Te3n (2016) [Film Review]

Te3n; or, Vengeance for a Granddaughter

     I couldn't do anything for my daughter. And after she was gone, I couldn't take care of our Angela also. I can't sleep at night. I have to find the man who took Angela away from us. And I promise you… I will find him.

Continuing my discussion of Montage, I’m now moving on to Te3n, an official Hindi remake of the South Korean thriller.

Release Info 

Directed by: Ribhu Dasgupta Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vidya Balan

Language: Hindi Movie Industry: Bollywood Runtime: 136 min

Synopsis

8 years since the kidnapping of his granddaughter Angela, John Biswas (played by the legendary Amitabh Bachchan) is relentlessly visiting the police station day by day. Inspector Sarita Sharma (Vidya Balan) politely tells Biswas that they have no clues about the kidnapper. Also, Martin Das (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), the officer who was handling Angela’s case, is frequently visited by John. Yet, personal shame pushed him to become a priest, thus he is reluctant to help Biswas. Nevertheless, undeterred grandfather begins his own investigation as one day he notices a girl wearing his granddaughter’s cap. In the meantime, another kidnapping occurs in exactly the same manner as the one 8 years earlier. Father Martin is convinced that the same kidnapper has returned.

Crime Streets of Kolkata

Firstly, I have to point out that I’ve seen Montage and Te3n back-to-back. Though watching Montage was an invigorating experience, I was pleasantly surprised by Te3n as well. I know it’s a remake and the script clearly does not shy away from its Korean progenitor since it tells the same story, but it’s not a lesser production altogether. Indian filmmakers took what was best in Montage, framed it in Indian cultural background (great setting of Kolkata), and added a few subtle changes. What were the results:

Slow-paced progression of the events. Especially at the beginning, it is very hard to get into the story. Both films begin with the same sequence of a child’s death, but whereas Montage jumped immediately at the whole before-it’s-too-late stuff because “statute of limitations,” Te3n scraps this whole segment and we have to sit through 20 minutes of talking and flashbacks in order to understand what is going on.

Yet, it’s not entirely a bad thing. Who said that thrillers have to be only fast-paced? This introduction at least allows us to get to know three main characters: another substantial change. In Montage, there was only the mother and the detective. Here, we have the grandfather, the priest (former detective), and the police inspector (who is a woman). Major change indeed, but it significantly improves the story.

In the original film, the mother seemed two-dimensional, hence the detective had to carry on his shoulders the emotional charge of the story. In Te3n, the three characters provide fresh perspective for the viewer. We’ve got John Biswas whose traits are the mixture of the mother and the detective (determination to catch the abductor, obsession, near insanity), Father Martin who used to be like detective Cheong Ho but his guilt destroyed him, and Inspector Sharma who... does not really give a damn about the old kidnapping case. In consequence, new characters not only remake but also reinvent Montage’s plotline, making it open to new interpretations.

Additionally, the way how John Biswas discovers the kidnapper’s identity is done differently. In Montage, it was not much of an investigation than a complete accident for the mother. She found an umbrella with a logo, made the list of suspects and it was the end. However, John goes full Sherlock as he finds new pieces of evidence (a cap, a pen, a company logo). Another positive alteration.

However, that’s basically it when it comes to plot changes. The makers of Te3n knew the value of Montage and did not even try to veer off its main course. Careful re-enactment of Montage’s most important moments (kidnapping, picture in the garbage truck, and dreadful railway station sequence) was a bit of a letdown to me. I know it’s a remake, but I hoped for some greater ingenuity. Yet, what I’ve seen was satisfactory enough.

In terms of performances, the three (as the Hindi title hints) leading actors are the main pillars of this picture. Amitabh Bachchan does a marvellous job as the grandfather seeking justice. You can feel the anguish, suffering, and emotional torment of the main character. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is convincing as a disillusioned cop-turned-priest seeking redemption. Surprisingly, Vidya Balan does well as a female police officer and I’m encouraged to check out some of her other films. Padmavathi Rao, though only in a supporting role, deserves an honourable mention as John’s wife.

Recommendations

Even though it’s a remake, I highly recommend this film to anyone interested in a good thriller. Although the main crime is repeated, the movie is well written, has an awesome cast, good music, and is set in West Bengal. Even if you have already seen Montage, check out Te3n to see what was done in a different way. In my opinion, Te3n stands equally with its South Korean source material on the level of quality. A solid production among Bollywood's 2016 releases.

Overall score: 8/10

Aankhen (2002) [Film Review]

Aankhen- Because fiction is far stranger than the truth…

What do Amitabh Bachchan, three blind men, and a bank have in common? Brace yourselves for the weirdest heist movie straight from Bollywood!

Release Info

Directed by: Vipul Amrutlal Shah Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Paresh Rawal, Sushmita Sen

Language: Hindi English Title: Eyes Movie Industry: Bollywood Runtime: 165 min

Plot

The movie opens with an enjoyable dance stunt and the title song. At least, the movie underlines the fact that it’s a Bollywood flick, although you might actually forget about it as the story goes on.

