As part of my big-slobout-on-first-free-weekend-in-weeks, have lined up a slew of movies to catch up on.
Last night was the so-acclaimed Bollywood thriller, 'A Wednesday' - a story about the Mumbai Commissioner of Police trying to stop an unknown terrorist from blowing Mumbai up.
For fear of spoilers, shall avoid direct references, but really, while the script may be good, I thought the execution was shoddy and without detail.
Here are some:
- The Commissioner of Police promptly moves from his typical government-style office, through the corridors lined with portly middle-aged constables with air guns, to the next room which looks like a mini-NASA room, and orders that no word of the threat leaves the room. Shortly after, he meets the Chief Minister's aide and a news reporter
outside in the same corridor and proceeds to inform them of the threat at hand in front of the same portly middle-aged constables.
- Jai Singh's wife is ostensibly leaving on a long train journey to meet her mom. Within the four hour period of the movie, she is already on the way back - probably so we empathise with Jai Singh as he embarks on what could be a suicidal mission.
- it's very cool to have the 'terrorist' HQ on the terrace of an abandoned building under construction, but really, in a movie that claims to be reflective of grim reality, how practical is that?
- The mystery of Arif. The Commissioner pulls Jai Singh aside to say something 'secret' about Arif before they leave, and there's enough background music for us to sit up and notice, but till the end we never get to know what that is. I suspect it was the director / writer's attempt at inserting a red herring, but it looks instead like an end they forgot to tie up.
- You're telling me that if the cops went all the way to have that mini-NASA room, they didn't have a hacker on immediate call? And that hacker, well, alright if he's a kid, but again, you think it's practical to show him that flippant?
In any case, the twist in the tale was interesting - might not have guessed it if I hadn't read about vigilantism in the reviews.
However, in Bollywood, one needs to make a clear choice in whether one wants the movie to looks realistic, or take off on a typical Bollywood flight of fancy. Bollywood does not mind the latter, even welcomes it with open arms, but when you're sitting on the fence, you have a slightly 'meh' product. Can see how it can't have been our submission to the Oscars.
