https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=A_WednesdayA Wednesday - Revision history2026-07-30T15:53:00ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=A_Wednesday&diff=104017&oldid=prev>Thanaram suthar at 07:53, 3 July 20212021-07-03T07:53:11Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{short description|Film by Neeraj Pandey}}<br />
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}<br />
{{Infobox film<br />
| name = A Wednesday<br />
| image = A Wednesday Poster.JPG<br />
| caption = Theatrical release poster<br />
| director = [[Neeraj Pandey]]<br />
| producer = [[Ronnie Screwvala]]<br>Shital Bhatia<br>Anjum Rizvi<br />
| writer = Neeraj Pandey<br />
| starring = [[Naseeruddin Shah]]<br />[[Anupam Kher]]<br />[[Jimmy Sheirgill]]<br />[[Deepal Shaw]]<br />[[Aamir Bashir]]<br />
| music = [[Sanjoy Chowdhury]]<br />
| cinematography = Fuwad Khan<br />
| editing = [[Shree Narayan Singh]]<br />
| studio = [[Friday Filmworks]] <br> Anjum Rizvi Film Company<br />
| distributor = [[UTV Motion Pictures]]<br />
| released = {{Film date|2008|9|5|df=y}}<br />
| runtime = 103 minutes<br />
| country = India<br />
| language = Hindi<br />
| budget = <!--Must cite a reliable published source with a reputation for fact-checking. No blogs, no IMDb. no fan-sites.--> <br />
| gross = {{INR}} 120 million<ref name="nett"/><br />
}}<br />
'''''A Wednesday!''''' released on 5 September 2008 is a 2008 Indian [[Hindi]]-language [[thriller film]] written and directed by [[Neeraj Pandey]].<ref>[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/saif-katrinas-phantom-to-akshays-baby-how-bollywood-has-dealt-with-terrorism-on-screen/1/461132.html "Saif's Phantom to Akshay's Baby: How Bollywood has dealt with terrorism on screen"], ''India Today''. Retrieved 27 August 2015.</ref> Though a work of fiction, the script was inspired by the 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In fact, the incidents that followed the bombings were used as details in the plot. After finishing the script, Pandey sent it to Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah, who were his only choice for the two principal characters. It stars [[Naseeruddin Shah]] and [[Anupam Kher]]. Set between 2&nbsp;pm and 6&nbsp;pm on a Wednesday,<ref name=red/> the film depicts an about-to-retire [[police commissioner]] (Anupam Kher) narrating a sequence of events that unfolded on a particular Wednesday. There does not exist any written record. The awareness of the incident exists only in his mind and in those of several individuals who were involved, willingly and unwillingly, and how those events affected the lives of all the concerned people. It inspired the Tamil and Telugu simultaneously made films ''[[Unnaipol Oruvan (2009 film)|Unnaipol Oruvan]]'' and ''[[Eeenadu]]'' (both 2009), and the Sri Lankan English film ''[[A Common Man (film)|A Common Man]]'' (2013).<br />
<br />
The film, made at a small budget, was a [[sleeper hit]] at the box office grossing over Rs. 120&nbsp;million worldwide.{{cn|date=May 2021}} Despite its low promotion, it was a box office success due to critical acclaim and positive word-of-mouth. [[Box Office India]] declared it a hit. Critics praised the movie for its effective storyline and its twist ending. Subsequently, it won a number of awards including the [[Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director]] at the [[56th National Film Awards]].<br />
<br />
==Plot==<br />
[[Mumbai]] police commissioner Prakash Rathod ([[Anupam Kher]]), resting after a jog, describes in a [[voice-over]] that he is going to retire the following day. He goes on to describe the most challenging case he faced in his career.<br />
<br />
An unnamed man ([[Naseeruddin Shah]]) carries a travel bag, assumed to contain explosives, in the [[Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus]] railway station and proceeds to hide the bag in the restroom of a [[police station]] opposite to the [[Mumbai Police]] headquarters. He then arrives on the rooftop of a building under construction where he has set up his base of operations, equipped with several sim cards, mobile phones and other electronic gadgets. He calls Rathod and informs him that he has placed five bombs in locations throughout Mumbai and has programmed them to explode simultaneously within four hours unless the Commissioner gives in to his demands and releases four [[Insurgent|militants]]. Rathod immediately alerts his team involved in intelligence research and surveillance, tapping all the available resources to trace the location of the caller. Meanwhile, the caller tips off television news reporter Naina Roy ([[Deepal Shaw]]), telling her to reach the police headquarters immediately as it is going to be "the most important day of her life". Rathod initially suspects the anonymous caller is bluffing, but his doubts are dispelled as the caller, to prove his seriousness and the police force's helplessness, reveals that a bomb has been planted in the Colaba Police Station right across the Police Headquarter. He further scares them by calling the cell phone attached to the bomb but does not detonate the bomb. Just then Roy reaches the scene on the caller's instructions and reports about the situation.<br />
