Overall Rating: 8 / 10

Movie: A Wednesday
Genre: Drama
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Producer: Anjum Rizvi, Shital Bhatia
Banner: Anjum Rizvi Film Company, UTV Motion Picture, A Friday Filmworks
Actors: Naseerudin Shah, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill, Aamir Bashir, Rajesh Shringapure, Deepal Shaw and Gaurav Kapoor
Release Date: 5th September 2008

R.K. Laxman’s ‘The Common Man’ comes to life in this hard hitting thriller ‘A Wednesday’, written and directed by the talented Neeraj Pandey. The film tackles the issue of terrorism, from a whole different perspective.

Synopsis

Mumbai Police Commissioner, Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher) receives a call from an anonymous individual (Naseeruddin Shah) who has planted bombs in the various parts of Mumbai. This fast paced action thriller is about the drama that unfolds in the next couple of hours.

But above all, it has the most riveting ending that leaves the audience with questions far beyond the length of the film.

Story

Rating: 10 / 10

Here is a fresh story straight from the oven. Written by a man who not only knows the art of story telling but knows exactly what he is talking about (a rare combination).

The end result is a captivating film about terrorism (hardly any bloodshed) with a gripping storyline and an eye opening climax.

Bravo Neeraj Pandey!

Screenplay

Rating: 9 / 10

Mark Twain once wrote a long letter to his friend and apologized, I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.

But, Neeraj Pandey certainly took his time to write this concise, well-etched and brilliantly sketched screenplay.

In the first act, each character introduction is done in silos and could have worked much better had they shown the scenes with the time as the additional character (1.15 pm- A police officer sees off his wife and kid, 1.45 pm- an actor discussing terrorist calls with the police commissioner.) This would have also helped the viewer get a sense of what was happening in their lives in tandem. For this reason, I have given the screenplay, a nine out of ten. But all said, the film’s ups far exceed its downs.

This one undoubtedly deserves an award in this category.

Acting

Rating: 9 / 10

No words can do justice to the sheer brilliance in performance that we see from Naseeruddin Shah as the antagonist and Anupam Kher as the Mumbai Police Commissioner. Effective performances by Jimmy Sheirgill and Aamir Bashir as fellow officers have added to this high-adrenalin thriller.

In particular, I was impressed by Jimmy Shergill in very different role; the little bulk on him is definitely suiting him well in the role of a cop.

Deepal Shaw in her role as a news channel reporter was somewhat a misfit given the very talented pool of actors in this film, hence a nine out of ten.

Dialogues

Rating: 10 / 10

The crisp dialogues are a sheer delight. You’ll have to watch the film to enjoy it. Some of my favourite dialogues in the film are,

Anupam Kher: “.and come over to my place in the evening. We’ll have a drink together.”

And Naseer’s speech in the climax.

Cinematography

Rating: 7 / 10

This is undoubtedly one of the best works of Fuwad Khan, the cinematographer. He has efficiently used some of his signature moves in this film. The film is certainly an above average in this department.

Other Departments

Rating: 8 / 10

Neeraj Pandey follows his screenplay to the T in the role of the director. One can see his marks in the editing department as well. Sanjoy Chowdhury’s background score complements the mood well.

Conclusion

Neeraj Pandey’s beautifully crafted debut film is a masterpiece and I recommend everyone to watch it in their favourite theatre. Some of the best performances by Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher, makes this the most memorable film of 2008. And most of all, the climax will leave you wanting for more.

– Gaurav Suryavanshi