Few movies have gashed our soul so deeply as that freakshow Dasavatharam and may its perpetrator Kamal Haasan rot in hell for unleashing that ugly monstrosity upon us.
Now that the same weirdo is readying the release of his next film Unnaipol Oruvan, we thought it time to rewatch A Wednesday.
Unnaipol Oruvan – Borrowed Plot
Bereft of ideas, this veteran bozo of 150 plus films and hailed as one of the greatest film artistes of India couldn’t even think of a novel theme and rushed to Bollywood to borrow a story. At least, this time the fella didn’t profit from theft as he has on earlier occasions (remember Thenali?).
Folks, unless you’ve spent the last two years under some rock in Paramakudi you know that Unnaipol Oruvan is the Tamil remake of the Hindi film A Wednesday. Apparently, Unnaipol Oruvan is being released in Telugu too as Eenadu. Wonder why the clown forgot Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya and Bhojpuri?
A Wednesday – Classy
So setting aside our bulky Sunday New York Times, we switched on our TV yesterday and streamed A Wednesday via Netflix Instant Play.
Featuring Indian actors Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher in key roles, A Wednesday is one of those rare watchable movies to emerge out of the augean cesspool of Bollywood.
The 103-minute Hindi film had us glued to the TV screen as few movies do these days.
Veering away from the Bollywood song and dance balderdash and eschewing the big Bollywood names like Amitabh Bachchan or his flop of a spawn Abhishek Bachchan, the makers of A Wednesday wisely settled on two of the most talented actors in India today – Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher.
Boy, what a smart decision that turned out to be. For the movie and surely for the audience.
Set in the contemporary Mumbai of repeated bomb blasts and terrorist attacks, A Wednesday focuses on yet another violent threat to the city with multiple bombs placed at strategic points in the city.
Ironically, A Wednesday debuted in August 2008 in what seems like an eerie prequel to the bloody terrorist attack that paralyzed Mumbai three months later.
Directed by Neeraj Pandey (who has also penned the story and screenplay), the movie is a fast-paced account of a few hours that starts with a telephone call to Mumbai Police Commissioner Prakash Rathod (Anupam Kher) by a nameless individual (Naseerudin Shah) about various bombs he’s placed in the city.
To prove that he means business, our nameless individual plants a bomb right inside the police station opposite the city’s police headquarters.
Who is this nameless individual? How has he eluded the radar of Indian intelligence agencies (no surprise) but also that of Interpol and FBI?
Is he part of the Al Queda network?
Next comes the chilling demand from our nameless mastermind, an audacious demand that has even the supine political leadership of the state in a rage.
But what choice do the police or the political leadership really have other than capitulate to the bomber’s demands.
As you jump on for a fast paced ride, the movie suddenly shocks you with a neatly executed twist.
Tis’ a treat to watch masters of the craft like Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher in roles that suit their talent.
Even a simple scene like Naseeruddin Shah standing on the tall building calmly replacing a SIM card, disposing off the old one down a long pipe and pouring himself a cup of tea from a flask is done with so much elan.
The script is tightly written and full kudos to Neeraj Pandey for delivering a solid entertainer in A Wednesday.
In a supporting role is Deepal Shaw, a cute girl with perky tits encased in a tight shirt, who plays the TV reporter Naina Roy. Wonder who’ll play that role in the Tamil version. 😉
Given his past record of mostly average movies, we remain skeptical that the clown who gave us Dasavatharam can match A Wednesday.
SearchIndia.com strongly recommends A Wednesday. If you live in the U.S., you can get it from Netflix, by DVD and via Instant Play streaming as well.
A Wednesday – Can the Dasavatharam Bozo Match This? added by SearchIndia.com on
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I don’t mind he making a remake (ofcourse by opening stating it) since there are many ppl who do not know Hindi, atleast in TN and they ought not miss such a movie.
But I really doubt he would match the original. It won’t be any thrilling since we already know how every frame of the movie is gonna be.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: But I really doubt he would match the original. It won’t be any thrilling since we already know how every frame of the movie is gonna be.