<br />
As Rathod and his team desperately try to locate the caller, the four militants demanded by the caller are rounded up by police officers Arif ([[Jimmy Sheirgill]]) and Jai ([[Aamir Bashir]]). In the meanwhile, police depute a young hacker named Anuj to track the location of the caller. The caller then asks the two police officers to leave the four militants near a bench on a [[Juhu Aerodrome|Juhu Aviation Base]] runway, but Arif leaves only three militants behind and takes one of them, Ibrahim Khan, captive as he suspects that the caller would not reveal the locations of the bombs even after the militants are released.<br />
<br />
A phone placed under the bench rings once Arif and Jai are several feet away and an explosion occurs in which the three terrorists perish. Arif relays this information to Rathod, and the anonymous caller reveals he does not belong to any terrorist organization, and his plan was not to free the terrorists but to kill them. The caller, being just a "stupid common man wanting to clean his house", sought to avenge all the terrorist attacks they had helped carry out in Mumbai and other major cities of India, specifically the [[2006 Mumbai train bombings]]. His final demand is that the officers kill Ibrahim themselves or he would set off all five bombs in Mumbai. Rathod responds by indirectly ordering Arif and Jai to kill Ibrahim and make it look like it was done in self-defence, to evidence which, Jai injures Arif just as Naina arrives at the scene.<br />
<br />
After the death of Ibrahim is confirmed on the news, the caller calls Rathod for a final time to reveal that he had not planted any other bombs in the city. At this point, Rathod declares he already knew there were no more bombs, hence his decision to kill the last terrorist was not taken in fear but in confidence. Rathod reaches the caller's location with the help of Anuj, just as the caller is leaving the place, having destroyed all his gadgets and equipment. The two meet briefly when Rathod, identifying the anonymous caller on the basis of a face sketch, offers the man a ride home and introduces himself.<br />
<br />
In a voiceover, Rathod says the man told him his real name, but he does not wish to reveal it since doing so would give away the man's religion. Rathod admits that he knew the caller was disturbed because of the insecure environment and the incompetence of the governing authorities, but he never imagined a common man would go to such lengths to achieve this end. He also notes that the facts of this incident cannot be found in any written record but only in the memories of those who actually witnessed it, and further acknowledges that although the incident has ambiguous moral significance, he personally feels that whatever happened, happened for the best.<br />
<br />
==Cast==<br />
* [[Anupam Kher]] as Prakash Rathod, [[Commissioner]] of [[Mumbai Police]]<br />
* [[Naseeruddin Shah]] as "The ''Stupid'' Common Man"<br />
* [[Jimmy Sheirgill]] as Inspector Arif Khan, [[Anti Terrorist Squad (India)|ATS]]<br />
* [[Aamir Bashir]] as Inspector Jai Pratap Singh<br />
* [[Deepal Shaw]] as Naina Roy, UTV Journalist<br />
* [[Alok Narula]] as Raj Sharma; Naina Roy's Cameraman<br />
* [[Rohitash Gaud]] as Ikhlaque Ahmed (A terrorist)<br />
* [[Kali Prasad Mukherjee]] as Ibrahim Khan (A terrorist)<br />
* [[imdbname:1201151|Mukesh S Bhatt]] as Khurshid lala (A terrorist) <br />
* Vije Bhatia as Mohd. Zaheer (A terrorist)<br />
* [[Chetan Pandit]] as Chief Minister Sunil Nigvekar<br />
* [[Rajendra Chawla]] as Jaishankar Tiwary; Chief Minister's Assistant<br />
* [[Gaurav Kapoor]] as Arjun Khanna (Actor); Special Appearance<br />
* [[Virendra Saxena]] as Officer In-Charge (O.C) Baburao Patil at [[Colaba]] Police Station.<br />
* [[Snehal Dabi]] as Shambhu a.k.a. Electric Baba<br />
* Aayam Mehta as Shankar Patil; Chief Minister's Assistant<br />
* Apurva Mehrotra as Anuj Sharma; The Hacker<br />
* Seema Malik as Inspector Jai Pratap Singh's wife<br />
