'Shootout at Wadala' release date postponed to May 1

Directed and co-produced by Sanjay Gupta, "Shootout at Wadala" has been pushed further from its initial release date of January 2013 to May 1, which happens to be International Worker's Day and Labour Day in India.

This is the second time that the film's release has been postponed.

Earlier, it was scheduled to release on December 7 this year, but it was pushed to January 25, 2013 to avoid a clash with Aamir Khan's "Talaash", slated to release on November 30.

"When I recently saw the rushes of the film I was blown away. It was so engaging and a powerful film. With its content and massive star cast, topped by the marketing push that Balaji team will give, we needed a five-day long weekend for 'Shootout at Wadala'," Ekta said in a statement.

The makers are banking on the theme of the film which is based on the life of Maharashtrian gangster Manya Surve, played by John Abraham, who was involved in the first ever police encounter in the country.

"May 1 is Maharashtra Day/Labour Day... In the film the real protagonist Manya Surve is a Maharashtrian from a middle class family whose life takes a precarious turn," Sanjay said.

"Shootout at Wadala" is a prequel to the 2007 hit film "Shootout at Lokhandwala". Anil Kapoor will play the role of a police officer, Issac Bagwan along with Tusshar Kapoor, Sonu Sood, Manoj Bajpai, Ronit Roy and Kangana Ranaut also star in the film.

The film dramatises the first ever registered encounter by Mumbai police in which Surve was shot dead at an institute in Wadala in 1982.