A WEDNESDAY

TIT FOR TAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bollywood,seems to have made,terrorism,the theme of the year,with Black and White,Khuda Ke Liye,Amir,Mumbai Meri Jaan and now A WEDNESDAY,all rolled out in the same year.WEDNESDAY,is yet again,a movie on communal riots,terrorism,bomb blasts and above all to highlight the plight of the common man due to these unwanted activities,but its a little different from the others.I could relate to the movie even better,as I saw it,soon after witnessing the Barakhamba Road blast site in Delhi,on 13th September,live,three hours after the blast.Train bound to Delhi,that night on Shatabdi,while the blasts were taking place,I could see the panic,in the passengers,with non stop outgoing and in coming calls and most de mounting at stations before their destination.

A Wednesday,is a story,being narrated by the DG Police of Mumbai,on the eve of his retirement,as the most exciting and significant incident of his career.The plot revolves around a call from an unknown caller,who has planted six bombs,and asks for the release of four muslim terrorists.The threat is confirmed by tracing the first of the bombs,planted in the Police Station opposite DG Police's office.The DG in consultation with the CM,gives in,and the four terrorists are taken to be handed over.But to the surprise of everyone ,there is a twist in the tale,when the first three terrorists are blown up by a remote controlled bomb,at the site they were to be left.The caller then confesses,that his venture was not to get them released but to kill them,as a punishment and revenge not only for the innumerable lives they took in the terrorists attacks,but more for the scare created by them in the common population and the disruption of the normal life.He also discloses that he had planted only one bamb,that too,just to prove that he meant business.As per him,they kill hundreds,disrupt life and create a constant fear,but still continue to live,in most cases,and even get freed often,not only to continue their inhuman activities but to motivate others to join the so called Jihad.The fourth terrorist was shot by the police,and another muslim officer was shot in the arm,to cover up the incident as an encounter where the terrorist supposedly tried to run after shooting the police officer.The DG traces and unknown caller,meeting him,giving an indication of his concurrence to the modus operendi,and a genuine expression of his helplessness as the DG Police,who usually works with tied hands,under the thumb of politicians

In spite o an overdose of such movies recently,like the increase of terrorism and communal violence in our lives,the movie has succeeded to maintain the pace,and the thrill and has never slacked on becoming boring.Anupam Kher as the DG Police and Naseeruddin Shah the unidentified caller have given brilliant performances,proving to be the two main pillars supporting the complete plot. The movie has been very well directed,creating the impact of fear,almost making the close ones paranoid abot the safety of theit near and dear ones,and has succesfully highlighted the love Nasseruddin shared with is wife.his name has not been disclosed in the movie,emphasising that he was motivated by humanity and not by any religious group,and did not belong to any specific community,but was the the common man.The movie seems to be a continuation of Mumbai Meri Jaan,which projected the panic in the common man in this age of terrorism,but while that ended with a note suggesting that we should do something ,and preferably something different,Wednesday,has gone a step further to reccomend severe punishment for the terrorists,which may act as a deterrent for others to refrain from such activities.

However both were in unison with the most significant issue,that these are not religious or communal battles,but a struggle of humanity- the war between the humans and the in-human

Dr Sanjay Kapoor Lucknow