'Wazir' review: Amitabh Bachchan's superlative performance saves this disappointing thriller

Director: Bejoy Nambiar
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Manav Kaul, Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham
Rating: **1/2

What it's about: The first time we meet ATS officer Danish, he meets, falls in love with and marries Ruhana, and they even have a daughter Noorie who grows to be a pre-teen all over the span of one song.  Thereafter, all it takes for his life to go to hell within minutes, is one rash decision, leaving his daughter dead and his wife mad at him. He finds the guy responsible for his daughter's death, kills him and gets suspended. Of course, there is more than meets the eye and a botched attempt at suicide leads him to the crippled Onkar Nath Dhar's door. The man is hurting from his daughter's death and he believes a politician to be the culprit. Onkar and Danish strike a rather quick friendship, and share their pain and anguish, but will they find the revenge they seek?

What's hot: Spectacular camerawork by Sanu John Varghese is one of the film's heroes. The other, most obviously, is Amitabh Bachchan. He quickly and effortlessly demonstrates how well he can lift a supposedly weak scene and even make a limited actor like Farhan Akhtar look good by just being in the same frame. Manav Kaul shines as a possibly crooked politician. While the screenplay by Abhijaat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra has its highs, the editing has its lows. The music, while complementary and adequate, tends to bog down the pace in places.

What's not: Don't they teach common sense at ATS school? Or tact? Investigative skills? Danish seems to have bunked all those classes. It's hard to believe that a man of his resources (despite a suspension) can be so silly when he's required to be everything he lacks. Of course, the explanation for this is given at the very end, and it all seems to make sense. But, by then, it seems like an absolutely unnecessary epilogue. Neil Nitin Mukesh's role is something of an anomaly and while he deliciously attacks it, it passes for overreacting.

What to do: Worth one visit for sure for AB Sr's superlative acting and some ceetee-worthy dialogue (why don't we write like this anymore?). As a thrilling drama, it has some bite, but as a suspenseful tale, it lacks teeth.