The pace of the film is testing on the nerves. All the Kolkata portions keep reminding you of Kahaani and Piku. The original film was all about the cop on the case and the mother. The film should have been about its integral plot and not about fans that don't work, scooters that don't start and some old property that needs to be sold. A simple and effective whodunit becomes a wannabe tear-jerker so that the director can show his creative touch. Add a wheelchair-bound grandmother, a cop who embraces priesthood and father who blames the grandpa for his daughter's death completes the melodrama. In this film, an aged, frail and helpless grandfather has replaced her. For starters, in the original, the mother is on the hunt for the kidnapper. The problem with Te3n is that it tries to manipulate your emotions. I don't understand why a filmmaker would buy the rights of a great film and then add his own interpretation to it make a mess of things. In case you are wondering about the title, it is about the three characters, each with his/her own reasons for being to be interested in the case Te3n boasts of a wonderful cast even though not a single performance stays with you. You don't see the mystery solve itself, till it does on screen. For those who have not seen the original, it is a great suspense movie. Te3n is a remake of the brilliant Korean thriller Montage. John, Martin, and a new inspector Sarita Sarkar (Vidya Balan) now try to solve this case. Till another child is kidnapped using the same MO. Everyone seems to have lost interest in it. He continues going to the police station every day to find out if there has been any development. The inspector on the case Martin (Nawazuddin) has since left his job and become a priest.
Fugitives.Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vidya Balan and Sabyasachi ChakrobortyĮight years have passed but John Biswas (Amitabh Bachchan) has not been able to move on from the kidnapping case of his granddaughter Angela Roy. However, a better pace could have lifted this film a notch higher. The film’s ability to maintain the suspense right till the end makes it a must-watch for those who like whodunnits. As the jigsaw puzzle falls into place, the protagonists’ feelings towards the situation and themselves falls perfectly into place, keeping the viewers pleasantly engaged with the plot and the people. What is also impressive is that the mystery is kept alive right through. And its strength is that it never wavers from around its three principal characters - the granddad, cop and priest, each of who is involved with the case for reasons of their own. The plot starts with introducing the audience to the eight-year-old kidnapping case through a conversation between John and investigating officer Sarita (Vidya is dynamic). And that isn’t the only aspect of the film that is right. Having mastered every mannerism of a senior citizen, whether it is the mouth-agape expression or looking over the rim of his spectacles, his nuances are spot on.
Bachchan, who recently bagged the National Award for his role as the cantankerous elder in Piku, is superlative. Nothing will stop him-not old age, an erratic scooter or his caregiver duties to his wheelchair-bound wife. With dogged determination, John makes it his life’s mission to resolve his granddaughter’s abduction and murder.
The disappearance of an abducted child has turned two people’s lives upside down one is that of John and the second is that of Martin (Nawaz, who is flawless as a policeman-turned-padri seeking atonement). Based on the Korean film, Montage, Te3n is a whodunnit that is simple in its intention but clever in its execution.