* Vicky Ahuja as a middleman who supplied RDX<br />
* [[Namrata Sawhney]] as The Common Man's wife; VOICE OVER<br />
<br />
==Production==<br />
From casting to completion, ''A Wednesday!'' took about eight months.<ref name=htwed/> It was filmed on location around [[Mumbai]] in 28 days. The terrorist's 'workstation' was an actual under-construction 25-story building; it was chosen from 50 other such buildings for its clear view of the Mumbai skyline. Since the building had no elevators, a trolley lift was installed; Shah walked up the 25 floors every day.<ref>{{cite news |title=Naseeruddin Shah doesn’t mind the climb |url=http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report_naseeruddin-shah-doesnt-mind-the-climb_1187758 |publisher=[[DNA (newspaper)|DNA]] |date=4 September 2008}}</ref> Shah mentioned in an interview that it was the first film of his career where he did not change a single word. He was first offered Kher's role.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Naseeruddin Shah REVEALS He Was First Offered Anupam Kher’s Role In 'A Wednesday'|publisher=Bollywood Hungama|work=YouTube|date=5 February 2018|location=India}}</ref><br />
<br />
Though a work of fiction,<ref name=red>{{cite web |title=Naseer and Anupam Kher are poles apart' |url=http://inhome.rediff.com/movies/2008/sep/02neeraj.htm |date=2 September 2008|website=[[Rediff.com]] Movies }}</ref> the script was inspired by the [[11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings]]. In fact, the incidents that followed the bombings were used as details in the plot.<ref name=htwed>{{cite news|title=Neeraj Pandey taking it easy after A Wednesday |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/Neeraj-Pandey-taking-it-easy-after-A-Wednesday/Article1-340390.aspx |work=[[Hindustan Times]] |date=25 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110209080521/http://www.hindustantimes.com/Neeraj-Pandey-taking-it-easy-after-A-Wednesday/Article1-340390.aspx |archive-date=9 February 2011}}</ref><br />
<br />
After finishing the script, Pandey sent it to Anupam Kher and Naseeruddin Shah, who were his only choice for the two principal characters. Once both accepted the roles, he approached the producer Anjum Rizvi who liked the subject and the casting. Meanwhile, UTV Motion Pictures heard of the project, took it on, and bought the film's rights from Rizvi and Pandey.<ref name=htwed/><br />
<br />
==Release==<br />
The release was delayed because UTV's own production, ''[[Mumbai Meri Jaan]]'' (2008), also based on the Mumbai train serial blasts, was scheduled for an August release. ''A Wednesday!'' was released in September<ref name=htwed/> alongside ''[[Hijack (2008 film)|Hijack]]'' and Santosh Sivan's ''[[Tahaan]]''.<br />
<br />
==Reception==<br />
''A Wednesday!'' received critical acclaim with many comparing it to the movies of the [[Die Hard (franchise)|''Die Hard'' series]].<ref name="ibn">{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/masands-verdict-any-day-watch-a-wednesday/72967-8.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081101132202/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/masands-verdict-any-day-watch-a-wednesday/72967-8.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 November 2008|title=Masand's Verdict: Any day, watch A Wednesday|work=[[CNN-IBN]]|date=6 September 2008|access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref><ref name="toi"/> In a ''[[Tehelka]]'' review, while commending Neeraj Pandey for a tightly scripted film, "red herrings, finely etched characters", also noted "(for the film), the real Anupam Kher, whom we met in ''[[Saaransh]]'', and the real Naseeruddin Shah, whom we knew from ''[[Bazaar (1982 film)|Bazaar]]'' and ''[[Mandi (film)|Mandi]]'' and ''[[Sparsh (film)|Sparsh]]'', both show up."<ref>{{cite web|title=The take: Games Everyman Plays |url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main40.asp?filename=hub200908thetake.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912071255/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main40.asp?filename=hub200908thetake.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 September 2012 |date=20 September 2008 |work=[[Tehelka]] |volume=5 |number=37 }}</ref> ''[[The Times of India]]''<nowiki/>'s critic Nikhat Kazmi called the movie "an intelligent diatribe against terrorism, refreshingly packaged as a racy thriller, reminiscent of the Die Hard Series."<ref name="toi">{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/hindi/A-Wednesday/movie-review/3449896.cms | work=The Times of India| title=A Wednesday}}</ref> Rony D'Costa of [[Box Office India]] gave it 3 stars out of 5, stating "it will take just 100 minutes of your time but will give you an exciting & enriching movie going experience. A good watch, any day of the week."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/reviews.php?page=shownews&articleid=416&nCat=movie_reviews&PHPSESSID=e079e189756b1a47bc76362ab4db00d8|title=A Wednesday – Review|work=[[Box Office India]]|date=15 November 2008|access-date=15 November 2008}}</ref><br />