True.
Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher are far superior actors.
As we said in the penultimate para:
I will never blame DASAVATARAM. It is the one that made me to join a forum to voice my angry opinion on its Garbage-ry. It drove me to your forum. It is after then I came to know about many things about Bolly/Kolly stuff.
I still feel “nauseating kind-of-feeling” when I think of the moments (torture) me and my wife underwent in the theatre watching DASA.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We wasted $15 on Dasavatharam…might as well have flushed it down the toilet.
remake was not required …kamal will make a mess out of this one ….
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Guess we have to be grateful that Kamal didn’t try a stupid trick like 24-avatar in 24-hours or some such stupid thing.
“A Wednesday” was a very good movie with a brilliant cast. IMO, the movie was riveting because the effort at one-upmanship was portrayed well by both Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah.
Kamal, not content with the 10 avataars he played earlier, has decided to unleash a eleventh – that of a bearded Tamil everyman with an affected English accent – so that the average Tamil guy can respond “Aha! Ennaipol Oruvan”. Only that his effort at one-upmanship will easily overshadow the very essence of the original.
Naseeruddin Shah apparently took a dig at Kamal when he heard that Kamal was remaking “A Wednesday” in Tamil with this quip, “How many roles is he playing?”
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Naseeruddin Shah apparently took a dig at Kamal when he heard that Kamal was remaking “A Wednesday” in Tamil with this quip, “How many roles is he playing?”
Very funny.
Warning!
Spoilers ahead. Do NOT read Srinivas’ comment if you plan on watching either A Wednesday or Unnaipol Oruvan.
the best part about wednesday is the suspense maintained ….when everybody thinks that these are Islamic terrorists …….climax reveals that Shah is avenging the death of innocent people by killing those terrorists ….his name and religion …not revealed adds to the suspense ….of course it is implied in the end that he is not a Muslim ….
Now Kamal here has changed the story ….by adding characters from all religions …this is more to do with his personal beliefs ….and that in this context will undo the USP of the script …….
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yes, that was a neat twist.
no way kamal can repeat the magic of “A WEDNESDAY” , in tamilnadu advance booking for this film is very poor .. i WILL skip this and watch EERAM.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Unnaipol Oruvan is having a fairly big release in the U.S.
It’s releasing here in several states including NJ, almost NY (since North Bergen is just outside Lincoln Tunnel), CT, MA, VA, GA, IL, MN, WI, KS, TX and WA.
2. You write: in tamilnadu advance booking for this film is very poor
These days advance booking is no longer required here for any Indian movie since a lot of H1/L1s have returned.
There r no songs in wednesday but this movie has 4 or 5 songs composed by his daughter ( i doubt where r they going to place those songs in a story like this). And the girl going to play as reporter is anuja iyer, a modèl cum theatre artist.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: There r no songs in wednesday but this movie has 4 or 5 songs composed by his daughter
Having seen A Wednesday, we must say songs are bound to strike a discordant note in the film.
2. Anuja Iyer, is it? Thanks.
There’s a small piece about Anuja with her photo here.
No Spoilers!
Did you put all that warning or Srinivas himself did that?
I was expecting that twist for a long time (I am usually dumb when it comes to predicting a twist – wifey is smarter).. so that was kind of disappointing to me.. but overall a good movie.. Naseerudin’s performance was very subtle (is that the right word).. Hope Kamal doesn’t overact!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. No, we put it in. Srinivas is not so considerate. More like a bull in a China shop. 😉
2. You write: Naseerudin’s performance was very subtle (is that the right word)
Whatever be the right word, we think Naseeruddin Shah’s performance was solid. The guy has class, an element rarely seen in Kamal Haasan’s acting.
Going by Kamal’s narcissistic track record. He might do some changes to script to make it more dramatic and hog the limelight.
likely Script alterations:
1) the reason why he is planting bombs around the city and wants to take revenge on terrorists is explained in a Flash back scene, He is making passionate sex to his wife and generously smooches her in a song. Immediately after song, His wife is killed in a bomb blast in a terrorist attack. From then he wants to take revenge!!.
