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10 years of A Wednesday: Naseer rates the film among his very best
Actor Naseeruddin Shah’s acting career spans almost five decades. So, it’s saying something when he calls the 2008 film A Wednesday as one of the best films he has done. “It is one of the most special films for me, not just in the recent times, but overall. It ranks somewhere among the top four or top five films I’ve ever done,” says Shah, 68.
It’s a happy coincidence that A Wednesday completes 10 years of its release today, on a Wednesday. In the film, Shah played the role of a common man, who got tired of the frequent terrorist attacks in the country, especially in the city of Mumbai, and decided to take the law in his own hands, to teach the government — and the terrorists — a lesson. But Shah wasn’t at first offered this role. When Neeraj Pandey, who made his Bollyowood debut with this film, first approached the veteran actor, he offered him the role of the police commissioner, a part finally played by Anupam Kher.
“I loved the entire script, so I was up for that [cop’s] role as well,” says Shah with a laugh. “But later, he changed his mind, and Anupam was offered the role, while I played the common man,” he reveals.
“The character expressed frustration,” Shah adds. “He was tired of what was going on, in terms of random acts of violence, taking the lives of innocent people. That’s something I think people sort of understood and related to, which is why the film was received so well.”
Many felt that the movie “promoted” vigilantism, says the actor. “A lot of people thought that the film was about taking the law in your hands, and thought that it promoted the idea of vigilantism. But nothing of that sort every happened. It’s very easy to say that cinema pushes people to emulate all the wrong things in the world. If that’s the case, why don’t people learn the good things from it?” he asks.
His lengthy dialogues were “very difficult to remember” then, but Shah points out that “I know a lot of those speeches are now quoted by a lot of people”.
The film was a big hit, not a surprise at all for the actor. “I knew it the first time, after I read the script, that people would love this film. Of course, you never anticipate the kind of success this one saw, but I’d be lying if I told you that I was surprised,” he signs off.