Get set for trigger-happy gangs. Wild with vendetta, the guys go on a  rampage — slitting throats, pumping bullets, the goons bash up rival  gang members like we swat flies, fling daggers and knives, explode  bombs… Truly, the men are mean, nasty and short-tempered…
 Welcome to ZILA GHAZIABAD, which borrows heavily from Vishal  Bhardwaj’s OMKARA, Abhinav Kashyap’s DABANGG and also from the cinema of  1970s and 1980s. Nothing wrong with borrowing/seeking inspiration from  the cinema of yore, or movies that have tremendous recall value, but the  fact is that the premise of ZILA GHAZIABAD is thinner than wafer, with  the movie constantly giving you the feeling of déjà vu. The silver  lining is that everything unravels at a feverish pace, with a couple of  dramatic moments camouflaging the deficiencies. Also, Arshad Warsi’s  wickedness makes the good versus evil fight look credible at times.
 ZILA GHAZIABAD is based on the war between two rival groups, led by  Paresh Rawal and Ravi Kissen, respectively. Arshad Warsi crosses over  from Paresh’s group to Ravi Kissen’s faction, while Vivek Oberoi is  forced to take to violence and indulge in bloodshed when Arshad kills  his elder brother [Chandrachur Singh].The battle lines are drawn… The  administration decides to send a brawny cop, Sanjay Dutt, to put an end  to the gang wars and restore peace in Ghaziabad.
 Director Anand Kumar plunges into action at the outset itself. Ten  minutes into the film and you know what to expect. Come to think of it,  you ought to have a strong stomach to absorb the violence in the  narrative. What really catches your eye, despite a hackneyed script, are  the episodes in the first hour. The narrative may be laced with  been-there-seen-that kind of situations, yet a few dramatic moments and  the speed at which everything unravels gives you no time to blink an  eyelid.
 However, it’s in the second hour that restlessness seeps in. While  Sanjay Dutt is hardly there in the first half, his character gets  prominence in the post-interval portions. The problem with his character  is that it’s a replica of Salman Khan’s role in DABANGG. He dances with  the cops, has an eccentric side to him, is playful at times but  spiteful when need arises, also participates in an item number [with  Shriya Saran, a la 'Munni badnaam huyee']. Also, there’re references to  his past works as an actor [KHAL-NAYAK and SAAJAN], which seems like an  exercise to portray the stardom of the actor.
 Besides, the writer stretches things too far in the second half.  Like, for instance, Vivek Oberoi walks into the cop station to meet  Sanju, even though he has a reward of Rs 10 lacs on his head. Even the  culmination doesn’t give you the feeling of having watched a mazedaar  masala entertainer purely because, besides being conventional and  foreseeable, it is stretched by at least 20 minutes.
 Having said that, ZILA GHAZIABAD does have a couple of high-on-energy  sequences, besides hi-octane action. Also, a few clap-trap situations  that the hoi polloi generally enjoys at single screens. The soundtrack  is of run of the mill variety, while the cinematography captures the  rustic flavor to perfection. Dialogue have an old-world charm; the  one-liners are aimed at evoking claps from the aam aadmi.
 Although ZILA GHAZIABAD has several notable actors, the show clearly  belongs to Arshad Warsi, who enacts a negative role with effortless  ease. Actually, Arshad is synonymous with comic roles, so this act in  ZILA GHAZIABAD comes as a [pleasant] surprise. Vivek Oberoi seems to be  getting repetitive. It looks like a photocopy of the part he has essayed  in his earlier gangster films. Sanjay Dutt looks out of shape and also  lacks the charm that this character demands.
 Paresh Rawal is adequate. Ravi Kissen is loud, but it works. Charmee  Kaur has a set of expressions, which she uses all through the movie.  Minissha Lamba is hardly there. Divya Dutta is wasted. Ditto for top  calibre actors like Zarina Wahab and Ashutosh Rana, who have nothing  worthwhile to do. Eijaz Khan is strictly okay. Chandrachur Singh is just  fair. Sunil Grover does very well as a vicious person. Geeta Basra and  Shriya Saran lend glamour in their respective songs.
 On the whole, ZILA GHAZIABAD is purely for the mass belt, the single screen audience mainly.