Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; June 11, 2019)

A few days ago, BT had told you that filmmaker Sanjay Gupta was gearing up to roll out his next, a gangster drama set in the ’80s and ’90s, which is inspired by real events that changed the face of Mumbai. We have now learnt that the film produced by Bhushan Kumar has found its key cast. Apparently, John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi are all set to play the two central characters in the story, which in a fictionalised manner, details events like mills in the city downing their shutters, the nexus between politicians, cops, underworld and the business fraternity, and other dramatic events that changed the city’s landscape. There has been no official confirmation on this, but the filmmaker plans to make an announcement soon. If things go as planned, the film is slated to go on the floors in the next two months.

John has previously worked with Sanjay on Shootout At Wadala in 2013. However, it’s Emraan’s first collaboration with John and the director. It has taken the filmmaker six years to return to his favourite gangsta genre with a project that he had been aiming to make since 2013, when his last film in the same space (Shootout At Wadala) had released.
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The actor-duo is teaming up for the first time in Sanjay Gupta’s yet-untitled next, which is slated to go on the floors next month in Mumbai
Himesh Mankad (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 11, 2019)

Six years after the crime-drama Shootout at Wadala, featuring John Abraham, Anil Kapoor, Kangana Ranaut and Sonu Sood, Sanjay Gupta is gearing up to direct another gangster-drama. His next, a yet-untitled film produced by Bhushan Kumar, is set in the 1980s-’90 s and revolves around all that went into transforming Bombay into Mumbai. Mirror has learnt that the film will feature John and Emraan Hashmi in the lead.

“It’s a two-hero film, more of a cat-and-mouse chase between the lead characters with one of them playing a cop, and other one being a gangster. Both John and Emraan will be presented in a larger-than-life avatar throughout,” revealed a source close to the development.

Sanjay, who is also co-producing the film, has been researching the subject for a while now. “Like Shootout At Wadala, even this film is inspired by true events. Incidents like mills downing shutters, murder of a prominent industrialist, the nexus among politicians, cops and the underworld are a part of the screenplay,” the source informed.

The film goes on the floors in July and will be wrapped up by the year-end before John moves on to Milap Zaveri’s Satyameva Jayate 2, which marks the return of Divya Khosla Kumar to acting as the female lead. While John and Emraan have worked in gangster dramas—Shootout… and Once Upon A Time In Mumbai respectively—this is the first time the duo is sharing screen space.

The makers are currently on the lookout for an A-list actress to play the female lead. The film currently in prep, will be shot entirely in Mumbai at real-life locations and on sets. “A team is working on recreating the era—from buildings, roads to weapons and clothing. It has several confrontation scenes between the two actors,” the source added. The film is targeting a 2020 release.