Shootout At LokhandwalaIf you remember Al Pacino as Scarface, then you know his role as Tony Montana, a Cuban emigre (he came over with the Marielitos - the Cubans no one wanted, not even Cuba itself) and worked hard. He went from being a dishwasher in a roadside food stand to being one of Miami's biggest drug lords. Tony answered to no one, and when his ego lead him to defy the powerful Bolivian drug cartel, they sent an army of assassins to kill him. That film ended with his death.
The
Shootout at Lokhandwala, an Indian film helmed by
Apoorve Lakhia, was released on May 25th, 2007. Where Scarface ended with Tony Montana's assassination, a similar event marks the beginning of this film. A gang of criminals specializing in extortion and racketeering, are holed up in an apartment complex in a Bombay (Mumbai) suburb. They are wild, undisciplined, and like Tony Montana, answer to no one. Not even
Bhai ( the big boss) who lives in Dubai but still controls the Bombay/Mumbai criminal underworld.
Where one films ends another begins. In Shootout at Lokhandwala, we begin with shots of the clean up and aftermath. We see hundreds and hundreds of shell casings being swept up. We are told by a on-the-scene television reporter about the carnage that occured in the six hour melee. We also meet the cop in charge - Assistant Commissioner of Police, S.S. Khan played by
Sanjay Dutt.Right after, the scene shifts to the office of Dhingra, a former chief justice played by Indian superstar actor
Amitabh Bachchan who is grilling Khan and his two lead deputies about what happened and why.
So we watch as the story unfolds in flashbacks. We see how Khan earned his stripes when he went after some Sikh separatists who gunned down a policeman on a city street in broad daylight followingh Operation Blue-star in 1984.
We learn how the bad guys led by Maya, portrayed by
Vivek Oberoi (above center in the black shirt) were punks and goons who just upped the ante in being bad guys day after day. They would think nothing of just walking into a CEO's headquarters and demanding money in exchange for the victim being allowed to live (and probably face more extortionate demands on another day).
They even shook down corporate executives who were close enough to the Bhai in Dubai to call and ask for his help.
So that's your premise. The good guys win and the goons end up in body bags. However it was not as simple as that. The cops were brought up on charges like abuse of authority, and other human rights violations. We are asked to think about things like justice, human rights, and where is the line drawn between the police enforcing laws, and protecting the populace, or becoming judge, jury and executioners at the same time.
In the trial, Dhingra, asks the presiding Judge (and us) to think about this: You are in your apartment. There's a man or men downstairs on the street. He or they carry guns. Who do you want it to be - a policeman like Shamer S. Khan or a hoodlum like Maya and his cronies?
This was a very fine film. Provocative, fierce, unrelentingly violent and yet, despite the brutality vividly portrayed on screen, you do have to ask yourself what is right and what is wrong. Are ATS (Anti-Terrorists Squads) or SWAT teams in the public's interest?
This film was according to the film's tag line was based on true rumors. In short based on a real life occurence. Subtitled and available as a rental from Netflix.
Recommendations: Chak De! India
