Monsoon Shootout

Cast

Production and development

Director Amit Kumar stated that after he saw Robert Enrico's Oscar-winning short film An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, he became interested and fascinated by the idea of human decision-making, and how quick can one make a very difficult decision when one's life is at stake. This idea came to fruition in the form of Monsoon Shootout.

Kumar had previously assisted film director Asif Kapadia on his BAFTA-winning feature The Warrior where he met Trevor Ingman. Ingman decided to help seek finances for Kumar's film starting in 2008, but was unable to do so because of the closure of the UK Film Council which was initially supposed to cover half the production costs. Kumar set sights to find an Indian production partner and in 2010, he ran into Guneet Monga who had produced Michael Winterbottom's Trishna. When Kumar stated his lack of an Indian producer, Monga immediately jumped at the opportunity to fund the film. However, the producers decided that although they loved Kumar's script and idea, they felt he needed to cast a star in the lead role. Kumar stated that "I just wanted to work with good actors". Kumar had the pleasure of working with Nawazuddin Siddiqui in his student short film The Bypass and decided to cast him in the lead role.

Cannes reception

Early Cannes reception for the film has been positive with many international critics taking a liking to the film's noir, artistic detailing.

The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave a very positive first look review of the film stating that it's "a brash exploitation picture, a violent thriller on the tough streets of Mumbai about rule-breaking, bone-breaking cops" and "an entertaining popcorn movie with a twist, for which commercial success is on the cards." He described the film as "Dirty Harry meets Sliding Doors."

The Hollywood Reporter's Deborah Young described the film as "a ferocious Mumbai cops and gangsters drama, and a satisfyingly arty plot that turns in on itself to examine the outcome of three possible choices a rookie cop might make when he confronts a ruthless killer. Three times the story returns to a key moment: a boy with a gun uncertain whether to pull the trigger." She had major praise for Nawazuddin Siddiqui's performance, stating that "Most memorable of all is Siddiqui, who is every inch an unstoppable force of nature, and lucky we are that so much of the violence he wreaks happens off-camera."