Vidhu Vinod Chopra who is known for producing quality movies is back with his new movie WAZIR, which is the first big release of the year 2016. He is a clever film maker who has always believed in his product & as a result gave us many hit films in the past.
His latest product Wazir is about the story of a cop(Farhan Akhtar) and a handicapped person(Amitabh Bachchan). Both have one thing in common, which is that they both have lost their daughters recently. The former lost his daughter during an encounter with the terrorists whereas the latter’s daughter died in an accident, but the father believes she was murdered by the Welfare Minister(Manav Kaul).
The movie starts on a very fast note as the premise is set in the first 20 minutes. The meetings between Farhan and Mr. Bachchan after their initial meeting generate the interest of the viewer. Farhan when tries to investigate the case of Mr. Bachchan’s daughter faces obstacles from the department controlled by the Welfare Minister.
Things go further wrong one night when a criminal WAZIR attacks Mr. Bachchan & warns him not to chase the minister. From here starts the game of cat & mouse, which leads to the death of Mr. Bachchan, whose vehicle is blown in front of Farhan.
Furious Farhan goes to Kashmir to take revenge on the Welfare Minister & kills him but is shocked to learn that the minister knew nothing about the WAZIR.
Then who is WAZIR? Why was he protecting the minister? Can he be caught? To know the answer you will have to watch the film.
A thriller becomes more engrossing if the writing is deft, duration is as per the requirement and execution of the material is exciting, which is backed by splendid performances by the star cast. But has the film WAZIR lived up to the expectations?
Dialogues by Abhijeet Deshpande are well in tune with the movie as he has penned some excellent dialogues. Background music by Rohit Kulkarni is good. Cinematography by Sanu Varghese is top class.
Song Tere Bin is beautifully written by Vidhu Chopra, composed by Shantanu Moitra, sung by Shreya & Sonu Nigam. Another song that gives goose bumps is Khel Khel Mein, written by Abhijeet Deshpande & the powerful voice of Mr. Bachchan takes it to next level.
Why did John Abraham accept the film? There is no scope for him as he is there for a couple of scenes only. He does well though. Neil Nitin Mukesh is menacing and does extremely well in a short role. Aditi Rao Hydari does well in whatever screen presence she got. In most of the scenes her eyes had to speak & she doesn’t disappoint. Manav Kaul as the Welfare Minister is superb and makes his presence felt. Multi-talented Farhan Akhtar had huge responsibility on his shoulders and he does a commendable job as the cop, a grief ridden father & an associate to Mr. Bachchan. Full marks to him for his commitment.
Mr. Amitabh Bachchan once again delivers a wonderful performance. It is nice to see him doing different roles. He can only surpass himself.
Director Bejoy Nambiar shows technical brilliance as he executed some scenes exceptionally well but he should have spent some time with the writers to sharpen the script because thrillers need to be supported by razor sharp writing especially as the scenes unfold to shock the viewers. Vidhu Vinod Chopra & Abhijat Joshi has tried their best to write a foolproof screenplay with razor sharp editing but still I felt a little extra effort would have made wonders that would have worked in favour of the movie.
Nevertheless, WAZIR is still several cuts above those forgettable movies made these days. It can be watched at least once.
Rating: 3.5 Stars