A Wednesday

A WednesdayJan 1st 2008: Bomb blasts in RampurMay 13th, 2008: Bomb blasts in JaipurJuly 25th 2008: Bomb blasts in BangaloreJuly 26th 2008: Bomb blasts in AhmedabadSep 13th 2008: Bomb blasts in DelhiSep 27th 2008: Bomb blasts in DelhiSep 29th 2008: Bomb blasts in Malegaon

October 30th 2008: Bomb blasts in Guwahati

Hey October 30th 2008 was the day before yesterday. I was in the office when the news came in. Anxious calls were made. Was anyone planning a trip to Guwahati? Were there any people in our sales force who were supposed to be there? These are times when a "NO" can be a reassuring response. Everywhere in the country the citizens are trying to find the pattern. Where will it be next? How are we all coping in these times of uncertainty? People avoid crowded places - the shopkeepers moan as they struggle to deal with the slowdown in commerce. A loved one's delay by a few minutes from the scheduled time results in anxious calls. Tempers fly. Then finally people learn to be immune to it all.I was watching a film at a cineplex in Gurgaon on September 13th 2008 with friends when my cell phone started filling up with sms messages enquiring about my safety. There had been bomb blasts in Delhi. The film screening was interrupted by cops who swept the hall for bombs. After a few minutes of this interruption, we settled back again and continued watching the film as if nothing had happened. As we stepped out of the multiplex after the show ended we realized that the mall had been emptied and cordoned off by the police. Families were waiting anxiously to whisk the movie goers home who were still relishing the flavor of the film that had just got over.When you inject a germ into the body in small doses, the body develops immunity to the disease. I think that is what is happening to us all. We flip the newspaper and read some other news item. Apathy can be a coping mechanism too. We pretend it only happens to others and ergo a part of the real world I can just shut off. Responsibility after all is made up of the words Response + Ability.A great debut film is every film director's dream. But not every director can be as lucky as Farhan Akhtar with Dil Chahta Hai or Aamir Khan with Taare Zameen Par. A Wednesday is director Neeraj Pandey's debut film. A tad inspired by the Diehard series some might say. I am not sure. Two different recipes may have identical ingredients, but the flavor and the outcome may be totally different. Each character takes up mindspace - including the satellite characters. And that is a tough thing to do. Deepal Shaw as the TV Anchor or the two cops played by Jimmy Shergill and Aamir Bashir have bit roles but their screen presence cannot go unnoticed. I will say that even for Jimmy Shergill !! Anupam Kher as the super cop has inadequate screen time but how has that ever hampered him? A special mention must be made of Shree Narain Singh's editing skills that never lets the pace slacken.But the one I cannot praise enough in this crime thriller is Naseeruddin Shah. 150 films later this actor always manages to stun me with the breadth of his emotions. Whether it was the bit role in Omkara (Vishal Bhardwaj's masterpiece based on Othello) or the 1983 comedy Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron जाने भी दो यारो(which I rate as one of the 5 best comedy films of Hindi cinema), Naseer is always effortless in his portrayal. I would love to tell you a lot more about the plot and the twists but only after you have gone and seen the film. It is a must see crime thriller after all!

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