A Wednesday (2008)

IT IS TRUE WHAT THEY SAY about greatness. It is always meant to be. No amount of planning or foresight or pundits with beards longer than their hands can ever truly make someone something one is not. If one is destined to be great – one is. Most times one wonders how much more one has to shout and scream so that people can take notice while other times…well, other times silences creep in so beautifully that we hardly recognize them and something breathe taking has already been created.

Before, dear reader, the assumption is made that I am off on a track quite abstract to the common man – ah, that word suddenly sounds so powerful – let me underline the topic I have chosen. I was browsing through my usual collection of review websites when I happened to get a glimpse of one interesting review. It was for a movie I had never heard of. Neither had I ever seen any publicity posters of it nor had I guessed it would feature two of my all time favorites – Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. The fact that no one else, except maybe the highly underestimated Jimmy Shergill, was even remotely recognizable on the credit list apart from these three did not deter me from giving it a shot. Bollywood these days is being showered with 'alternate' cinema that runs a delicate line between commercial masala-fundas and the documentary type approaches. In such a rain it is easy to miss some true refreshingly different rain drops. Having shied away from such features for a while, I decided to give this a look-see since I knew Naseer and Anupam would definitely make it worth my time. With that random assumption, I began watching 'A Wednesday'.

Two hours laterÂ…I was going through a very rare feeling. I did not understand it initially since it had been such a long time but then, I knew. It was the same bunch of emotions I had felt when I had seen the climax of 'The Sixth Sense'. It was the same 'Oh wow!' feeling that had pierced my veins as the final few minutes of 'The Usual Suspects' drowned in my eyes. It was the very unique gut sense of genuine enthusiasm I had felt when I finally understood 'Momento' in its last frame.

But, this time it was different. I had never felt such a tingle in my heart for a Hindi movie in many years. Sure, I have had my share of laughs and appreciation for some decent Indian cinema over the years, but there was never anything in them that made me say to myself 'Â…he is so rightÂ…this could happen to me tooÂ…todayÂ…tomorrowÂ…any dayÂ…' since there was never any context. What 'A Wednesday' successfully did was pick me up from my starry eyed slumber and slap a 'REALITY CHECK' sticker on my face. It reminded me of the times we are part of. It made me wonder about my own life and how unsure things are in the world we live in. It, if not anything else, made me think.

I am sure people often sigh and yawn about movies that make them 'think' since it is exactly the opposite reason of why one would watch a movie. No one wants to see relevant issues these days. There is a huge fan following for the larger than life, escapist features which come and go every week. We Indians, the world's best consumers, lap it up in all our glee not caring about if it had anything to do with our life. Why? Since it does not matter. It never does, does it? But then how long can we keep doing this? Once in a while we do need that refreshing slap on the face that makes us realize who we really are. And what a wonderful slap this was! No bet

Fmovies: A Wednesday' is a brave attempt which makes a commentary about the social and political fabric of India. In the recent past, many Hindi movies have treaded along this path and sought to bring in a revolution in at least the way people think about issues. 'A Wednesday' is a welcome addition to that league.

It mocks the government, reminding it of the duties it ought to be performing as the caretaker of the common people. Another thumbs up for showing the power of the common man and stating in no uncertain terms that religion is secondary to nationality.

And the best part is that all this social commentary isn't preachy so to speak. All this is a byproduct of an engrossing edge of the seat thriller with great performances by veterans - Nasseruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. Even the lesser knowns - Jimmy Shergill, Aamir Bashir and Deepal Shaw shine in impactful roles.

A well scripted affair; it has some masala and cheesy lines which has enough juice to get the sub-urban masses whistling.

It caters to every Indian -- Niche or Urban and should not be missed.

While I understand A Wednesday did some good job in heavy uplifting patriotism, is it enough for it to be placed into top 250? I do not think so. I see most of the reviews are a bit, how to put it, "overly-benevolent", I suppose written by people moved by the message.

