A Wednesday

Film - A Wednesday

Theatre - Fame Malad

Date - 14th September 2008

Rating – 8.5 / 10

It was a Sunday, more over it was Sanjay’s birthday. I had stayed overnight at my in-law’s place, so this morning we ventured out to see a film. I was divided between “Rock on” and “a Wednesday”, as Sanjay had not seen Rock On, we could have seen it again. But the chance of having a different cinematic experience made me choose A Wednesday and we all had a good time.

Art reflects the culture and values contemporary to those times. With a terrorist attack being a news item almost every month, it’s not surprising that we are seeing more movies based on terrorism. While Mumbai Meri Jaan, showcases the diverse reactions of people to such attacks, A Wednesday, take a dramatic step forward. The plot revolves around an anonymous caller who has alleged to have planted bombs at a few places in Mumbai. To prove it, he shows the location of one of them at the police station itself. What follows is a game of cat and mouse. Beautifully shot with some racy background score, it was a treat to watch. All the characters were so real, that you would think that it is an edited version of a true incident shot real time. The roles played by Nasseruddin Shah (NS) and Anupam Kher (AK) were perfect to the last detail. AK, as the police commissioner, shows lot of dignity and composure. He seems perfectly level headed against the calamity that was about to strike. He is so clear in all his decisions is if it was just another cup of tea. I just wonder where the hell was AK all this while. That’s the tragedy of Hindi cinema. But I am now glad that we are seeing many more films that are sensible and give genuine actors like him a wider scope. And what do we say about NS. The more we eulogize the less it would still be. Whether it is a Parsi or even a watchman (remember Mandi ?) he leaves a mark in whatever he does. This time his role was complex. On one hand, he had to show himself as the cold blooded, clinical strategist, on the other hand he had to be the stupid common man. Both roles enacted as if it was one of his past lives. We are truly lucky that we are living in times when we have such gifted actors like him around and there are movies written that would bring out such acting. Jimmy Shergill is a puzzle in the industry. He has shown great adaptability, whether it is playing the lover boy, or as a hot headed cop in this film. He seems so comfortable in any role. Yet, he still seems to be struggling to find his feet in the industry. Guess, he is still waiting for that one big script that would turn around his career. Dipal Shaw was a surprise cast. I am glad that she wants to be considered more seriously. She does not have a big role but she seems ok. She has a funny sort of voice though, I must confess.

The narrative style is very good. I particularly like the contrast that the director was trying to bring out between the tension that was going on in Jay’s ( JS’s partner in the film) life and how his wife was blissfully unaware of the mayhem that was about to break loose.

Script was good too. Whether it is to show NS as a terrorist, AK as a top cop or JS as a hot headed inspector. The dialogues or characterizations were perfect. What I like the most was the switch of NS from a terrorist to a common citizen. The arguments given perfectly reflected the conscience of the general public. The audiences loved it and responded with whistles and claps. Even lines like, “Your tension has eased, now that you know I am just a common citizen. You now believe that you would be able to catch me very easily…” is so apt. However, the writing has taken a few big creative licenses. To believe that a common man could have such good knowledge about systems and moreover to know all the mannerisms of the terrorists is a difficult to digest. Another question is how was the kingpin so confident of his release, when NS did not mean anything to him. I am sure their ring is very strong and everything is so well planned. So such twists in story make the film less credible.

But all in all, the film is definitely worth watching, and is another step in the right direction for Hindi cinema.