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| Edited By: Aniruddha Guha |Source: |Updated: Nov 21, 2013, 01:44 PM IST
A Wednesday
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Aamir Bashir and Deepal Shaw
Rating: ***
'A Wednesday' doesn't take time to get down to business. As a bespectacled Naseeruddin Shah is shown strolling across the city, traveling in a train before walking in to Colaba police station, police commissioner Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher) is in office, where film star Ajay Kapoor is lamenting about how bhais are targeting him with extortion calls only because he's in minority. "How are you in minority, Mr Kapoor?" asks a confused Rathod. "You see, in the film-industry the Khans are in majority. It's Amitji, Abhishek and me that make up the minority."
Funny moments apart, 'A Wednesday' manages to hold your attention right through the 1hr-30mins of runtime. Rathod gets a call from an unknown number and the person on the other end (Shah) tells him that he has planted bombs across Mumbai city and one of them is in the police headquarters itself.
Once the bomb in the headquarters is located, Rathod knows the man means business. From then on, it's a battle of wits between the unnamed caller and Rathod. ATS officer Arif Khan (Jimmy Shergill), inspector Jai Pratap Singh (Aamir Bashir) and television reporter Naina Roy (Deepal Shaw) also get entangled in the cat-and-mouse game.
What makes A Wednesday an engrossing watch is that it focuses more on the thriller element than trying to be a film that preaches. Frankly, after an overdose of terrorism-related films at the theatres (Mumbai Meri Jaan, Black And White, Aamir and this week's other release, Hijack), A Wednesday manages to stand apart as a film that looks to entertain more than impress. And it does that fairly well.
The film would have remained lifeless without its performances. Watch the two seasoned actors - Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher - enact roles that befit their acting prowess. Kher, especially, has been saddled with inconsequential roles in the past, and this one gives him a chance to show his mettle. Right from the body language as the commissioner of police to the authority he exudes, Kher has given a superlative performance.
As the man who keeps the police on tenterhooks, there couldn't have been a better actor than Naseer to enact the part. Together, these two acting stalwarts take A Wednesday to another level. To add to it, Aamir Bashir and Jimmy Shergill give extremely natural and competent performances too.
The film is short by Hindi film standards, and that's a big plus for the genre it belongs to. It cuts down on the flab and remains taut throughout. The twist in the end gives it the right edge. Director Neeraj Pandey may need to sharpen up on his technical skills, but does well as a story-teller.
He has added just the right dash of humour to the proceedings, and in spite of avoidable clichés (cops pledging their lives to the police commissioner), keeps most of the conversation natural. Things like Naseer interacting with Kher from the top of an under-construction building, from which he can view the city, so vulnerable under a terror onslaught, adds to the effect.
In the final analysis, A Wednesday achieves fairly well what it sets out to do: Give some thrills, a few laughs, some great performances and a thoughtful end. Don't go expecting a great film; but one that gives you more than your money's worth for its duration.
