Wazir

Daanish is an officer in the counter terrorism unit. During an operation he makes a decision and as a result his daughter dies. He is removed from duty and his marriage falls apart. One day he meets a chess teacher. Omkar Nath is in a wheelchair and has lost his daughter too; he ties the cause to a minister's son and can prove it to nobody. The two begin playing chess. Then Omkar asks for something. Bejoy Nambiar directs. Farhan Akhtar plays Daanish and Amitabh Bachchan plays Omkar Nath. The screenplay is by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film is short; unusually short for mainstream Indian production, with the song sections limited. The figure the narrative builds is chess; moves and traps are used directly as the equivalent of the plot. The character played by Amitabh Bachchan barely moves and the weight of the narrative is in his speech. Its limit is the script; the explanation at the end comes quickly and some connections rest on coincidence. The political background concerning Kashmir is inside the narrative but stays shallow. It did moderate business and divided the reviews. Who it is for: viewers who like short thrillers and narratives built on two actors. Who it is not for: the plot is contrived, the characters thin, and the ending too tidy.