TE3N Review

Sujoy Ghosh attained a lot of acclaim with his thriller Kahaani (considered by some as the best Bollywood thriller ever). Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui also receive plenty of acclaim for Kahaani. Last year, Amitabh Bachchan outdid every other performance and took home the National Award for Best Actor for Piku. Now, all 4 are back in Kolkata and have teamed up for another thriller called Te3n (ala Se7en in Hollywood). Will it live up to the expectations and manage to thrill the audiences? Time to find out.

Story: John Biswas (Amitabh), not related to Bob Biswas, is an old grandfather who is still plaguing from the kidnapping of his granddaughter Angela Roy which took place about 8 years back. The presiding officer of the case Martin Das (Nawazuddin) has now given up his cop uniform for the uniform of a priest, trying to recover from the aftermath of that fateful case. Both of their interest in justice is piqued when a similar kidnapping occurs and the presiding officer Sarita (Vidya) requests the help of Martin for the new case. Will they be able to journey the dark murky waters to find the kidnappers? Watch the movie to find out, our lips are sealed.

TE3N Review

TE3N Review

Screenplay and Direction: An official remake of the Korean film Montage, director Bibhu Dasgupta does an astute job of setting that startling story to the Kolkata milieu. The pace is slow at first to make way for world building but it seems deliberate as the pace picks up when the case reaches important junctures towards the end of the movie. The detailing of Te3n is perfect and the dialogues and conversations never seem out of place.

The strength of Te3n as a movie lies in the impeccable detailing of the setting and the characters and their homes. There’s a realism to it which is hard to achieve. The production design and the costume design should be lauded. And so should be the cinematography. The streets and bylanes of Kolkata are again captured beautifully making the city an incendiary character. The music by Clinton Cerejo is downplayed in the film but a better background score could have alleviated the movie into something else altogether.

Acting: Amitabh Bachchan is the only actor who could have played the part of John Biswas. He nails the mannerisms and characteristics of the senior citizen to the tee. The great actor is finding new footing working with these new age directors. Nawazuddin Siddiqui goes toe to toe with Bachchan and gives him able competition when it comes to acting. He is superb and lays bare the guilt of the cop-turned-priest. Vidya Balan has a guest appearance tag but she has quite a meaty role even if it is not fleshed out much. The other actors who make up the rest of the cast are fantastic, particularly Sabyasachi.

Conclusion: If you were expecting a Kahaani level of thriller, then your wishes have come true. Well, almost. Te3n is one of the best thrillers that has been made in Bollywood but the slow initial pace lets it down a tad bit. The main actors are in some of their best form and carry the film on their able shoulders. Te3n is one of best remakes/adaptations of a foreign movie and deserves to be seen by everyone with a finer taste in movies.

Pros:

  • Amitabh Bachchan gives one of his best ever performances
  • Vidya and Nawazuddin give him able company
  • The building of pace as the film progresses is a testament to the power of the story
  • The detailing thanks to cinematography, costume and production design

Cons:

  • The background score feels like a mismatch
  • The initial slow pace can deter impatient audiences

Rating: ★★★★☆

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27 Comments

  • Hf3 will lead again give 5* or 0*, the counjouring is leading occupancy in morning shows, but screen count is lesser 1000.

  • I had seen the Film. I think this movie will get lots of awards. Thrilling genre in bollywood is getting its due attention and its a landmark movie in the given genre. Initially looks slow but after watching the film you will say. O yar, kya film thi.

  • It will be a FLOP, …………………. Vidya Balan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui also receive plenty of acclaim for Kahaani………. receive or received??? Indicine, I fail to understand why you are unable to produce ‘error-free’ content? What’s your team doing???

  • Looks like a great film, I can’t wait to watch it !! It’s a shame that audiance prefer shits like H3… Best of luck to TE3N for the box-office.

  • Indicine aur favour krde…i kno u want housefull to get flopped…kro aur favour every site has given 2.0 to 2.5 maximum…are phir bhi akki ko koi rok nahi sakta….khano ke chmcho indicine….i kno u wont even publish this…

  • What a review !!!!

    You made my day Indicine. Planning to watch the movie tomorrow definitely. Loved the entire review esp the following sentence:

    “Amitabh Bachchan is the only actor who could have played the part of John Biswas.”

    Have heard lots of praises about his acting in this movie so just cant wait to watch the movie. Even more excited after reading this review.

  • Movies made in kolkata rarely turn out to b bad. 70% of them r hit and rest r atleast critically acclaimed

  • Best thrillers of Bollywood are based on KOLKATA!!! TE3N is one of them!!!

    Thr bengali film industry also have many excellent fantastic thrillers. They should be remade in Hindi!!! Not just thrillers, many quality films are being made on constant basis. Many films are being remade in Hindi now.. It is reminding me of thr golden age of Bengali Film Industry (Also called Tollywood).

    KOLKATA IS LOVE ?????

  • Don’t give 4* to this kind of films

    warna muft me isko bhi Crappiest kehna pad jayega jo ye nahi hai

    Crappiest are Dilwale, Fan , HNY etc

  • Indicine, PK is releasing in Japan in October. Taran adarsh confirmed.
    It will cross 800 crore also. Please post article.

  • I just can’t imagine even any Khan being so relevant when they turn 70.Hats of the legend Bachchan sir for being so passionate about cinema at this age and constantly outdoing himself with every role of his.Also his humility stands out among all his other admirable traits.

    @Ak Lol..you’re so funny.

  • @challa,you’re wrong.KING KHAN will do better than BIGB at that age which I can guess easily.BIGB has no major competition during his time how KING KHAN faces major competition.also KING KHAN though not overshadowed but merely did that by gave equal challenging Him in Mohabbatein,K3G.

    Yeah BTW the other two KHAN’S talent will be wasted for sure.but KING KHAN wi definitely reign SUPREME,saying this not as a FAN because I felt and WE all witnessed when comes to ACTING,nobody can challenge KING KHAN ,sorry to say not even BIGB.

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