<br />
Noted critic [[Rajeev Masand]] of ''[[CNN-IBN]]'' gave 4 out of 5 stars, and a positive review saying, "It's difficult to explain just how good A Wednesday is without giving away too much about the film. Because believe me, it's a film best seen without any impressions. It's a film whose charm lies in its unraveling".<ref name="ibn"/> ''[[The Economic Times]]'''s critic, Gaurav Malani, wrote, "A Wednesday is one of those rare variety films about which one can't discuss much despite a strong desire for it could hamper your viewing experience as an unappraised audience. It's a film one wants to rave liberally about but even then you can't conveniently converse on the instances of acclaim since those are the moments of surreptitious surprise held in reserve by the director. It's the kind of film that is discussed in detail once it acquires the cult status." He also gave it 4 stars out of 5.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-09-05/news/28403515_1_anupam-kher-film-aamir-bashir | work=The Times of India| title=A Wednesday: Movie Review | date=5 September 2008}}</ref><br />
<br />
Anupama Chopra of [[NDTV]] thought the film to be a "provocative theatre. Its message is urgent and relevant but also disturbing and dangerous." She also felt what it suggested was "implausible".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_review.aspx?lang=hindi&id=338&moviename=A++Wednesday+ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130129175332/http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_review.aspx?lang=hindi&id=338&moviename=A++Wednesday+ |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 January 2013 |website=[[NDTV]] |title=A Wednesday |date=29 September 2008 }}</ref><br />
<br />
==Box office==<br />
''A Wednesday!'' grossed around Rs 120&nbsp;million in India.<ref name="nett">[http://www.boxofficeindia.com/boxnewsdetail.php?page=shownews&articleid=4125&nCat= Boxofficeindia.com]. Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved on 17 August 2013.</ref> The film had a distributor share of Rs 44,600,000 in India.<ref name="verdict">[http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showPro8&catName=MjAwOA Boxofficeindia.com]. Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved on 17 August 2013.</ref> It gave satisfying results to the producers, distributors and exhibitors.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/npages.php?page=shownews&articleid=2905&nCat=news |title=Small Film Bandwagon A Huge Misconception |website=Box Office India |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522051440/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/npages.php?page=shownews&articleid=2905&nCat=news |archive-date=22 May 2011}} Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved on 17 August 2013.<br>- {{cite web|url=http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=215&catName=MjAwOA== |title=Box Office 2008|work=Box Office India|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102010804/http://boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=215&catName=MjAwOA%3D%3D |date=2 January 2010 |archive-date=17 August 2013}}</ref><br />
<br />
==Awards and nominations==<br />
{|class="wikitable"<br />
|-<br />
! Year!! Award !! Category !! Nominee !! Status !! Ref<br />
|-<br />
| 2008 || [[56th National Film Awards]] || [[Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director|Best Debut Film of a Director]] || [[Neeraj Pandey]] || {{won}} || <ref>{{cite web|url=http://dff.nic.in/2011/56th_nff_2008.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019152853/http://dff.nic.in/2011/56th_nff_2008.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-10-19|title=56th National Film Awards}}</ref><br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=14| 2009 || rowspan=2| [[54th Filmfare Awards]] || [[Filmfare Best Director Award|Best Director]] || [[Neeraj Pandey]] || rowspan=2 {{nom}} || rowspan=2| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sify.com/movies/nominations-for-54th-filmfare-awards-2009-news-bollywood-kkfsuoigahisi.html|title=54th FIlmfare Awards nominations|work=Sify.com|access-date=27 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731091253/http://www.sify.com/movies/nominations-for-54th-filmfare-awards-2009-news-bollywood-kkfsuoigahisi.html|archive-date=31 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
