While talking about Bejoy Nambiar’s WAZIR, let’s not talk
about anything related to the game of Chess. I fear, it might sound something
smart, edgy and intelligent. And I don’t want to give any wrong impressions. It
does try to look like one but it is not. So, we better stick to the movie and
not the game. Based on an original (?) story by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, WAZIR couldn’t
have been any better directorial vehicle for Nambiar. He’s known for those over-stylized
crime-thrillers (SHAITAN, DAVID) that sure are racy-pacy but also predictable at
the end and too manipulative in terms of throwing some loud-mouthed ‘smart’
twists and turns at you. WAZIR is exactly that but then, where is the midas
touch of Vidhu Vinod Chopra-Abhijat Joshi collaboration on the writing front? Oh,
I remember there is a shred of Bachchan Mania that brings him on board in a magical
make-up phenomenon [like in EKLAVYA] and a trivial bit of Kashmir too. So much
for Mr. Chopra!
WAZIR sets pieces to bring two of tormented souls struggling
with identical grieves together over the chess-board. Danish Ali [Farhan
Akhtar] from Anti-terrorist Squad is facing his wife’s [Aditi Rao Hydri] rejection
and repulsion for losing her daughter in a terrorist encounter. Enters wheelchair-ridden
Pundit Omkar Nath Dhar [Amitabh Bachchan] sharing the pain of similar loss of
his young daughter in a mysterious accident. A union minister [Manav Kaul] is on
his radar as a prime suspect of the murder. And then, begins the game of chess
where metaphors like ‘pyada’ ‘wazir’ ‘badshah’ get much of exposures in
dialogues but hardly sound considerable in actual actions. In one of the scenes,
Pundit ji throws a momentous line at Danish about how it’s all about timing in the
game of chess but there is no timing to play the chess; and Danish hits back
with a plain, simple and straight-faced reaction as ‘Bakwaas’. I wanted these
kind of verbal punches more in the film than relying on a heroic shootout, a
couple of ‘race against time’ chase sequences and some soulful melodies only to
give the director a framework to fit some of his trademark shots i.e. capturing
rainfall in slow-motion.
WAZIR’s strength, without a doubt, finds its traces in its
supremely competent cast. Though making Mr. Bachchan’s character wheelchair-ridden
looks mere a gimmick, he never lets you feel the same about his performance. He’s
easy, effortless and a pro but again, the writing holds him back restricting it
to not make it to the list of his bests. Farhan tries hard and succeeds in a
couple of emotionally-charged scenes. His quick ‘spur-of-the-moment’ real
reactions do grab your attention for most of the scenes. Aditi Rao Hydari looks
good on her part, and makes you wanting more of her, once again. Manav Kaul
does it again with his skilled acting ability to perform the part with absolute
honesty. His subtly to be in a scene and in a space made exclusively for him is
never overpowering or too imposing to make anyone feel unsettled, and it’s
rare. My only expectation from his intellect was to have a Kashmiri dialect as
his character is sketched like one and he’s too not alien to the place in
actual.
Overall, WAZIR is one of those thrillers that make all
the deliberate attempts to be able to overwhelm you with its calculated twists
in the plot without showing any respect to your intellect. I could see this
coming from a first-time filmmaker who doesn’t live in hopes to have a second
chance, thus applying every trick to impress the viewers but not from someone so
established. Play smartly; don’t play smart! [2/5]
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