Critics’ Verdict: ‘Wazir’ Is a Predictable One-Time Watch

Check out how critics are reacting to this week’s big release ‘Wazir’ starring Farhan Akhtar and Amitabh Bachchan

Farhan Akhtar and Aditi Rao Hydari in Wazir

Film: Wazir
Director: Bejoy Nambiar
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Aditi Rao Hydari, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Manav Kaul

Here are excerpts from reviews of Bejoy Nambiar’s Wazir:

<p>There’s enough to watch in <i><b>Wazir</b></i> despite its flaws. It reaffirms something we’ve always known: that there’s nothing to beat a plot-driven film (co-written by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Abhijat Joshi). That the supreme importance in a thriller is to keep it going. And that strong performances are the pivot of any film: watching Akhtar and Bachchan joust and manoeuvre around each other is this film’s high point.</p>

<b>Shubhra Gupta (Indianexpress.com)</b>

<p>Sharp viewers will guess the conclusion much before it comes. Yet, <em><b>Wazir</b> </em>remains watchable even at its eyeball-rolling best. Despite the fact that Bejoy Nambiar’s movie also qualifies for other potential awards, such as the Worst Use of a Flashback prize, the gong for Do We Need Background Music in Every Scene, and the medal for How Not To Ruin the Pace with Song Sequences, the movie holds together. Akhtar gives a sincere performance even though his character is dull to a fault, Kaul is suitably sinister, and Bachchan is fabulous in every scene...</p>

<b>Nandini Ramnath (Scroll.in)</b>

<p>Even for a film that’s only 105 mins long, <b><i>Wazir</i></b> feels slower than a tortoise. Director Bejoy Nambiar starts the film with a stylish title sequence and shoots action sequences well, but character and plot development are absent. <b><i>Wazir</i></b> is not thrilling, entertaining or even mildly engaging.</p>

<b>Aniruddha Guha (Dedh Minute Review)</b>

<p>Like most of Bejoy Nambiar’s movies, this one’s quite stylish too. Fortunately, Bejoy concentrates on dramatic presentations of realistic scenes. What works against the film, however, is loads of groan worthy cliches, predictable storyline and worst of all, it also suffers from the common woe of most Bollywood thrillers; lack of subtlety. There is nothing left to audience’s imagination as the director goes about painstakingly explaining every move, every turn of the story. <i><b>Wazir</b></i> is a good, one time watch.</p>

<b>Shubha Shetty-Saha (Mid-day)</b>