Review: Wazir is a gripping thriller with power packed performances

***1/2

Wazir is an action thriller directed by Bejoy Nembiar, written by Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and is produced by Chopra. This is the third film after ‘3 Idiots’ and ‘PK’ where the trio of Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Rajkumar Hirani have worked together.

 Wazir begins with the story of ATS officer Danish Ali (Farhan Akhtar) - how he meets his wife Ruhana Ali (Aditi Rao Hydari) and their marital journey. Ruhana is a classical dancer who performs on stage

Life changes its course when Danish is waiting for his wife with their daughter Noorie in his car. Suddenly, he spots a Pakistani terrorist in Delhi and tries to chase him. In the faceoff that follows, he loses his daughter. He finds a grief companion in a disabled Chess grandmaster Pandit Omkarnath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan). Panditji, while teaching Danish the game of chess, revives his lost spirts.  Panditji’s young daughter Nina would teach chess to Welfare Minister Izaad Qureshi’s (Manav Kaul) daughter at the latter’s house. One day, she died falling down from the stairs of Qureshi’s house.  Panditji strongly feels that Nina was murdered by Qureshi. Due to political pressure, Danish is unable to help Panditji fight Quereshi in his legal battle. 

In utter frustration, Panditji throws a shoe at Quereshi’s car. A man called Wazir (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is sent to beat and threaten Panditji of the consequences of going against Quereshi. Wazir is a very smart man as he is following every move of the duo of Danish and Panditji. The quest begins for Wazir as Danish is hell bent on nailing him down. Will Danish succeed in finding Wazir? What will he lose in the journey? Is Wazir the strongest character just like Vizir in the game of chess? 

The quest for Wazir forms the most interesting part of the film.

The performances by Farhan Akhtar and Amitabh Bachchan are power packed. Aditi Rao Hydari looks gorgeous, dances splendidly and her grief can be felt.  Neil Nitin Mukesh is con-vincible as the iniquitous Wazir.

Some moments in the film are absolutely gripping. For e.g. the confrontation between Qureshi and Danish where they hold hands for a few seconds; the scene where Wazir has planted a bomb in Panditji’s house; the chess game in vodka glasses between Danish and Panditji and the scene where Danish chases Panditji’s car to stop him from going to Kashmir.  

The biggest strengths of the film are its plot and editing. At 104 minutes, the film couldn’t have been more crisp and engaging. The plot is so good and has so many twists that you want to watch more.  Also, the dialogues and the music could offer more.  The film tries to use the interplay between chess and life and a lot of the depictions are based on chess. Because of the fast pace of the film, you cannot fathom the intricacies of this interplay. Wish there was more detailing through dialogues or at least the pace was a little slower during such scenes. 

Overall, the film is a great thriller which can be watched once for its power packed performances and a nerve wracking climax. 

An IPS officer Vishwas Nangre Patil, who was the role model of Farhan Akhtar for this film said about the plot of Wazir- “The plot is so intriguing and dramatic that even being police officers we could not anticipate the shock and suspense at the climax”. 

Reviewed by- Dolly Bolly