Special 26 Review

Obviously Neeraj Pandey believes in people empowerment. In a democracy you cannot ask for more. He however wrongs the cause with the pattern of empowerment even if plainly suggestive of the space he is willing to thematically give his aam aadmi. A Wednesday overcame such shortcomings largely assisted by novelty and a tight script. He returns to story telling yet again in an atmosphere requiring change. This time his target are the rich and corrupt. The entertainment factor gets the better of the issue. A filmmaker decides on an issue-based script at his own risk. Where he leaves the pulpit and where he joins the stream of entertainment is crucial to deciding the credibility of his work. In all fairness, the filmmaker seeks to balance them without being very bowed down by his message. That is both the strength and weakness of the film.
A foursome gang comprising Sharmaji (Anupam Kher), Ajay Singh (Akshay Kumar), Iqbal (Kishore Kadam) and Joginder (Rajesh Sharma) masquerades as a team of CBI officers. Their modus operandi is to take even official support by chance or surprise. Their target includes the corrupt politicians, tax evading businessmen, etc. The film starts off with a “raid” on the house of a Union Minister on Republic Day. They take the assistance of the local police Ranveer Singh (Jimmy Sheirgill) and a lady police officer Shantiji (Divya Dutta). The Minister is unwilling to lodge a formal complaint or for that matter even have the matter reported for obvious reasons. From the house of the Minister in Delhi, they move to a business house in Kolkata. This time they realise that the CBI is already in the midst of a raid and quickly claim to be from the Income Tax. They even use the assistance of the local police to carry the loot. On trail now is a team of the real CBI headed by Inspector Waseem Khan (Manoj Bajpai). The script now shifts to a planned heist of a jewellery shop in Mumbai – shades of the Opera House branch of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri. This time the team also recruits a 26-member team to carry out “the raid”. Hot on heels is the CBI team who has already planted its moles with the false CBI team.
What keeps the film engaging apart from a tight script is a narration that eschews irrelevance and entertains without being either too intellectually heavy or insulting in the name of entertainment. It is this balance that recommends the movie. Manoj Bajpai comes up with a studied and classic performance. As the inspector on the trail, his intro with a chase scene at Connaught in the 80s. Full credit to the support crew – Editing (Shree Narayan Singh), Art, Stunts (Abbas Ali Moghul) and Camera (Bobby Singh) – all contributing to the amazing affect. Then there is Akshay Kumar – looks a trifle too old to be romancing Kajal Aggarwal who is the needless romantic angle in the film. He adds a fine balance to the stern Manoj Bajpai. They constitute a new twosome and make an interesting combination. In fact they hardly come face to face. Credit to the Director for building up the conflict without an interface. Then there is Anupam Kher. The man returns to the high haloed credibility of his repute. I believe he went unnoticed (or at least did not get his share) in A Wednesday. This time he is amazing. The scene where he interacts with Inspector Waseem Khan is a revelation of how an actor can go beyond just gate and costume and let a performance talk louder. As the hesitant yet willing contributor, middle class but on a Z Axis, he interprets and rightly the script and becomes its mainstay.
The film has its flaws but it has its highs. This in itself is a wakeup combo in a Hindi Film. Go for it with low expectation levels and enjoy a new venture from Neeraj Pandey who falls well short of A Wednesday but well ahead of many of the contemporary films.

L. Ravichander.