Game of life:  Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan) talks with Daanish (Farhan Akhtar) during a game of chess. Omkar tells Daanish that life doesn'€™t give second chances but the game of chess does. (Photos courtesy of Vinod Chopra Films)

Indian movies are known for their singing and dancing but these are absent in Wazir, a suspenseful drama thriller.

Wazir is a suspenseful drama thriller about two men suffering from a common loss.

Daanish Ali (Farhan Akhtar) is an Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officer leading a normal life with wife Ruhana (Aditi Rao Hydari) and daughter Noorie. A responsible husband, he drops his wife at her dance performances and nurtures his daughter.

One afternoon, Ruhana'€™s trinket breaks and she asks Daanish to pass by a shop to fix it. Noorie is left in the backseat of the car. While waiting, Daanish spots a wanted fugitive, Ramirez, in a car in front of him. He follows the car and chases it. Ramirez and his gang wait and start shooting at Daanish'€™s car. Noorie is shot and killed. Daanish and Ruhana are shattered and decide to separate.

Daanish'€™s friend Sartaj invites him to live at his place. The squad chief calls Sartaj and informs him of a planned raid on Ramirez'€™ hideout. The chief'€™s instruction is to keep Ramirez alive. Overhearing the plan, Daanish goes to the hideout and shoots Ramirez. Daanish is suspended on medical leave for ruining the raid, as the squad wanted to know which politician Ramirez was meeting in Delhi.

Frustrated, Daanish goes to his daughter'€™s grave and attempts to shoot himself. As he is about to do so, a van honks with its headlights directed at him. Daanish yells at the driver to turn off the headlights, and a few seconds later the van leaves. Daanish stands up, walks through the gate and finds a wallet. He drops it to the owner the next day. The wallet belongs to Pandit Omkar Nath Dhar (Amitabh Bachchan), a chess grandmaster who has a disability and who teaches children how to play chess.

Pandit tells Daanish that he knew Noorie because she used to take classes from him. He invites Daanish to learn the game and befriends him. In the process the grandmaster tells Daanish how his own daughter, Nina, was murdered.

Nina taught chess to the daughter of welfare minister Yazaad Qureshi (Manav Kaul). One afternoon Pandit received a call that Nina had an accident at Yazaad'€™s house. Pandit knew it wasn'€™t an accident and that she was murdered. He wants Yazaad killed and he tries to get Daanish to do it. Observing Daanish'€™s concern about his case, Pandit wants to reciprocate in his own way by bringing Ruhana and Daanish back together, or at least on speaking terms.

Daanish conducts his own investigation into Nina'€™s death because his instincts hint that something was not right. Wanting to make his case even stronger with Daanish, Pandit goes to the police station to follow up on Nina'€™s case only to be told it has been closed. The police call Daanish to take Pandit home. Pandit then decides to stand in the middle of a road that Yazaad is taking and manages to throw a shoe at his car.

That night an assassin named Wazir (Neil Nitin Mukesh) attacks Pandit. Wazir calls Daanish and warns him to stay away from Yazaad. Wazir also informs Daanish of Pandit'€™s plans to go to Kashmir to get rid of Yazaad. Daanish decides to take Pandit to stay at Ruhana'€™s house for safety. While Daanish and Ruhana are busy talking to each other, Pandit manages to escape. Daanish finds him with the help of Sartaj but as he stands in front of the van Pandit is driving, the vehicle blows up.

Daanish decides to pursue Pandit'€˜s mission and goes to Kashmir and asks his superintendent, played by John Abraham, to help him. More twists occur as the story continues to unfold.

Wazir is an almost perfect thriller until the second half. Director Bejoy Nambiar keeps the audience on the edge of their seats in the first half but the movie then becomes lethargic. Wazir is supposed to be an unknown assassin but it becomes obvious who he actually is. There are too many twists in the story. In some parts, viewers would expect suspense, but it doesn'€™t happen.

The admirable performance of Amitabh Bachchan is unsurpassable. He excellently portrays a father with a disability who is trying to move on despite losing his wife and daughter in separate accidents. Amitabh is the soul of the movie because he brings life to the story. It is his performance that makes the movie worthwhile.

Farhan Akhtar is also very convincing in his role. His facial expressions are perfectly composed in many scenes.

For a change, Wazir does not have dance numbers but in movies like this, they are not needed. The film is enthralling enough that it takes viewers minds into creatively edited cinematographic scenes, involve their intellect. The music composed for the movie is catchy and a major enhancer for the emotional scenes. Despite its failure to fully develop the suspense, Wazir is still worth a watch.

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