Desi Roger Ebert

If you remember my first post I had mentioned how I would try and steer clear of Bollywood movies. Going by the count, all my readers ( yeah all 3 of you) would have come to realize how good I must be at keeping my New Year resolutions. Partly this has been due to some really good sensible movies coming out of Bollywood this year (No, Rock On, you don’t count)

A Wednesday is by far the best among all these. A minimalistic budget effort is always an attraction to me ever since the days of Hitchcock. The real essence of the movie is and will always be the story with special effects being merely an added attraction. Of course a perfect mixture of the two makes for an entertaining great movie a la The Dark Knight.

Where Wednesday lacks in technical finesse and big fireworks, it makes up by providing a heart to the story. The trouble would have been attracting the crowds to the theaters but i guess they took care of that by bringing together two stalwarts of Indian Cinema- Anupam Kher and Nasser ud din Shah. Together is well actually the wrong term to use for these two golden age baddies of Indian cinema since they are seen together in the movie only in the last frame (except for split screens)

The movie follows a wednesday when the police station receives a bomb threat call and the terrorist (NS) makes clear his motives by leading the police to a bomb placed in their own backyard. Jimmy Shergill the eternal chocolate hero gives a stellar performance as a no-nonsense tough cop and he is ably backed by this other guy (Kamal Khan look alike) as an honest cop. It was refreshing to see JS carry out this non-stereotypical role with such grace.

The caller wants the release of 4 hardcore terrorists in order to divulge the information about the other bombs’ placement.And oh btw he has enough of technical expertise to outsmart the police (Indeed). The two cops are sent along with the terrorists ostensibly to hand them over to NS and their eventual freedom. Turns out NS actually wanted them killed for their roles in serial blasts in India.

See such a simple plot yet the movie has soul. and the soul is Naseeruddin Shah. It’s been ages since someone gave such an amazing performance in Bollywood history (maybe Amitabh in Black). In a script-backed role, he mixes all ranges of emotions perfectly. The monologue at the end is heart warming and has been delivered from heart.

Anupam Kher on the other hand is a big disappointment. To be fair, his role didn’t have too much maneuverability either. He delivers a bland performance. The 3-D effects are also cartoonish.

But one is given only a few reasons to complain. The ire of common man against the system has been done to death (Ghatak and numerous other movies being standout examples) but while the ire in these movies was motivated by individual grouses, the sheer helplessness of the common man in face of growing threats and the failure of the govt. to respond provides the backdrop for this movie.
Almost apologetic use of F words and abuses lends a common touch to the movie.The movie is kept short and terse and there are no songs for a change. A bit of humor (sometimes self-deprecating) is thrown in for good measure. The movie does use some cliched characters but in the larger picture one can forgive this.

Go watch this movie, any given day of the week and not just wednesday

watch it for : some disturbing questions, Naseerudin Shah

watch it with : Anyone

Genre: Crime, Drama

Rating: Gem

Wednesday