The film is not purely fictional; it is intensely grounded in history. It is based on a dramatized account of the first-ever registered police encounter in Mumbai, where gangster Manya Surve was gunned down by the Mumbai Police on January 11, 1982. The narrative draws heavily from the book Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia by renowned crime journalist Hussain Zaidi.

The movie stands out in the Bollywood gangster genre for several distinct reasons:

Digital rights management (DRM) and stricter copyright enforcement laws have been implemented to track down first-copy leaks from projection rooms.

The very search term "Filmyzilla Shootout At Wadala" is a paradox. Filmyzilla steals the film, but the film’s fame keeps Filmyzilla relevant. It’s a parasitic relationship.

Compromises personal details and financial passwords on devices.