favourable comparisons with Ram Gopal Varma's Satya and Company or Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Parinda.
Critic Score: 2.5/5
Shootout At Wadala is an ingeniously made entertainer. Sanjay Gupta creates a well balanced venture which is beseeching for its crime thriller premise. John Abraham captivates in his charismatic role brimming with vicious grandeur. This one is a must watch adrenalin incurring, electrifying and at places a spine chilling action film.
Critic Score: 3.5/5
Go watch 'Shootout At Wadala' at a single screen theatre this weekend… you won't be disappointed. Three stars for the film and an extra half for Zaveri's dialogues from me for Manya Surve's unforgettable resurrection!
Critic Score: 3.5/5
SAW ultimately belongs to Gupta, who stays true to the genre and makes a welcome return to the credible lot of Bollywood directors. Note: You may not like this film if don't have the appetite for blood and gore.
Critic Score: 4/5
SHOOTOUT AT WADALA is a fire-brand, paisa vasool entertainer. Brutal and electrifying, it is one of those theatre-going experiences that has a plot, is packaged well and has content [drama, action, dialogue, songs, performances] that works big time with the avid moviegoer. Sanjay Gupta delivers a solid punch!
Critic Score: 4/5
Instead of engaging the viewers with a well-written screenplay, the film's story runs all over the place with horrendous dialogues peppered with the most crass expletives that sound more inconsequential than sinister. Instead of exaggerated action scenes and over-the-top violence, we would have appreciated a little more focus on the gangsters' psyche.
Let's get to the good news first. Wadala works because it shamelessly epitomizes its genre and has no qualms about being what it is - an over the top action drama. Despite the pace and massy dialogues the film has several loop holes. SAW will appeal to those who crave for a masala potboiler set in the 80's with corny dialogues, sexual innuendos and enough bang to match your buck. Watch it at a single screen to experience its true flavor.
Critic Score: 3/5
Sanjay Gupta's action thriller about a wounded, divided Bombay of the 1980s is a great watch for all action movie-buffs. 'Shootout At Wadala' is definitely an honest attempt that chronicles Manya's eccentric life from a righteous simpleton to a bloodcurdling monster.
History is just an excuse for a regular Bollywood gangster film, served with an overdose of guns and girls. By no means is this an accurate account of events or can be taken seriously as a piece of docu drama. Shootout at Wadala is pulpy, kitschy, Bollywood masala that makes no bones about its intentions: To titillate. If that’s your idea of entertainment, go for it.
Shootout At Wadala (SAW) marking the return of director Sanjay Gupta does not reveal much ambition beyond pleasuring the larger audience with a loud spectacle of sex and violence, but it works.
Critic Score: 3/5
The ‘80s-set Bollywood cops vs. criminals tale sets new standards for brutality.
Sanjay Gupta takes a shot at immortality in creating an urban legend about the origins of the idea of an 'encounter', the mystery of the academically accomplished gangster that was Manya Surve, and attempts a grand period action biopic. But all he delivers is a squib of a film that relies on one too many "b****c**ds".
Critic Score: 2/5
Director Sanjay Gupta seems have been attempting to do a Quentin Tarantino with Shootout at Wadala, given the over-the-top violence and slick dialogues that skid all over the film. But gangster films are slippery territory and Shootout at Wadala becomes more mindless and trite than fun.
©2013 Balaji Motion Pictures