A Wednesday

Yesterday I saw the movie ‘A Wednesday’. And the first phrase that came to my mind as soon as the movie got over was: (I don’t know if the English is technically correct or it makes any sense or not…that’s what came to my mind)

It’s a movie capable of shaking the wits out of anybody’s trousers!

WARNING: For those who haven’t seen the movie yet…..Please don’t read on!
You don’t want this post to be a spoiler!


An infinite number of movies have been made on the issue of terrorism…and though each one tackles one or the other aspect of this thousand headed (and ever increasing) monster, they are usually predictable. Most of them are an insight into the life of the terrorist…getting into the reasons of a common man turning a terror weapon and the like.
The other aspect covers the struggling administration…helpless most of the time.

Reel reflects the real.

A bomb goes off…..10 or 20 or 50 or 100 odd people die.
The whole police department on its heels.
The intelligence of the country clueless.
The government busy denying the charges which the opposition takes no time in slapping.
The news channels rush to blast site….start covering. They get a break from snake charmers and stories of the world ending for 2-3 days. This is the same media who is more concerned about the number of dresses a minister changes when people are dying out there!
People in their homes get stuck to their televisions, punching their remote buttons, jumping from one channel to the other, trying to get every camera’s view of the miserable sight.
A few phone calls, checking if all friends and relatives are safe and then settling back…and with them settles another heap full of fear.

THIS is the section affected the most. THE STUPID COMMON MAN.
Is this how we want to live?
Do we want to spend the rest of our lives dreading those few thousand fanatics who will come and bomb us anytime they fancy?
This is exactly the question raised in the movie.

The movie shows one frustrated “stupid common man” who is tired of living with this fear and decides to do something about it because he has lost all faith in the government he chose and the administration that runs him and millions of people like him.
He decides to fight back by biting back.
He gets four terrorists held in the prison, soon to be released, together by making the police believe that he is a fellow militant who wants them released by blackmailing the government. And then…he bombs the four.

The ironical part is that the police and the government are clueless and helpless again.
They do as they are told to. Any single man with 5 kg of explosive can make them dance like puppets to his tune.

The movie makes you think about a lot of things.
Your role, your capability being the citizens of this free country who have all the right in the world to live without fear. I do not deny that I too am one of those millions who dare not do such a thing and would rather adjust to the situation, but I definitely was shaken by the realization of what a common man can do if he gets at it!

The movie ends with a question unanswered:

What the man did…was it right or wrong?

Its for you to decide….and I think it was right, for those who do not flinch at the idea of killing people will never understand anything we SAY.