Our main hero is a fine gentleman called Vijay Singh Rajput (played by the always awesome Amitabh Bachchan) who is the manager of a highly respectable and profitable bank. However, honourable Mr Rajput suffers from… schizophrenia(!), which often makes him lose his temper in heated situations and resort to physical violence. That is the case with one of the bank clerks who after stealing 100 rupees is beaten almost to death by Rajput. Needless to say, Rajput is fired from his beloved job by the bank management and thus he decides to carry out the most painful revenge on his superiors. That is, he plans to perform “the weirdest bank robbery ever made.”

In view of this, an alleged schizophrenic (the guy’s a maniac for sure, yet I wouldn’t call him schizophrenic, but rather a guy with some serious self-control issues) devises a plan which even Dom Cobb would find batshit crazy, namely, rob a bank with the help of three blind folks. Reason? Such guys would never be suspected of committing the crime. Genius!

In order to carry out his devious plan, Rajput puts out a fake announcement about a workshop for blind men, and also blackmails a foxy teacher, Neva (Sushmita Sen), by kidnapping her younger brother, to help him train the team…

Premise & Focus

The longer the movie goes on, the crazier it gets, but not entirely in a negative way. The main premise is clearly put forward at the beginning and the “how they’re gonna do it?” question is the driving force which keeps us watching this Italian Job on steroids.

Interestingly, the focus of the film shifts relatively quickly from the character of Rajput to the blind men. Arjun (Arjun Rampal), an endless optimist whose tendency to care can only be compared to Jesus; Ilyass (Paresh Rawal), a noisy street-bum who can never be serious when required to; and Vishwas (Akshay Kumar), a guy who with the loss of his eyesight gained “the sixth sense” and can sense people around. Yes indeed, this trio seems even crazier than Rajput, but watching them work together is pure entertainment itself. Strangely enough, they seem to be the characters whom we are supposed to cheer on and relate to. We get to know their tragic back stories, observe how they get along, and eventually how they get as a team. Nevertheless, the viewers are somewhat fooled from the beginning by perceiving Rajput as the ultimate hero of this twisted story. Why is that the case?

Characters

First of all, Rajput is the very first character we see on screen and the issue is that with every consecutive scene, Rajput is presented as more and more negative and inconsistent as an action hero. By logic, he should be the one we ought to have pity on. Despite his anger, he was a devoted worker who got cheated out of his years of hardship. In consequence, it should seem that Rajput wants to commit a crime purely for providing sufficient moral justice, in order to make the management feel fooled and ashamed. However, the bank booty becomes Rajput’s obsession and after the heist, he is determined to go at lengths so as to keep the stolen jewellery.

The blind team, on the other hand, are the total contradiction of Rajput. Instead of being just in the background, they are the ones who are put in the spotlight of this twisted story. Apart from comic relief from Ilyass and some “thriller-like” innuendos from Vishwas, we are also served a romantic subplot between sensitive Arjun and harassed Neva. Unfortunately, this stereotypical love affair does more harm than good to the picture, because it goes totally nowhere…

In fact, after the amazing final heist scene (because there are a couple of these in the film) the whole picture seems to go nowhere. The last 40 minutes completely ruin the still-unstable mood of the picture with its unbelievable plot twists and unevenly paced action.

Bollywood flick or not?

At the beginning, I made a statement that you might lose the feeling of the film being a Bollywood production. The problem is that it tries as hard as possible to be a Hollywood-like movie. We have the evil bank, some high-class interiors, and a few English catchphrases like “All the best” or “Truth is stranger than fiction.” In addition to that, the setting is also a crucial factor. The movie was shot mainly indoors, but you get impression that there is something wrong with all of the outdoor scenes. Why is that? Well, perhaps it is the fact that the film was shot not in India, but in Cape Town, South Africa! This isn’t Mumbai, this isn’t New Delhi, this is just Cape Town pretending to be an Indian city! Maybe it’s just my own exaggeration, but I clearly felt that all the streets packed with Indian extras looked pretty strange and after reading the movie info, I finally knew that the “fake location” was to be blamed.

Moreover, we are served with only three dance scenes in the movie. These were very well made, but also felt quite forced and out of place. However, perhaps the genre of heist movies isn’t the best sort of material to put Bollywood music in.

Recommendations

All in all, the makers of this weird delusion couldn’t decide whether it should be entirely a heist movie, an action-drama movie, or a thriller and as a result we are served with a mixture of the three. Yet again, the movie isn’t entirely bad and it has some positive sides. For instance, the heist scenes are awesome, the chemistry between the partners in crime is also great, believable, and somewhat moving. I deliberately left out some major plot twists from this review so you could fully enjoy the fun as well as the insanity of this “weirdest heist movie ever made.”

However, don’t expect anything in “Ocean’s Eleven style". If you don’t have anything exceptional to watch on Saturday evening, this film is worth giving a shot only for one time, just to experience some proper action but also a chain of illogical inconsistencies which will surely make you laugh a bit.

Overall score: 6/10