'Shootout' series to be screened at Durban award ceremony

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta's two gangster flicks 'Shootout at Lokhandwala' and 'Shootout at Wadala' will be showcased at South Africa India Film and Television Awards (SAIFTA) function at Durban in September.
'Shootout at Wadala' (2013), a crime thriller directed by Gupta, is the second installment of the 'Shootout' series and it features John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Kangna Ranaut, Tusshar Kapoor, Manoj Bajpai and Sonu Sood in lead roles.
The film dramatises the first-ever registered encounter by Mumbai Police, where gangster Manya Surve was shot dead in Wadala area in 1982.
'Shootout at Lokhandwala' (2007) was directed by Apoorva Lakhia and produced by Gupta. It is based on a 1991 real-life gun-battle between a group of gangsters and police in Lokhandwala Complex in suburban Mumbai. It starred Tusshar, Sanjay Dutt, Vivek Oberoi, Arbaaz Khan and Suniel Shetty.

"We are happy that both our films will be showcased at SAIFTA. They are unique films. Students over there want to know about filmmaking. Both films are real-life entertaining stories. It will be good experience for all," Gupta told reporters here at a SAIFTA-related event here today.
John, Manoj and Suniel were present at the SAIFTA's curtain raiser event. Actor Saif Ali Khan will be hosting the event in Durban on September 6.

SAIFTA is the first-of-its-kind award ceremony bringing Bollywood to Durban to felicitate talent from both countries in the sphere of cinema and television. It is billed as an event which will boost tourism, business tie-ups and promotion of both countries as ideal film locations.

The star-studded Indian panelists for the awards consist of Bollywood personalities Waheeda Rehman, Mukesh Bhatt, Boman Irani, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farah Khan.
"India and South Africa share a long emotional connect due to Mahatma Gandhi's civil rights movement in South Africa," Bhatt said.
The curtain raiser event showcased the coveted 'Wall Of Fame' which will have hand prints of eminent personalities from Indian and South Africa film and TV industry.