Wazir

Bejoy Nambiar made waves when he directed Shaitan. A refreshing thriller with an amazing soundtrack and witty dialogues.

This time he's playing with the big boys. Amitab and Farhan, two of the best brains in bolly meet together for this intriguing game of chess, which is laden with twists and turns and takes you through an overall thrilling ride. Neil Nitin Mukesh is probably at his best again after Johnny Gaddar, but remember it was prem ratan dhan paayo, that got him the role in GoT. Aditi Rao Hydari is decent and carries off her character effortlessly like always. :D

But overall I feel this is a positive step for Bollywood. Kudos!

Bejoy Nambiar's 'Wazir' is well-acted, even crisp, but overall, this thriller doesn't thrill. Reason? The uneven writing & predictability. Any thriller works due to its unpredictable nature, which sadly, this one lacks!

'Wazir' Synopsis: A traumatized police officer (Farhan Akhtar) is befriended by a grieving, paralyzed father (Amitabh Bachchan) who is being threatened by mysterious forces linked to terrorism.

'Wazir' begins strongly & catches your attention right away. Its indeed interesting to watch the protagonist take on those who took his daughter's life. The pace maintains even after the protagonist forms an unlikely friendship with a fellow grieving father. But, the second-hour falls apart. The pace drops & the thrills become very predictable. One can foresee whats going to happen next & even the twist in the concluding moments, holds no surprises. In short, the first-hour works, but the second-hour spoils the fun.

The game of Chess is a recurring metaphor & forms the backbone of the story, but Writers Abhijat Joshi & Vidhu Vinod Chopra, don't use it to great strengths. The Writing does have some absorbing moments, but the thrills go amiss, thanks to its uneven tone & the predictability in the narrative. A Tighter Screenplay was a must for 'Wazir'! Bejoy Nambiar's Direction is stylish. Cinematography is classy. Editing is very crisp, as the film culminates within 100-minutes! Art & Costume Design are fair. Action-Sequences are raw. Music by Various Artists is melodious.

Performance-Wise: Amitabh Bachchan & Farhan Akhtar are in fine form, yet again. The Legendary Bachchan adds depth & grief to his sensitive part, while Farhan displays true intensity & emotional devastation, without missing a beat. The on-screen chemistry between the two, is undoubtedly, the film's highlight. Aditi Rao Hydari looks gorgeous, but doesn't get much to do. Manav Kaul is superbly wicked, enacting the conniving politician with great power. John Abraham is wasted in a brief role, while Neil Nitin Mukesh hams in that one scene he appears in.

On the whole, 'Wazir' has its moments, but it could've been smarter & sharper.

I'm a chess fan (not a good player however).

One day, while I was playing chess, a thought came into my mind, "What if the game I'm playing is happening for real somewhere?" Then it was obvious, I searched for the movies with similar theme but couldn't get one. The best I could find was "The Seventh Seal" by Ingmar Bergman which was nowhere near to the one in my mind.

I knew nothing about 'WAZIR' before watching, except it was a chess movie. I'm a chess fan, so, I would have never missed this movie no matter good or bad. I wasn't expecting more either. But, after watching it, my mind was completely blown away. My long wait has been fulfilled. THIS is the best chess movie I've ever seen.

At some points, I felt errors in storytelling (wished they hadn't done it this way). But those were nothing compared to the whole package. The performances were good. The whole script is excellent. Technically, it felt real, which is also a good thing. I'm sure this movie will leave a mark in Bollywood, with its significance growing over time.

This movie came as a surprise which made me experience that, if a movie comes as a surprise, that movie is going to be in your best movies list.

Thanks for the whole team of WAZIR for delivering us this movie. Much appreciated.

When two acting experts who had marked their name by setting milestones and redefining the acting in their own way are bought together to play two pivotal roles, it just adds extra fun to the flow, when the casting is made well then the half work is done, 2016 release 'Wazir' has perfect casting and its beautifully narrated movie that keep its viewers seated till the credit flow, with strong stiffen plot along with powerful characters this movie holds back its viewers and indulge them in the flow, though the plot seems bit obvious it upholds the quality by presenting the story along with play of chess which runs like a metaphor, the brilliance of blending the symbol with the plot gains extra standard shade to the flick.

Amitab Bachchan with his acting excellence presents himself as a full fledged quality performer, his character filled with pain, brilliance, mystery and with slight touch of fun creates a mark on viewers, Farhan Akthar as an ATS officer renders his best acting, his serious and tough shaded role suits him perfectly, John Abraham cameo has good prominence in the flow, Neil Nitin Mukesh with the dark shade tremendously presents himself, Aditi Rao Hydari with her strong performance fills the intensity of the flow, Farhan and Aditi chemistry worked very well, intense BGM glorifies the suspense of the plot and tunes the scene perfectly, editing is very sharp and crispier, director Bejoy Nambiar handled the work very perfectly and his attempt of combining two good actors worked very well.

Overall 'Wazir' is a worth watch with exemplary casting and powerful plot that for sure never disappoints the thriller movie fans, not too exaggerated with perfect start and proper end film seems very well made.

maggyreviews.com (Spoilerless reviews)

Looking at the movie timeline and the thrilling theme that it portrays, it feels that it's crisply made. But often this short movie feels long. You will always want it to proceed further despite it being not irritating at any point. The plot is very interesting but not gripping. It's very little that the film justifies itself but the awesome ending says it all. All the thrill, story, cinematography steals the show because of the brilliant finish.

Farhan Akhtar not really enters completely into the role but still portrays a well focused ACP. Amitabh Bachchan had a great acting success last year and is always a treat to watch. This time he's effective but nothing more than that. All other actors supported the cast well.

I'm a fan of Bejoy Nambiar's direction style. He successfully places his style in this one as well. He is brilliant in parts but also below average in many. Like his last ventures, again he goes above average but it's time for him to go beyond that.

Overall, an interesting plot that's not gripping, but the ending steals the show.