While movie have some interesting moments, it is slow paced, unimaginative, predictable, unrealistic and in my opinion, too long. Come on, I feel like 75% of all scenes was just a cops and politicians playing important while heroic music plays - that's it - good guys walking in a corridor (lot of corridors out there, believe me) and music, talking to a phone (you mostly cannot hear what they are saying) and music, waiting in a car and music, sitting, standing and so on. But the story was there, it just the movie should have been shorter by half.

Occasional action is laughable. That is said, if you can call a scene of a some sort of cop beating some sort of thug into a pulp with his 90's midi sound waves superpower (checked, nobody came to any real harm for sure) an action. But short laugh usually came to end shortly afterwards, as some pretty nasty humiliating moments happened to the bad guys (they all are...bad guys...right?), which made me a bit sick (hooray - true emotion).

So to wrap it up, it is a movie showing message of hatred to the bad guys. You hate them bad guys? Then it is a chance you will enjoy this movie. I know terrorism and stuff is a bad thing and so on - OK, but make a quality movie about it, then I bet it will be welcomed into top 250 with open arms.

A Wednesday fmovies. Brilliant movie. A complete and wholesome masterpiece. A realistic and commendable approach to the ticking time bomb that is the resilience of the Mumbai population. I hope movies such as this, "Aamir", "Mumbai Meri Jaan" and others of this rank keep coming because movies such as these makes me proud of the Indian cinema fraternity.

The acting done by greats like Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah cannot go unnoticed. The movie has a rather slow pace in the beginning but with time the movie grips and keeps you at the edge of your seat. Watch out for excellent dialogs exchanged in the end of the movie. Noteworthy performance by Jimmy Shergill and Aamir Bashir.

An absolute must-watch for everyone.

I gave an extra point just for the fact that this is relevant cinema. Instead of churning out the next round of mindlessness that earns 140 crores due to the multiplexed masses, this one tries to talk about the current helplessness faced by the common man in India. The topic for discussion is terrorism. The movie begins with a phone call to the Police Commissioner informing him of bombs and asking for the release of 4 terrorists.. The movie then predictably moves into the Negotiator and clock ticking genre.

The acting is well done, the plot maybe not that believable but the dialogue at the end is gripping and humane. Naseer and Anupam are as good as they are - no surprises there. There are no songs (GOOD!) and the movie chugs along at an okay pace.. The movie doesn't have a solution... rightly so coz terrorism has none too I believe. It just voices out the anguish of the little the common man expects but has become a rarity now. Expect no hitchcockian twists and you should be happy for the price of your ticket. Certain things that we "get used to" leads to the entire society being trodden upon. Not saying NO at the right time leads to a heavy price in the future. Recommended for a late night snack watch.

There are a few movies that entertain, there are a few movies that give message and then there are a few movies that you can relate to. A Wednesday is definitely one such movie.

The story revolves around an anonymous man (Shah) who calls up the commissioner of police (Kher) and informs him about the bombs that he has placed. Bomb blast is something that I personally am scared of. It had ripped Mumbai in 1993 and then in local train and bus. Only people stood by each other. It followed thru out the country. And what can one common man do? .

The story line is fantastic. Its hard to believe that this is Neeraj Pandey's first movie and he has taken a gigantic leap without including any songs. The movie itself is only one and a half hours - half of what Bollywood movies usually are. Then he has not shown the police administration either as corrupt or the bookish kind of honest. He has probably taken the real view of police department And then the cast. Naseerudding Shah is one actor who can crawl under the skin of any character. Be it the coach in Iqbal or the pirate in The League of Extra-ordinary gentlemen. Then there is Anupam Kher whose acting abilities are still not tapped to the best by any director. These two stalwarts make-up this movie. And this movie does not have him in a stereo typical dads role. Aamir Bashir as Jay and Jimmy Shergill as Arif are just outstanding. Nothing in the movie is out of context. Well-acted, well-directed, well-scripted, well-executed.