Sanjay Dutt and (below) Arjun Rampal have been signed to play the main cops in Shootout at Lokhandwala

Long ago, I learnt to live with reality, to accept it, to appreciate it. The trouble with gangsters is that they continue believing in fiction.

These magic words of realisation from ACP Aftab Ahmed Khan in his autobiographical book Surrender were enough to make Apoorva Lakhia plan his new film on the famous 1992 shootout in Lokhandwala where Khan shot Dawood Ibrahim?s aides Maya Dolas and Dilip Bua in a 14-hour-long encounter.

The project, tentative titled Shootout at Lokhandwala, will be produced by film-maker Sanjay Gupta who had earlier funded Hriday Shetty?s Plan apart from making his own movies like Kaante, Musafir and Zinda. And it was Lakhia?s stylish last release Ek Ajnabee which sealed the deal.

Until recently there was a serious question mark within the film industry whether Lakhia was good enough to direct a movie. He sure had assisted people like Mira Nair, Kaizad Gustad and Ashutosh Gowariker but after the debacle named Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost, producers and distributors were wondering whether he should be calling the shots again.

Ek Ajnabee, however, did put all those doubts to rest. The Man on Fire remake didn?t turn out to be a blockbuster but made sure that Apoorva didn?t have to look for another vocation or be packed off for a vacation. ?People want to see if you can make a movie or not and now they know I can,? says the man who had learnt film-making from New York University?s Film School.

While the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer did good business in places like Calcutta and Delhi, the Mumbai collections were below par. ?Maybe Amitji being in the hospital during the release may have kept folks in Mumbai away from the theatres,? Lakhia tries to reason. ?But Ek Ajnabee was really appreciated and has been a big help for all of us involved with the film. Arjun Rampal?s career has taken a new turn, Baby Rucha is getting a lot of work, my director of photography and editor are in demand and, of course, I am getting to direct Shootout at Lokhandwala.?

Lakhia finished scripting his new movie, slated to start from August, on Monday. Most of the casting is in place. ?The actors confirmed are Sanjay Dutt, Arjun Rampal, Jaaved Jaffery and Arbaaz Khan,? says the director whose Ek Ajnabee script was invited to the Oscar library a couple of months back. ?They will be playing the cops. For the underworld men inside the flat, I have already spoken to Viveik Oberoi and Emraan Hashmi. We will only sign them once I narrate the final draft of the script.?

Apart from reading Surrender, Lakhia did a lot of ground research for the movie. ?We got hold of the original video footage from Newstrack, read newspaper reports from the library, met up with the cops involved in the shootout, visited the locality and spoke to the various people associated with the event,? he reveals.

Having penned the original screenplay for the movie, Lakhia has now decided never to direct a remake again as he did for Ek Ajnabee.

?Everyone went to watch the movie with a preconceived notion that it will be just another Man on Fire,? he explains. ?So whatever new things we added in our version were just unnoticed. People were more interested in bitching about the movie than watching it with an open mind.?

But isn?t Sanjay Gupta, the producer he is making his new film for, the baap of remakes, having made unabashed copies of Reservoir Dogs, U-Turn and Old Boy in Kaante, Musafir and Zinda? ?He?s busy with his own project but the best thing about having a director as your producer is the fact that he knows what a creative mind goes through,? feels Lakhia. ?And if there are creative clashes, I am sure something better will come out of it. We have got enough time to flesh everything out. So, there shouldn?t be a problem.?

The only problem is that given his subject, Lakhia can?t fit heroines into the frame. ?We are planning to have at least one item number,? he says. ?And that?s real too. We found out that these gangster guys went to a bar the night before and blew up Rs 10 lakh. So, we will just be adding a song to that setting. Like Ek Ajnabee, Shootout at Lokhandwala will be very stylish. In fact, style is what got Sanjay and me together.?

But will he able to make a film without his best buddies in Bollywood ? the Bachchans, senior and junior? ?Of course, I can?t,? pat comes the reply from Lakhia. ?Nothing has been decided as of now but you never know, all three of the Bachchans may pop up somewhere!?

Once Shootout at Lokhandwala is taken care of, Lakhia will direct a film for his Ek Ajnabee producer Bunty Walia. Just Punjabi will have Sanjay Dutt and Abhishek Bachchan in ?a stylish rollercoaster ride?.