A Wednesday

The message is loud and clear — the aam admi (common man) is angry with serial blasts. Debutant director Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday maybe fictitious but it draws inspiration from the realities of our time.

The film concentrates on the strange encounter Mumbai’s Commissioner of Police Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher) has with a frustrated common man with no name, played by Naseruddin Shah.

Shah plants four bombs and demands the release of four dreaded terrorists, all of whom are languishing in jail after being convicted for various blasts across the country.

Shah plays his game through a mobile phone and a laptop from a rooftop and makes the police believe that he wants the freedom of the terrorists.

However, when the police comply to his demand he does something which surprises all.

As for the casting, Shah, Kher and Jimmy (as a die-hard policeman) are all convincing, but Deepal Shaw as TV reporter Naina Roy looks totally out of place. If one looks carefully into the set you will also notice certain flaws, like the wireless phone antenna being up in one scene and then pulled down in the next.

However, the best part of this film is that it makes you think as to who this common man is and what are his real intentions. Finally, unlike many typical Bollywood film A Wednesday gives you the opportunity to reflect and be your own judge when it comes to terrorism.
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Hindi (U/A)

Cast: Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Jimmy Shergill, Aamir Bashir, Deepal Shaw, Gaurav Kapoor nklageDirector: Neeraj Pandey