2) There is a twist!!. His wife was 2 months pregnant when she was killed.
3) He cries and tells that to police commisioner in a very dramatic scene. Everyone in the police control room start crying.
4) he will single handedly eliminates terrorist in a hand to hand fight.
Hows that!! 🙂 .
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Funny.
Sounds very plausible.
BTW, we’re so upset with Naseeruddin Shah for not letting his daughter Heeba sing four songs in A Wednesday.
We heard the young girl sang Ring-a-Ring-o-Roses very well in the Annual School Day competition last year (this sentence is obviously not true but y’all know what we’re getting at, right?).
No, It is NOT going to match the rare gem “A Wednesday”.
Kamal is usually “a jack of all, master of none”. By his tone in the trailer, I can say, he thinks that this role is no difficult for him, and so he would not have made a big effort to bring it up. Shah will be far ahead of Haasan, at the end.
Ultimately, whoever did not watch “A Wednesday” would be praising Kamal’s version, and writing a review of 5 stars.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We haven’t seen the trailer yet. Will look for it now. You could’ve posted a link. 🙁
Btw, did you hear the news that Prakash Raj won the national award for best actor for his tamil movie “Kancheevaram”, amidst tough competition?
I was asking you to watch this movie months back. “Kancheevaram” won the national award for “Best film” [years it is, since a tamil movie won the award]. “Taare Zameen Par” was selected under “Best film for family welfare”, and “Chak de” was selected under “Best film for entertainment” [Awards for both the films to suppress the anticipated debate between Khans?]
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Haven’t seen Kancheevaram yet. So hard to say whether Prakash Raj was better than Naseeruddin Shah in A Wednesday.
Waiting for Netflix to get it.
Best film for Family Welfare category sounds funny. What next, Best Film for Family Planning?
If you are getting at Shruti Haasan, hmmm, well, she sang the song “Adiye Kolludhe” in the movie “Vaaranam Aayiram”, music by Harris Jayaraj [remember, you liked this song].
I remain skeptic about her doing the music score for the film!!!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: she sang the song “Adiye Kolludhe” in the movie “Vaaranam Aayiram”,
She was not the only singer in that song (at least not so, according to Wiki).
Just listened to the song on YouTube. Sounds like Benny Dayal et al dominate in the song.
We just tried to buy this song in Apple iTunes. Surprised to find it’s still not there (unless they’re using some weird spelling).
Time Kollywood got more aggressive on getting their stuff on Apple iTunes.
Eeks, what a horrible actress Sameera Reddy is.
2. We’re not thrilled with this practice of film-kids jumping the queue, simply by the accident of their birth.
This kid has provided no evidence so far that she’s a prodigy of any kind. Just lucky in her genes.
I hear of this category, only this year. Perhaps, Was made up, to satisfy both the Khans. [Any other fellow reader has heard of this already?]
SearchIndia.com Responds:
As we said the other day (if we did not, consider it said), Chak De was unworthy of any prize except the booby prize.
Of course, Benny Dayal and Krish [husband of yesteryear actress Sangeetha, who is 5+ years elder than him] are male singers. Perhaps, Should I have said “She sang it along with Benny and Krish”..
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Krish [husband of yesteryear actress Sangeetha, who is 5+ years elder than him]
The key for a happy married life, particularly for an Indian couple – the guy has to be at least 3-5 five years younger than the girl he marries.
You see, Indian women are generally more mature and worldly wise than men (who are usually no more than kids with a hard on, i.e. merely prick-wise).
And Indian men, in any case, look more for a mother than a companion/partner in the girls they marry.
Obviously, older Indian girls tend to make better ‘mothers’ ahem wives.
Serious. No kidding, about the above hypothesis.
did you locate the trailer or were busy sparring with your newly exterminated pal..
if you haven’t seen it..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJTI1PW3A4M
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thanks.
If the above trailer is a true microcosm of Unnaipol Oruvan, then this is sick shit.
What’s with the accent and drawl – I pause G pause R pause Marar.
