Sunday 6 January 2013

Movie Review- Table No. 21



First movie the year, generally records says never does a good business except last year no one killed jessica, in the starting i m saying does not mean it will not be a good movie. It's a nice acting suspense thriller flick.

An average class couple Vivaan (Rajeev Khandelwal) and Siya (Tina Desae) win a fully-paid trip to the Fiji Island for their anniversary. Cut to the picturesque locales of Fiji, the extravagance of their free trip, some song and dance sequences and an interesting turn. Enters Mr. Khan (Paresh Rawal) a millionaire restaurateur cum game show host who offers the couple a game Table No. 21 that could change their lives.. The price money is a whopping 21crs that can be easily won but with an only catch - You cannot quit the game and if you lie you die! What follows is a series of twists and turns and a blend of love and lies, truth and treachery, money and mind-games.

Paresh Rawal, looking like a reject character from Mad Max 2, plays a man named Khan who lures Vivaan (Rajeev Khandelwal) and Sia (Tena Desae) to Fiji to participate in a Web-based game show that will add Rs.21 crore to their low bank balance if they truthfully answer a series of questions (why Fiji? Probably because that country’s tourism department invited the producers over).

Ironically, Rajeev Khandelwal who was once the host of the reality game show Sach Ka Samna which dealt with the same topic only less brutal finds himself on the other side of the table with this film. And it's only filmmaker Aditya Dutt to be credited for such a casting. Known for his popular Bhatt film Aashiq Banaya Aapne, Aditya brings to celluloid a very interesting concept. A thriller revolving around a game show appeared intriguing right from the promos itself. However, the sooner the film starts unfolding itself with all the gruesome tasks that the actors are made to execute, one easily starts gauging the actual plot and it turns out to be pretty much so.

It's the predictability of the plot that gets to you and also the many loopholes that come your way as the story progresses. It's the build up to the suspense, primarily the game show part, instead of the suspense itself that makes for an intriguing plot. The suspense comes about as a done to death twist. 

For a film based completely on three characters, Aditya Dutt does a very good job not just in casting but also in the way he extracts performances from his actors. Paresh Rawal who is in top form post his last superhit OMG: Oh My God experiments with his look and get into the mode of a menacing and sinister looking mode. He pulls off his part very well. Rajeev Khandelwal too puts up a good show and contrasts Paresh Rawal's eccentricity and evilness with his vulnerability and strength very well. 

Table No. 21, although may not be a completely out of the box, never before concept but it's the execution of the story and the acting that makes this film a worth watch.

Stars- 2.5

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