Masand's Verdict: Any day, watch A Wednesday

CLASS APART: Naseeruddin Shah's greatness as an actor is evident in the way he performs.

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Rajdeep Sardesai

26/11: Terror comes precariously close

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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.

The film stars Anupam Kher as Mumbai's Police Commissioner Prakash Rathore who receives a phone call from an anonymous person (played by Naseeruddin Shah) demanding the release of four militants, failing which he threatens to set off a series of bombs across the city.

The veracity of the caller's claims is confirmed when he leads the cops to a bomb he has already planted in a nearby police station. Unable to trace the caller or his location, the authorities decide to hand over the militants instead of watching Mumbai burn.

Written and directed by Neeraj Pandey, A Wednesday is an engaging thriller with a twist that's more dramatic and unpredictable than anything you're likely to imagine.

Films about terrorists holding a city to ransom aren't new. It's a theme that's been exploited many times over in the movies, especially in standard Hollywood action films like the Die Hard series.

What elevates A Wednesday from your average action thriller is the fact that it comes loaded with a very solid ideology - there's more to this film than just a race against time to save a city. It's well-intended and makes its point emphatically.

Dissecting the film in further detail would amount to giving away too much, and that's a crime you don't want me to commit. A Wednesday may not be a perfect film - there are clichés that could have been easily avoided, and you may or may not agree with the moral decision in the end - but the film still makes a very important point, and does it bravely, so you're willing to overlook its handful of flaws.