The Cinemawala

If you dissect a thriller and view its anatomy, there will be a plot device which will keep on moving throughout to guide the viewer, either in a straight path or in a deliberately deceived path to keep the viewer interested in it until the end where finally the secret unravels itself. If the revelation is the one that viewer never saw coming, then it’s job well-done director! On the other hand, if it doesn’t and you can see everything from a mile’s distance, then it’s a colossal disaster. It leaves a sour aftertaste in the mouth as it falls under the category of “it-could-have-been-better”. It’s even worse if the plot device is a MacGuffin. For the uninitiated, MacGuffin is that part of the story which starts as the primary object but at the end, it turns out to be a matter of little interest with the advent of the bigger objective. Wazir implements the concept of MacGuffin which turns out to be predictable right at the onset and the suspense fizzles out immediately. If you have not seen the movie, well don’t bother, read on…

Wazir tells a story where two men become friends over their grief of losing their daughters and a game of chess. Panditji (played by Mr Amitabh Bachchan) doesn’t believe his daughter died in an accident and suspects the welfare minister Yezad Qureshi (played by Manav Kaul) to be involved. Danish (played by Farhan Akhtar) a suspended ATS officer, is his only friend and is heartbroken as his wife blames him for their daughter’s death during a shootout with terrorists. As a token of their friendship, he helps Panditji in his search of truth. Between their goal and them, one man stands as the ultimate barrier. He’s Wazir.

It’s a known fact that Vidhu Vinod Chopra is an outstanding editor. Some of his previous works bear the stamp of his brilliance. Where he fails, is the department of storytelling. (Remember ‘Eklavya’ !!) ‘Wazir’ runs for a duration of 103 minutes, that’s less than 2 hours. It has been edited very nicely and has one of the smartest credits sequence where Danish’s life story runs through a song shot in slow motion. Aditi Rao Hydari, as Danish s’ wife Ruhana looks ethereal. The movie runs at a breakneck speed till interval, only to be slowed down a couple of times by the love story between Danish and Ruhana. There are some amazing dialogues with brilliantly shot action sequences and the camaraderie between Panditji and Danish is shown wonderfully. The movie hits its peak with the introduction of Wazir and you sit tight, anticipating for a dynamic second half.

Alas, post interval the story loses steam and as if the viewer wouldn’t understand what’s happening, the filmmakers start throwing generous dosages of obvious hints. It mars the overall effect staged before and dulls the story further. Finally, when the suspense is revealed, there is a recap of the entire chain of events to spoon-feed it to the viewer. By this time, you simply walk out of the theatre door, refusing to believe its the same man who made ‘Parinda’. This movie has so much of Vidhu Vinod Chopra in it that you don’t even see the glimpse of Bejoy Nambiar, the director.

Wazir is a good story, spoiled by a half-hearted script.