They showed Kamal in his toolshed, presumably making the bomb. What next? Showing him buying the chemicals to make RDX?
Our pessimism has exponentially increased after watching the above trailer.
Making a good trailer is itself an art. And the Unnaipol Oruvan trailer falls miserably short.
Try to see “Eeram”,the movie is billion times better than NONDHASAAMY,do u know ,collections of that crap have headed to 62 crores (according to the lunatic team of kandhasaamy) dont b surprised, it is going to break the record of DARK KNIGHT sõõn.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Not sure whether to believe reports of crap films like Kambhakkht Ishq, SIK, Kanthaswamy et al doing good business in India.
By any yardstick, these are all atrocious films that it boggles the mind to read reports of parties celebrating their ‘success.’
Collections for KS might be because of its high cattiness quotient (the meow meow factor) which has good drawing power (Sharon Stone can vouch for that).
Regarding Unnaipol Oruvan, here are three rediff links to interviews with Chakri (director), Venkatesh (Telugu Anupam Kher) and Mohanlal (Tamil Anupam Kher).
1. http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/sep/16/slide-show-1-south-interview-with-director-chakri-toleti.htm
2. http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/sep/15/slide-show-1-south-telugu-actor-venkatesh-on-eenadu.htm
3. http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/sep/14/slide-show-1-south-interview-with-mohanlal.htm
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thanks for the links.
Read the interviews.
Based on the trailer, photographs, prior track record and the inevitable comparison with Bollywood stalwarts Naseerudin Shah-Anupam Kher duo, the omens for Unnaipol Oruvan are not propitious for a good entertainer.
Whatever may be the end result,one has to give it to kamal hasan. He surely has guts cause he knows that the comparison will be with naseer and to match that performance is extremely difficult.
waisey, have u seen sridevi’s and kamal’s sadma? here’s a link to one of its song.movie is superb with excellent performances
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5qMS-K8eYY
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Sadma, no.
The song is lovely.
haven’t you watched the Tamil version either? (I thougt you watched many tamil movies from that era – and this one was unmissable).. or was that your partner.. you guys are driving me crazy.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Moondram Pirai, not 100% sure.
Vaguely remember a train station scene at the end where Kamal Haasan tries various antics to get Sridevi to ‘recognize’ him but fails. Not sure if we’ve seen it or whether someone told us this.
Since we were not 100% sure, we decided not to mention it.
Moondram Pirai was a high point in his career fetching him his first National award as an adult. Yes, the climax of that movie was heart wrenching (if you are into mushy stuff). Without question, the man has played some memorable roles in the distant past, but his more recent avatars have been terrible letdowns.
The question to ponder is whether he has been basking in the afterglow of his past successes way past their expiry dates and the answer to that (if you are not a raving fan of Kamal), IMO, ought to be in the affirmative.
I guess, when you are showered with vapid accolades such as “Ulaga Nayagan” by fawning acolytes from the Tamil movie industry on a regular basis, there is very little left for one to prove to oneself or to others.
BTW, here is the link to the climax of Moondram Pirai
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IcheSMGW78
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thanks for the link.
Decent finale but not nonpareil.
Kamal Haasan shines mostly because the glow from his competition (particularly in Kollywood) is so faint.
Ajith, T.Rajender, Vishal, Vijay, Surya, Simbhu et al, have heaped nothing but infamy on the Tamil movie industry. The difference being merely a matter of degree.
Let’s see what Unnaipol Oruvan brings tomorrow.
and have you seen nayagan or hindustani?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yes, we have seen Nayagan.
But movie stars have to deliver in every movie. After all, we pay for every movie.
Nayagan is more than two-decades old now and you can’t rest on your laurels.
offtopic: if you are planning to go to NYC today, don’t miss this weather forecast.. you’d have probably seen it already?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdnXYWSa56w
SearchIndia.com Responds:
After that chicken comment rolled off the anchor’s tongue, the woman next to him had the weirdest expression we’ve seen on a White face in a long time.
A combination of I-am-Retarded and I-am-Shocked….So Please-Help-Me-God expression. 😉