It seems like Sanjay Gupta’s fascination with Mumbai underworld will never fade away . His penchant continues with gangsters and guns blazing around . His previous ventures – Shootout at Lokhandwala and Shootout at Wadala – were hardcore police – gangsters face off drama, and he continues the same template with Mumbai Saga , which chronicles the transformation of Bombay to Mumbai.

But the fact of the matter is, Gupta’s gangster drama offers nothing new . You will feel a distinct deja vu watching Mumbai Saga unfolding in front of you . So you have a dreaded gangster rising the echelons of power in Mumbai underworld ( John as Amartya Rao) . His menacing rise is peddled with guns and goons, pulverizing the bad mafia, corrupt politicians and anyone coming his way . Just when he is riding high , in comes encounter specialist cop Vijay Savarkar ( Emraan Hashmi) who is committed to halt Amartya’s dreaded run. So you know already what happens next!

With Mumbai Saga, Gupta delves into the history of Bombay, the year it became Mumbai after spanning a decade, due to a piece of legislation when many of its mills faced closure as big industry honchos stepped in . But true to his style of filmmaking, he keeps it fleeting, never going into the depths and just touching into the surface. The nexus between politicians and gangsters is jaded, and he inundates the narrative with mass oriented knuckles which are intermittently entertaining but not engrossing. Inspired from true events, Mumbai Saga could have been a solid tale delineating the underneath of new found Mumbai , but it never does. And the deluge of action in every frame is , though stylish, gets exhausting after a point.

Its all seen and done, and you know exactly what you are going to get when you watch this film. In a complete ode to the 80’s flicks, you will get everything in a platter – violence, blood, fights and fists and full on dialoguebaazi. Gupta keeps the story simplistic and focusses more on the style, and it works to an extent. Some of the dialogues are clap worthy – ‘Dhokhe ki khasiyat hai ki dene wala aksar koi khaas hi hota hai‘ , ‘Kabhi suna hai ki andhere ne sawera hone nahi diya?‘ – which I am sure the single screen folks with lap up after a drought of 1 year. Gupta offers some interesting twists and turns which adds up to the style and canvas the film boasts of. And the boys are good – both John and Emraan breathe venom in their face off and put in energetic performances. There are a bunch of talented actors – Mahesh Manjrekar, Suniel Shetty, Amol Gupte – who invest themselves completely in the proceedings. The ladies ( Kajal Agarwal, Anjana sukhani) have , as usual, nothing much to do .

Fraught with more ” Swag” then ” Substance”, Mumbai Saga is replete with Gupta’s usual strokes. If you are up for relentless action, you are bound to stay hooked . When a red face smeared John and intense ridden Emraan face off in a battle of brawns, one is bound to hear the seetis. Its all guns and style blazing around, but be forewarned there is nothing new this film offers . If you club both his Shootouts ventures and Mumbai Saga , you will feel the same!

I am going with 2 out of 5 for Sanjay Gupta’s Mumbai Saga. Its definitely not unwatchable, but the relentless action might end up giving you a migraine. I