A Wednesday

Director: Neeraj Panday

Anupam Kher, again, this time in a lead role. Facing off with Naseerudin Shah. Minus song and dance, and other silly distractions. The casting is reason enough to celebrate; the plot and the treatment matches up. Almost.

One Wednesday afternoon, Mumbai is under grave threat. ‘A Wednesday’ is another in the sudden spurt of recent films which deal with Terror and Mumbai (UTV’s last releases Mumbai Meri Jaan, and Aamir). Police commissioner Prakash Rathod’s cell buzzes. An anonymous caller (only we, the viewers, know it is Naseer) from an unlisted number wants a bunch of dreaded terrorists released, or else he will trigger the bombs he’s placed in parts of the city.

The cat-and-mouse game that ensues also involves two hot-shot cops, Arif and Jai (Jimmy and Aamir), and scoop-hungry reporter Naina (Deepal). There’s a twist in the tale which we won’t reveal, but this we have to say: there’s curiously little tension generated as the proceedings unspool. You see Naseer powering up his laptop, on the terrace of an under-construction building, with his many cellphones-with-unidentifiable-SIM cards. You see Anupam marshalling his forces from Mumbai’s police headquarters, and barking orders at his troops. But there’s not a single heart-stopping moment. And the vigilante-ism that is revealed in the end is discomfiting: do we blow up people who blow us up? Does an eye for an eye take us anywhere?

A couple of touches stand out, though: as Anupam waits for the next call from the man threatening his city, the phone rings with an offer. It’s one of those pesky call centre types! And as Naseer finishes up for the day, and leaves his spot, he suddenly remembers something, and comes back to pick up a polythene bag filled with veggies. Put an end to people whom the state is powerless to do anything about, and then go home to your wife. Nice.