Vivek Oberoi made negative role debut with 'Shootout at Lokhandwala'; Read trivia

Shootout at Lokhandwala is a crime drama film released in 2007. Directed by Apoorva Lakhia, it is produced by Ekta Kapoor and Sanjay Gupta under their Balaji Telefilms and White Feather Films banner. The film has an ensemble cast of Vivek Oberoi, Sanjay Dutt, Arbaaz Khan, Suniel Shetty, Tusshar Kapoor, Rohit Roy, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Aditya Lakhia, Aarti Chabria, Amrita Singh, Dia Mirza, Neha Dhupia and Amitabh Bachchan.

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Shootout at Lokhandwala Trivia

• In a scene, Sanjay Dutt’s character had to say an abusive slang dialogue to Amitabh Bachchan’s character. Sanjay was unable to deliver the dialogue out of respect for Amitabh, despite being encouraged by him. After a few failed attempts, the dialogue was changed.
• Shootout at Lokhandwala is based on a real-life gun battle between Mumbai Police and gangster. It took place on November 16, 1991, at Lokhandwala Complex. The four-hour-long shootout was called as India’s “first daylight encounter” which was video graphed and carried out in public.

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• Arjun Rampal was to play the character of Inspector Kaviraj Patil. The actor walked out of the role for an unknown reason. Then, Suniel Shetty stepped in to portray the character.
• Aftab Ahmed Khan, Additional Commissioner of Police at that time, made a cameo appearance in the film. He was seen as a senior to Sanjay Dutt, who actually plays A. A. Khan in the movie. He led the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in the shootout.
• Vivek Oberoi played the character of Mahindra Dolas, known as Maya Bhai. It was his first negative role in his career. He previously played a gangster in Company (2002). Vivek received many praises for his performance.

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• Aftab Shivdasani, Akshay Kumar, John Abraham and Saif Ali Khan were considered to play the role of Maya. However, it eventually went o Vivek Oberoi. Six years later, John Abraham portrayed the negative character in Shootout at Wadala, the second instalment in the series.
• Amitabh Bachchan plays a small role as Defence Lawyer Dhingra. He surprised the movie crew by recording 23 scenes in just five hours. Not many actors have achieved this feat.
• The movie marks the debut of Shabbir Ahluwalia. He essayed the role of gangster RC in Shootout at Lokhandwala. The actor was known for his appearance in television series.

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• Tusshar Kapoor initially declined the role in the film saying that the character did not suit him. Director Apoorva Lakhia pushed the actor to play a negative role. Similar, Amrita Singh was not keen on essaying Maya’s mother, but the filmmaker convinced her.
• The chase sequences with Suniel Shetty and Arbaaz Khan’s characters was difficult to shoot as the filming took place through Lokhandwala with the public around. Hidden cameras were installed at five places. The two actors ran around 200 meters at the real-location to complete the scene.