<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Bejoy Nambiar. Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Farhan Akhtar, Aditi Rao Hydari, John Abraham, Neil Nitin Mukesh

Running Time: 1 hour 44 minutes

A twisted drama about revenge and intrigue, Wazir has some intense moments but somehow lacks the panache of a well-constructed mystery story.

Farhan Akhtar plays an Anti-terrorism Squad officer called Daanish Ali, who while being good at his job is not such a great father. The loss of his daughter during an encounter with some bad guys creates a rift between him and his wife Ruhana (Aditi Rao Hydari) and he decides to avenge the death of his child.

Legless and on a wheelchair, in rolls Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan), a chess master who runs a chess and play club for the little kids in the area. He has lost his daughter too in somewhat suspicious circumstances. Together they must help each other to right the wrongs committed upon their families.

Daanish becomes a pawn in the game that ensues as he balances his need for vengeance with a need for justice.

While Wazir rivets you at points, there’s something a bit contrived about some of the scenes. It all looks too staged.

On the flip side, the interplay between Daanish and his wife Ruhaana is subtle and bubbling with emotion. Aditi Rao Hydari says so much with those emotive eyes of hers that it doesn’t matter she has very little dialogue in the movie.

What poor John Abraham is doing in the film, is the real mystery.

The twist at the end may not be as shocking or unexpected for some but it’s interesting. With mystery movies like this a deft hand at direction and the editing table are necessary, but Wazir doesn’t quite get that treatment.