Stars Anil Kapoor, John Abraham and Tushaar Kapoor were in the city recently to talk about their next flick Shootout at Wadala, an action oriented film directed by Sanjay Gupta. The film is a prequel of 2007 film Shootout at Lokhandwala and is based on the book Dongri to Dubai written by Hussain Zaidi. The actors shared their opinion about their respective characterisation and also about the movie.
John Abraham as Manya Surve
“I read the book written by Hussain but only one chapter has been used to formulate the film story. Sheikh Munir played by Tushar Kapoor and Manya Surve played by me are the only two characters taken from the book. The book is mostly on the history of the underworld dons of Mumbai who ruled the roost in the 70s and the 80s.
Anil Kapoor as ACP Afaaque Baagraan
"The first time, I have got an opportunity to play a Muslim character and that too a cop’s role. I have played the role of a police officer in my previous film but in a lighter vein. This role comes across as a very powerful character and John was an inspiration. We had a great time in doing the film. It was a great experience. I hope you will all enjoy the film like we did while shooting for it." he said.
The film and particularly his character is a combination of facts and fiction.
"My role is not completely based on the book as we thought it was better for the film and we did not want to get into controversies. There is one sequence in the film where my son is kidnapped which has been fabulously shot. That didn’t happen in ACP Isaque Bagavan’s life but with some other police officer. We have taken some liberties as it happens in reel life. I met Isaque Sir at his house and am still in touch with him. He has been a great support," said Anil.
Talking about the action sequence, Anil mentioned, “My Chief and I had to be college students to catch Manya Surve at Wadala college. Imagine me in a college student’s role at this age. I hope I look convincing enough wearing a half sleeved T-Shirt for which I had to pump myself up, go to the gym and lose 7 kilos.
The climax scene that was shot in a police van is the best as I am wearing a half sleeved T-Shirt and John being a tough and young guy is wearing a full sleeved shirt. It was more like a real fight and this effect can be seen in the film," he said.
Tusshar Kapoor as Sheikh Munir
I play the role of Sheikh Munir who remains a close associate of Manya Surve. This is the first Muslim role I have ever played. We had lots of fun and we did all that to survive or take over Bombay. This is the first-ever registered encounter by Mumbai police, where gangster Manya Surve was shot dead in Bombay. We had fun shooting and we also did some serious work," said Tusshar