|-<br />
| [[Filmfare Best Actor Award|Best Actor]] || [[Naseeruddin Shah]] <br />
|-<br />
| rowspan=12| [[Screen Awards]] || [[Screen Award for Best Film|Best Film]] || [[Ronnie Screwvala]], Shital Bhatia, Anjum Rizvi || {{nom}} || rowspan=12| <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indicine.com/movies/bollywood/star-screen-awards-nominations-2008/|title=Star Screen Awards nominations|work=India Cine}}</ref><br />
|-<br />
| [[Star Screen Award for Best Director|Best Director]] || [[Neeraj Pandey]] || rowspan=3 {{won}}<br />
|-<br />
| [[Star Screen Award for Best Story|Best Story]] || [[Neeraj Pandey]]<br />
|-<br />
| Most Promising Debut Director || [[Neeraj Pandey]]<br />
|-<br />
| [[Screen Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] || [[Naseeruddin Shah]] || rowspan=9 {{nom}}<br />
|-<br />
| [[Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] || [[Anupam Kher]]<br />
|-<br />
| [[Star Screen Award for Best Background Music|Best Background Music]] || [[Sanjoy Chowdhury]] <br />
|-<br />
| [[Star Screen Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]] || [[Shree Narayan Singh]] <br />
|-<br />
| [[Screen Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]] || [[Neeraj Pandey]] <br />
|-<br />
| [[Screen Award for Best Dialogue|Best Dialogue]] || [[Neeraj Pandey]] <br />
|-<br />
| Best Sound Designing || Rakesh Ranjan <br />
|-<br />
| Best Art Director || Sunil Nigvekar<br />
|-<br />
| 2009 || [[3rd Asia Pacific Screen Awards]] || [[Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor|Best Actor]] || [[Naseeruddin Shah]] || <ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com/apsa-archive/apsa-nominees-winners/nominees-winners-archive/?nomyear=60&nomcat=17&winner=17&country=17&Submit=Submit#.VJB9qHv5xOY|title= Asia Pacific Screen Awards Nominees & Winners Archive 2009|access-date= 16 December 2014|work= www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141216215821/http://www.asiapacificscreenacademy.com/apsa-archive/apsa-nominees-winners/nominees-winners-archive/?nomyear=60&nomcat=17&winner=17&country=17&Submit=Submit#.VJB9qHv5xOY|archive-date= 16 December 2014|url-status= dead|df= dmy-all}}</ref><br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Remakes==<br />
The film was remade into Tamil and Telugu. The Tamil version had [[Kamal Haasan]] and [[Mohanlal]] in lead roles, while the Telugu version had [[Kamal Haasan]] and [[Venkatesh (actor)|Venkatesh]] in the lead. <br />
<br />
[[UTV (TV channel)|UTV]] sold the rights of the film to Asia Media and Gemini Media, which remade it into ''[[A Common Man (film)|A Common Man]]'', starring [[Ben Kingsley]] and [[Ben Cross]].<ref>{{cite news |title= A common man’s victory|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-28/news-interviews/30212145_1_film-utv-software-communications-asia-media|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103231050/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-28/news-interviews/30212145_1_film-utv-software-communications-asia-media|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 January 2014|work= [[The Times of India]]|date=28 September 2011}}</ref><br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
* {{IMDb title|id=1280558|title=A Wednesday}}<br />
* {{rotten-tomatoes|a_wednesday}}<br />
{{Neeraj Pandey}}<br />
{{National Film Award Best First Film of a Director}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wednesday, A}}<br />
[[Category:2008 films]]<br />
[[Category:2000s Hindi-language films]]<br />
[[Category:Indian thriller drama films]]<br />
[[Category:2008 thriller drama films]]<br />
[[Category:Indian films]]<br />
[[Category:Hindi films remade in other languages]]<br />
[[Category:Films set in Mumbai]]<br />
[[Category:Films about organised crime in India]]<br />
[[Category:Films directed by Neeraj Pandey]]<br />
[[Category:Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police]]<br />
[[Category:UTV Motion Pictures films]]<br />
[[Category:Best Debut Feature Film of a Director National Film Award winners]]<br />
[[Category:Films about terrorism in India]]<br />
[[Category:Indian vigilante films]]<br />
[[Category:2008 directorial debut films]]<br />
[[Category:2008 drama films]]<br />
[[Category:2000s vigilante films]]<br />
[[Category:Indian action thriller films]]</div>>Thanaram suthar