A Thursday Movie Review: A Gripping Hostage Drama That Will Leave You With A Strong Social Message

Anurag Kashyap made a masterpiece called Black Friday in 2004 and then Neeraj Pandey debuted with his masterpiece A Wednesday in 2008. Despite a four-year gap, there was no film on "Thursday". The joke is over, so you can laugh if you feel like it. Enough of 'Days Game', and it hasn't got anything to do with the films anyway, so let's chuck it. So, we are more than 100 years ahead now since D. W. Griffith made the cult classic Way Down East (1920), which broke the silence on feminine issues. Why is it always a woman who has to hide the sins of a man? When she hasn't done anything wrong, but instead the wrong has happened to her. The film was way ahead of its time, so far ahead that it still feels relevant today. Rajiv Kapoor tried reprising that film after 76 years with Prem Granth (1996), but couldn't really fulfil the promises. To be frank, it went too melodramatic. Since then, we have had many women-oriented films that had a hard-hitting message, but only a few of them lived up to the high standard.Behzad Khambata's A Thursday is yet another woman-driven drama, but it has the side edge of a hostage thriller, and that makes it special. You don't remember all those hostage dramas made in Bollywood except for A Wednesday and Neerja (2016), because we haven't really made many such good films. Khambata's A Thursday is a very nice attempt after all, because it leaves you with a strong message—even though it's an old one, it still has some new shades attached to it.The story of A Thursday begins with the joyful backdrop of a kindergarten amidst giggles and innocent glee, when Naina Jaiswal (Yami Gautam Dhar), the teacher, suddenly takes her students hostage. That happy, smiling, and kind Naina quickly turns into a brutal kidnapper who will stop at nothing. Why has Naina taken such a drastic step? What is her final objective? Why does this cheerful kindergarten teacher hold the children as her hostage? Innocent lives are at risk, and then comes ACP Catherine Alvarez (Neha Dhupia), to control the situation, but instead she ends up making it worse.Naina requests to speak with only Inspect Javed Khan (Atul Kulkarni) and then launches into her demands. First it's money (Rs. 5 Crore) and then comes a bigger one as she asks to meet the Prime Minister of India (Dimple Kapadia). The narrative further reveals many unknown facts while it also explores the dark side of human nature, unpredictable turns of events, and secretive schemes. It takes you through a labyrinth of unexpected twists and turns to find the real motive behind the hostage situation, and whatever happens right there in the climax will definitely leave you with a strong social message, especially for women.In the lead, Yami Gautam shines like never before. She hasn't done any female-led films so far, and A Thursday provides her with a perfect vehicle to explore the best of her talent. She takes you along with her right from the first scene, and how. You even start to like her villainous activities, only to find her right by the end. Neha Dhupia plays a pregnant cop with a fine impact. The male side is led by Atul Kulkarni, who gets into the character with ease. He doesn't really have any happy scenes, so you don't see many varieties, but believe it or not, he has got varieties even in that outright serious role. Watch out for his frustrated scenes when he yells out loud. The supporting appearances of Dimple Kapadia, Karanvir Sharma, Maya Sarao, Kalyanee Mulay and Boloram Das are quite satisfactory.Ashley Michael Lobo and Behzada Khambata have written a sensible script for today's era. I'm not comparing it with others, but if we ever had to see the female version of A Wednesday, then it would have looked somewhat like A Thursday. The screenplay is engaging, which keeps you hooked for more than two hours. The trick of a songless narrative boosts the pace.Whoever believes that a thriller should be made without songs, which usually spoil the momentum, will be pleased to see A Thursday. Hollywood has been doing it, like, since the beginning, forever, so what's wrong if we are learning those KG lessons now? Anuj Dhawan's cinematography is technically sound as he attempts those quick zoom-ins, but after a while, it starts irritating you. The background score helps a lot here, so you feel some impact.A Thursday has a few dull moments in the beginning part. Actually, those can't be called fully dull moments, but yes, there are cliches for sure. Once you get over that, there are not many such moments for you. It recovers well and almost makes you forget those old mistakes. Behzad Khambata surely leaves a mark with his direction. It could be because he has written it too, so he might have imagined the scene already before going on floors.Whatever else Khambata has done as an assistant director, writer, or otherwise, this is by far his most notable work to date. It's okay if he couldn't battle the typical nuances of mainstream Hindi filmmaking; it's still good enough to make it a mandatory one-time watch. In short, A Thursday is a perfect, thoughtful hostage drama we have all been waiting for. A must-see for the female audience, and for a change, the males can take something home too.