John Abraham, From Cop To Gangster In Shoot Out At Wadala

Mumbai, Oct 6: After playing a cop in Nishikant Kamath's 'Force', John Abraham is stepping into the grey zone with his character of a dreaded gangster of 70s in 'Shoot Out At Wadala'.

The film also marks Sanjay Gupta's return to direction after a gap of four years. The director is known for making action-thrillers like 'Kaante', 'Musafir', 'Zinda', 'Shootout at Lokhandwala'.

Gupta says the dramatic thriller about the gangster Manya Surve will see John go through a major transformation.

“Story of Manya Surve needs a good actor. Also, there is a certain physicality to this character. John will go through a massive transformation,” said Gupta, who last directed John in 'Zinda'.

“John would be seen in a different light altogether as this character would grow from the 60s, establish itself in the 70s and then eventually reach its culmination in the early 80s. John has never played a role like this before.”

The actor is known for his sophisticated image onscreen but Gupta is confident that he will pull the role of a desi gangster with equal ease.

“Shahrukh started off with a 'Baazigar'. Anil Kapoor was seen in a new light after 'Tezaab', Sanjay Dutt got further acclaim as an actor for 'Vaastav', Saif was hailed furthermore as an actor after 'Omkara'. All negative roles. This is a trend that you cannot ignore,” said Gupta.

A co-production of Ekta Kapoor and Sanjay Gupta, 'Shoot Out At Wadala' is produced by Anil Kapoor and goes on floors in December and would be ready for release in late 2012.