Wazir Movie Review: It makes the right moves

Wazir plays out like a game of chess, every move played in a symphony akin to the game, as the story unfolds towards the amazingly crafted climax. The build-up is strong enough to make you believe that you’re in for a good ride in this amazingly well written story. By the time you’re nearing the end, you’ve already enjoyed an amazing story which captivates you from the first shot. And then, in the end, Wazir hits you, you’ll end up replaying the movie from the start to grasp-in the beauty.

Wazir is like a puzzle which is interesting while you’re out solving it, but only becomes perfect when you’ve finally finished it.

[Picture courtesy: BollywoodCat]

How wrong can you go when Sonu Nigam fills the life into the slow-motion prologue for the romance between Farhan and Aditi, with “Tere Bin”, playing in the rain-filled backdrop. The song sequence brushes you like how a calming drizzle makes you feel on a hot day. The camera work is brilliant in the movie, but this sequence remains my favorite. Terming Ruhaana and Danish’s love story sweet would be an understatement.

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ATS Officer Danish Ali , played by Farhan Akhtar, redefines the Angry young man with charm and earnestness, while essaying this role alongside the original Angry young man. Farhan ensures you’re by his side as he makes you travel through the transition of how a happy family man’s life goes downhill with just one wrong move. There is a certain easy-to-the-eye effortless performance delivered by Akhtar through Danish Ali’s character. You won’t find Farhan but only Danish.

[Picture courtesy: Indianexpress]

Pandit Omkar Nath, played by Amitabh Bachchan, moves around in his wheelchair due to his paralyses. His eyes bring out the pain irrespective of whether he’s joking around with his friend, Danish, while playing Chess or being angry while remembering his daughter. Amitabh gets the best dialogues of the movie. This man, delivers another splendid performance after Piku.

Aditi Rao Hydari acts as gracefully as she looks, and her chemistry with Farhan is effortless. With Wazir, she finally gets a good role to boast about.

[Picture courtesy: Indianexpress]

Roles played by Manav Kaul (Yazaad Qureshi) and of course the mysterious Neil Nitin mukesh (Wazir) convert the storyline into a powerful narrative.

But the real hero of the movie is in its direction by Bijoy Nambiar. The entire buildup would have been lost, the great content could have been wasted, actors like Mr. Bachchan and Farhan not utilized, but no, none of this happens (thankfully). We can all thank Bijoy for that. From showing the happy side of the rains when the film startsoff, to a weeping father about to shoot himself near the graveyard of his daughter, the contrast value of rains has been effectively captured by Nambiar.

The beauty of the movie is when you’ve seen it all, and you just replay it in your mind and you immediately understand how solid an effort this was. It sets a benchmark for dramatic thrillers for Bollywood movies. The dialogues are intelligent and not pushed-in. The camaraderie between Farhan-Bachchan, or Atrangi Yaari, as they call it, brings out some of the best dialogues from the movie.

The Background score lends the perfect balance to the story as it moves from one Chess move to another. The fight sequences have been done brilliantly. The first fight features a sleepy-headed Farhan who completely owns it with his performance. This is his first action movie and he just hits the right notes.

The only visible flaw is how a few scenes have been dumbed-down to suit the audiences for a mass appeal. An extra dialogue to explain a few things or an extra scene to make sure everyone is on the same page. Something which the Hindi remake of Drishyam is also guilty of doing as compared to its original, Malayalam version.

But even with that, this is a movie which is based on a powerful story and can be appreciated in its entirety. Expect a good climax in this action-packed thriller. Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.

I’m going with a 4/5 for this Farhan-Amitabh starrer Wazir. Khel Khel me, khel khel ye aajaega!