Rating: 3/5
No Spoilers ahead.
The problem with Te3n is the perception it carries about: ‘From The Makers of Kahaani’.
Early-on in the movie, Amitabh Bachchan cooks a bad dish for his wife. She asks him the name of it. He says he picked it up from somewhere, doesn’t know the name and apparently forgot á few ingredients too, and thus, after tasting, confesses that he has ‘invented’ a dish.
That’s what Te3n is all about. It has been ‘invented’ with ingredients of Kahaani. Thanks — the makers didn’t forget to name the movie — but no thanks, for it’s an unobvious one.
Unfortunately, they threw out the primary elements from Kahaani – a natural yet thrilling script, crisp humour, and most importantly, the sinister feeling that lasted till the climax– and instead picked on the seasonings: Trains and Railway platforms, Kolkata trams, Durga Pooja celebrations, Howrah Bridge, ferry in Hooglhy river, narrow alleys of Kolkata, etc.
Regrettably these can’t make up for the unconvincing and made-up script of Te3n which is devoid of even a build-up to a clinching climax.
So, it’s a sour and half-baked dish for the fans of Kahaani. The suspense is inferior, the cops are not smart and logical as Parambrata Chatterjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and there is no Bob Biswas this time to keep you on the edge of your seats.
Te3n is what the trailer shows you: Amitabh Bachchan is in search of the culprit responsible for killing his grand-child. Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui play cops. All three are in search of something, and probably, that is what Te3n (Three) means.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the role of cop-turned-priest Martin diligently and portrays a number of emotions with much precision. Those emotions keep you intrigued with what he may be feeling but ask me what’s exactly Martin’s dilemma?
I don’t know! It’s not that it’s not explained. The movie keeps alternating between threads and that is where a distinct description of Martin’s character is lost somewhere out there in the middle. It fails to leave an impact. That’s what a poor script and editing can do to the acting of an established actor like Nawazuddin. He appears ordinary.
Vidya Balan, ‘in a guest role’ (as the casting said), is the weakest (?third?) link of the movie. She is stubborn with her conclusions and instead of being an open-to-reasoning investigator, she is in a hurry to close the case because her boss wants to ‘answer the media’. Can it get more clichéd?
For some incomprehensible reason, her character name (Sarita) is revealed much later in the movie. Juxtapose Tabu in Drishyam alongside Vidya Balan in Te3n, the latter falls flat on her nose. She looks aged, fatigued and lethargic and lacks the agility that (Bollywood) cops are expected to portray.
Apart from the good number of loopholes while unraveling the murder mystery, there are a few other unexplained threads, e.g. how does Vidya Balan know Nawaazuddin Siddiqui?
The character of Maulwi in Imambaara, is one of the many examples of forcibly fitting clues to keep the story moving. The investigation and logic of the protagonists culminating into the climax is rather abrupt and too fast to comprehend.
Add further to poor-detailing of Te3n: There is a pen that has survived for 8 years in a grave but appears to be brand-new.
So, what works for Te3n?
It is undoubtedly, Amitabh Bachchan’s role as John Biswas. John’s character is the most neatly-detailed character of Te3n. Sadly, it’s a double-edged sword for Te3n. On one hand he is a grieving grandfather who wants a closure to the death of his grandchild, but on the other hand the scenes portraying his suffering and daily challenges are the prime culprit in pulling down the pace of the movie.
Removing the role of his wife could have cut-short the movie by half an hour, thereby giving a lot of space to other characters.
Again, Kahaani fans have to live with this but if you leave that aside, BigB’s fantabulous portrayal of John is the backbone of Te3n. He genuinely appears to be suffering from insomnia and his yearning for the lost child is palpable.
He is a confused cook, an angry grandfather seeking redemption and his fragility while changing the gears of the scooter or running daily errands is laudable. He sings his pain in the Kyun-Re song, brilliantly.
All said and done, the slow pace, poor chemistry and exchange of dialogues between Vidya Balan and Nawazuddi Siddiqui, is compensated by an absolutely stunning background score. Besides wonderfully done make-up of Amitabh Bachchan, the background score is one of best thing Te3n offers. Clinton Cerejo’s music infuses life in Te3n at more than a handful occasions and keeps you connected with the emotions of the characters. Remove the background music from a few scenes and that’s it; the rating of Te3n would go down further.
For the Kahaani fans, it’s a 2.5 out of 5 but still watchable. Remember to leave Kahaani outside the auditorium.
For the rest, it’s an out and out BigB movie. It’s a 3.5. Just go for it.
Rating: 3/5.
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