Shootout at Wadala

Rating: 3.5/5 stars (Three and Half Stars)

Star cast: John Abraham, Kangana Ranaut, Anil Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpai, Mahesh Manjrekar, Tusshar Kapoor.

Director: Sanjay Gupta

What’s Good:  Manya Surve! The Macho man John Abrahma have lived upto the expectation in the movie. Some serious gangstergiri is shown in the movie

What’s Bad: Editing in 2nd half look cheap!

Loo break: None

Watch or Not?: Good watch

Paisa Wasool: Oh yes!

Manohar Arjun Surve. A bright student, who scored 78% in his college examinations but was never able to live the life of a respectable serviceman that he had envisaged for himself. The life-trajectory of this bright young boy is tragically altered and he is left with a newer, heavier avatar – that of the gangster Manya Surve.

When Manohar (John Abraham) is falsely implicated in a murder charge by a bribed policeman, his fate is changed forever. He is jailed for life, along with his step-brother Bhargav, and it is inside the prison walls that the birth of Manya Surve takes place. Along with a trustworthy aide Sheikh Munir (Tusshar Kapoor), who later turns into his best friend, Manya escapes out of jail. He slowly forms his gang of five and strives towards replacing the Haskar brothers – Zubair (Manoj Bajpayee) and Dilawar (Sonu Sood) – who rule the Bombay underworld. In this constantly shifting tussle for power and the endless cat-and-mouse games with ACP Afaaque Bhagraan (Anil Kapoor), Manya Surve slowly rises up towards being unstoppable.

‘Shootout At Wadala’ boasts of a power-packed cast. As Manya Surve, John Abraham breaks the notion that acting is not exactly his strongest point. He does it all with a hitherto unseen rawness – be it while mouthing cuss words or emptying bullets – and does justice to almost all of the screen time that has been allotted for him. If as the ruthless gangster, he kills with passion, he beds his ladylove Vidya (Kangana Ranaut) with even more of that. The latter (Kangana), meanwhile, fits well as the gangster’s moll. She is appalled at the transformation of her Manohar into Manya, but loves him way too much. Kangana’s character here is reminiscent of her role in ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai’, and she acts along ably.

Anil Kapoor in the shoes of ACP Afaaque Bhagraan is a live electric wire. The man infuses life into Afaaque’s frustration of not being able to do justice to his khaki uniform and deserves a hearty salute. Manoj Bajpayee is spectacular in the little time that he appears on screen. Even in the detestable character of Zubair, Bajpayee can make women swoon over him. Sonu Sood’s performance is extremely praiseworthy. Along with Bajpayee, this brother-duo is definitely worth an ear-splitting applause. Tusshar Kapoor, Siddhant Kapoor, Ronit Roy and Mahesh Majrekar – all make for an able supporting cast and helps bring to life the life of Manya Surve on celluloid.