'Shootout at Wadala' team 'shot down'

The makers of Shootout at Wadala encountered the might of the law when they were booked for allegedly misusing the name of the office of the Mumbai police commissioner to promote their film.

Versova police on Wednesday registered a case suo moto against producer-director Sanjay Gupta, Balaji telefilms and Glamsham Dot (a Bollywood movie portal) on charges of cheating, forgery and other relevant sections under the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.

The film is based on the first ever registered police encounter in which gangster Manya Surve was shot down in the early 1980s.

Amitabh Bachchan starrer Agneepath also drew heavily from Surve’s story, and won Bachchan won the National Award for Best Actor.

According to the records available with the Versova police, the makers of the film had prepared a “misleading” invite for their music launch on February 29, at Mehboob Studios in Bandra.

The invite was reportedly hand delivered by two men attired in police uniform. Several media houses received such invites, the sources said.

Undersigned by the commissioner’s office, the invite said, “This is to inform you that the commissioner of police requests your presence on the 29th of February on stage no 2 of Mehboob Studios to address the sudden and dangerous ride of organised crime in the city.”

The invite adds, “The commissioner would like to issue a statement regarding how the police force plans to respond. Experts from White Feather Films and Balaji Motion Pictures will present their statements on the shootout at Wadala.”

The invite also has features the Mumbai police’s national emblem seal.

“It’s a serious offence, and it could also invite the arrest of the accused, if they are found guilty,” said deputy commissioner of police Pratap Dighavkar.

Sanjay Gupta said, “There is some misunderstanding with the Mumbai police, and it will be surely be sorted out.”