WAZIR-movie reviews and BO collections thread-1 - Page 3

Watching truly skilled chess players going at each other is an experience both lyrical and violent, as they bleed and behead across the sixty-four squares like duelling ninjas in slow-motion. Watching a game between people who only believe they're good at chess, however, is plain infuriating.

Bejoy Nambiar's Wazir " based on a script by producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra " stacks the pieces interestingly, to begin with. There is a brooding rook, flawed but furious. There is a desperate pawn with nothing to lose. There are dead princesses to make up for the lack of a queen, and there is, finally, a bishop, awazir, lethal enough to have the film named after him. It appears to be the ideal mix for a taut thriller and, weighing in commendably enough at just over a hundred minutes, this is certainly crisp.

Wazir's problem, then, lies not in the fact that it does what is expected from a thriller; the problem is that it does everythingexpected " which makes it a film that surprises little and adds up to nothing of consequence. The film is about a tough, reckless cop and a grizzled chess instructor bound together by tragedy, and as they become friends, they resolve to brave the storm clouds together. This world of the film is intriguing enough as it stands and Nambiar, to his credit, plays things efficiently enough at the start " till the plot-twists kick in and the pieces fall off the board. The twists are entirely transparent, the film so committed to idiotproofing the narrative that we see everything coming, particularly the one big twist.

Yet, even when visible well in advance, a cleverly executed twist-and-reveal is a thing of beauty. Wazir's twist, alas, doesn't make any sense " or feel, in any way, monumental, thanks to how matter of factly it is revealed and consumed " and neither does much else in this moody revenge drama. I can't go into detail for fear of spoiling an elaborate (if contrived) plot, but suffice it to say that none of the character motives in this film actually add up. Plus there's some unnecessary hokum about Kashmir that just muddies things further.

Farhan Akhtar, crossing his arms and glaring at children who beat him at chess, is pretty good as Daanish early on in the film, but his performance starts to unravel once the film hits hysterical gear and he is required to do more than frown. To be fair, this is less the actor's fault and more that of the imbecilic character, a very dim policeman indeed. Amitabh Bachchan is Panditji, the maestro teaching Daanish about life and love and, rather reprehensibly, how you can hit undo' and cancel a chess move after having moved the pieces. Bachchan, of course, is great at spouting simple homilies and make them appear spontaneous. Some of these dialogues are well thought-out and add to the sense of mood, while cinematographer Sanu Verghese keeps the lighting shadowy, hiding character's eyes and keeping things raccoon-y " pausing only to let Aditi Rao Hydari glow, sad but striking.

And then Neil Nitin Mukesh shows up as a maniac, hamming it up as if squeezing six seasons of Game Of Thrones into one mad moment, eyes gleaming and dagger afire. The film can't survive this onslaught, and the third act " clearly not strong enough to begin with " collapses into itself as things struggle to wrap up. This is a film where a dancer's daughter dances and a chess-teacher's daughter teaches chess, a film where a suspended cop wields great power without presumably being able to spell responsibility,' and a film where an actor in a cameo gets to basically play Rambo.

Somewhere in the shadows lurks Manav Kaul, cool and inscrutable and making this film look good. He, it appears, is more committed to this end than Nambiar himself who, dispiritingly enough, forgoes his usual distinctive visual gimmickry almost completely in this film. I would never recommend that all films feature some KhoyaKhoyaChand-ugiri, but this one cries out for visual zip, for some seriously slick style. Thus this thriller isn't merely predictable but depressingly drab. It has competent moments, but is too generic to be memorable, and that's a shame for it could so easily have been a winner. As it stands, Wazir is the one thing a chess player can never afford to be: obvious.

Rating: 2 stars

http://rajasen.com/2016/01/08/review-bijoy-nambiars-wazir/

Bejoy Nambiar made a strong debut in the Hindi film industry as a director with the boisterous Shaitan' a few years back. Then he made an ambitious dud in the form of David' which didn't click. Now he's back directing a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production not only starring Amitabh Bachchan but also the choosy Farhan Akhtar. So expectations are bound to be moderately high for Wazir. Does it deliver on its promises and start the year on a high?

Story: Danish (Farhan) is an anti terror squad officer who has been suspended because he exacted revenge on the terrorist who killed his four year old daughter. His wife is distraught at their own child's death. He meets Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan) who is a chess instructor. Panditji as he is called because he's a Kashmiri Pandit, is a chess instructor. He also has a tragic past as he also lost his daughter and wife in an accident where he became a paraplegic. Whilst trying to uncover the accident/murder of Panditji's daughter, he falls deep into a crevice of mystery which can engulf his whole life and being. Is he able to overcome all these obstacles? To find out watch the movie!

Screenplay and Direction: Bejoy Nambiar seems to have foregone his visualistic style for an easier narrative that has been shot well. Wazir is a short thriller (runtime of 1 hour 42 minutes) which has some of the finest story building for any thriller in Bollywood but eventually comes short as it teethers towards the end. The revelations and the twists don't leave the sort of impact that they could have. Eventually, it feels like an anti-climax as the buildup promised a modern classic. One major problem with Wazir is that it acts the way we expect it to work. It doesn't surprise. And that coming from Bejoy Nambiar in itself a huge surprise! Wazir ends up as a disjointed failed enterprise.

Wazir isn't as stylishly shot as Shaitan or David, as it makes do with rather mundane Bollywood cinematography. The action scenes are well choreographed, however. The sets and production design are realistic and don't stick out like a sore thumb in the ultra realistic world of Wazir. The costume design is good. The music is better than we'd expect from a thriller and manages to give us decent atmospheric songs and background music.

Acting: Farhan Akhtar is miscast as Danish as he's not able to move past his set of expressions. He's good as the brooding officer but as the vengeful father he falls short. Amitabh Bachchan is at his usual best as the role suits him to the tee. The free flowing dialogues suit Bachchan better than anyone else and he does a commendable job at it. Aditi Rao Hydari is decent as the depressed mom and she looks beautiful too. However, the one actor who manages to steal almost all the scenes he's in without ever resorting to over expressions is Manav Kaul. He's a terrific actor we wish we saw more of!

Conclusion: Wazir is a solid taut thriller if you go to watch the movie without knowing about it or any thrillers ever. For seasoned movie buffs, Wazir disappoints. The great buildup comes short towards the end as the director seems to have thrown everything at us in hope of at least one of those things doing good. Unfortunately, the damage is done in the shape of the disjointed storytelling. Wazir is the perfect example of a missed opportunity which can be given a chance for the potential itself.

Positives:

• Performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Manav Kaul
• Action choreography
• Sets and costume design
• Music and aesthetics work

Negatives:

• Farhan is miscast
• Visualistic style of Bejoy Nambiar is missing
• Screenplay is disjointed
• Twists don't have a lot of impact