Every once in a while, Sanjay Gupta takes a break from his stylized actioners to go to the gullies of Mumbai and find murky stories about the city’s underworld. Nine years after Shootout At Wadala (2013), the filmmaker is ready with the script of the third instalment in the action franchise. This time around, he is focusing on a young gangster who shook up Mumbai’s crime scene between the late ’80s and early ’90s.

In an exclusive chat with mid-day, Gupta shares, “Like the first two parts, this is also based on a real incident and characters from the Bombay underworld. Here, the protagonist is much younger. Beginning at 18, he was active for only six years. But even in such a short span, he terrorized [the city].” The filmmaker, however, refuses to divulge further details about the protagonist.

The Shootout franchise began with Vivek Oberoi’s Maya Dolas act in Shootout At Lokhandwala (2007), followed by John Abraham playing gangster Manya Surve in Shootout At Wadala (2013). That brings us to the big question: Which action star will pick up the baton this time?

The filmmaker won’t repeat any actors from the previous editions. “Right now, we are talking to talent agencies to work out the casting and check availability of actors. This film will [be mounted] on a bigger scale.”

The gangster drama will go on floors mid-2023. Gupta served as writer-producer on the first instalment, and went behind the camera for the subsequent edition. Will he helm the upcoming offering?

“I have a director in mind, with whom I have shared the script. He is talented, and shoots Mumbai better than I do,” he says, adding the only constant in the franchise is his partnership with producer Ekta Kapoor. “Shootout cannot be made without Ekta and me,” he smiles.