movie in the middle of the week!! and here is the review! shootout at lokhandwala ,

when the protector kills to protect, he crosses the line that separated him and the killer. or is it? this rather sums up shootout at lokhandwala. based on true rumours, the film is a gripping docu-drama in the commercial mode.

but the facts first- the movie is an attempt to dramatise an incident that took place on 16th nov 1991. 6 people 5 gangsters and one of their kidnapped victim , encountered by the mumbai police's ATs men, in the longest encounter in mumbai police's history. 6 men , who were unarmed , outnumbered by the police who were 400 strong , but were gangsters nevertheless. in an enquiry that followed the incident, the ATS honchos were left free of accusations of violations of human rights.

now the film- with an issue like this at hand, its easy to take sides,, u are either with or against the police/gangsters. to the director apoorva lakhia's credit, the movie treads the middle path.

it shows both the turmoil, the pressure a policeman is under , his broken family and order of duty, while also bringing forth the gangsters humane side. no character is balck or white.
if sanjay dutt as the ATS head and media's encounter specialist hero, is shown giving shoot to kill orders for 6 men who could have easily been arrested, the gory killings by the mobsters too get equal footage.

the movie opts for a documentary-style of weaving the yarn, using actual tv images of the incident from news records with fictional reconstruction based on rumours and hearsay.where the records go silent, the story writer and his imagination fill the gaps efficiently.

facts , yet unprooven , are rpesented unbiased. ATS says it got information about the 6 men hiding from an informer. the media said Dawood tipped them off to settle personal score. both of this is presented without shying away from the truth. its scenes like this that push the movie above the banal guns and goons bollywood rigmarole.

the performances are good. the macho brigade of sanjay dutt and sunil shetty is supported by an in-form viveik oberoi( seems like leaving the Ash-baggage works wonders for her ex-men) . tusshar kapoor though, looking like a lamb lost among a pack of wolves, is miscast as the baddie.

the movie is gruesome, gory , and unflinchingly to - the - point, both in the well executed sction sequences , as well as in throwing up questions.

was the police right in violating human rights so grossly? could the 6 men not have been arrested alive? is encounter the route to end crime? and what differentiates an encounter specialist from a contract killer? watch shootout at lokhandwala and decide for yourself!