People commit not mistakes but blunders, not errors but sins, behave in not insensitive but sadistic ways. But ! How many of them ever realize their errors ? Very few. Very very few indeed. I have seen it and felt it as well in my own life through my own suffering in the hands of several people who might not have realized their misdoings till the moment of writing of this review. Then who deserves forgiveness whose glory is eternal and sung every now and then (for the victim only and not for the offender)?
Table No. 21 deals with this issue but this fact is known only in the climax when the truth behind all the happenings during the movie is revealed. Frankly speaking, I feel that more or less the same idea worked behind movies like Zinda (2006) and Kidnap (2008). However, Table No. 21 is different from them whose script has been woven through a game-show which is telecast live on internet.
The way in Agatha Christie's masterpiece novel - And Then There Were None and in the Hindi movie -Gumnaam (1965) which was its celluloid adaptation, the would-be victims are allured by the would-be murderer through a free-holiday abroad so that they reach the place which is going to be the death-hole for them, the same way the lead pair of Table No. 21 (Rajeev Khandelwaal and Teena Desaai) are trapped by the mastermind (Paresh Rawal) who calls them to Fiji by keeping them under an impression that they have won the trip. Considering themselves as lucky to enjoy the things they could only dream of prior to that, they land where the mastermind wanted them to land. And then they are further allured to play a game show titled as 'Table No. 21' through its whooping prize money of around 21 crores of rupees. The catch in the show is that they cannot leave the game in between and the tagline of the show is - 'If you lie, you die'. And then going through the rounds, one after another, the husband-wife duo suffer a lot out of their original greed. When the truth comes out in the end, they are taken aback and then realize what a shameful sin they had committed in their past.
Table No. 21 is a spellbinding thriller. It's a bit slow in the first half but that's required for the build-up of the second breathtaking half. Flashbacks have been used to link the present happenings to the past of the main characters which I found as somewhat boring, still very useful for the understanding of the narrative.
With a high production value (beauty of Fiji scattered like anything in different frames), the total presentation of the movie is simply superb. The movie appears to be treading the path of Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and the TV show - Sach Ka Saamna (hosted by none other than the hero of this movie) but once this small movie (105 minutes only) is over, you can contrast this with them and conclude that it's different.
Technically the movie is up to the mark. The actions and thrills have been executed nicely though this movie is not action-oriented. The undercurrent of thrill, sensation, fear and above all sentiments makes it special. The ending scene containing repentance of the participants of the so-called game and expression of grief and anguish of their host moves the spectator deep within and makes him / her leave the theatre with a heavy heart. Whether the hero is actually the hero, whether the heroine is actually the heroine and whether the villain is actually the villain; will be known to you only when everything is over (for you and not for the characters of the story).
Performances are good. Paresh Rawal takes the cake and the young actors shown in the flashback when the movie is undergoing its finale have also done superbly. Teena Desaai is a skilled actress (I simply loved her performance in Yeh Faasley which was released two years back) and she has done well here also. Rajeev Khandelwaal is also a good actor and barring some odd scenes, he has also done justice to his role. The bearded sidekick of Paresh Rawal who keeps on moving alongside the actions of his master throughout the movie, keeping a stony face and without uttering a single word from his mouth, has also impressed me very much.
This thriller of a different genre is not everybody's cup of tea. If you are fond of taut thrillers sans comedy, romance etc., then only you will like it. The movie has touched the issue of ragging which is now a crime punishable by imprisonment in India but till a few years back, this vice was rampant in schools and colleges, swallowing several innocent young lives. And the filmmaker has made the audience realize the macabre after-effects of ragging very effectively.
Before signing off, I come back to the original issue once again. Who deserves forgiveness ? So many posts, blogs, PP presentations, tales, articles and even books have been written singing the glory of forgiveness. It's a great virtue, no doubt. But it is good for the forgiving person who has been the sufferer in the first place. If the offender does not realize his / her error of hurting / harming the victim, what's the use of forgiveness ? I firmly believe, forgiveness is deserved by those only who realize their error / sin and repent for that, going for penitence. If one does not realize his / her error / sin and does not repent, then the victim may opt for forgiveness, the Lord should not. Poetic justice should prevail and punishment should be meted out to such insensitive sinners.
Table No. 21 deals with this issue but this fact is known only in the climax when the truth behind all the happenings during the movie is revealed. Frankly speaking, I feel that more or less the same idea worked behind movies like Zinda (2006) and Kidnap (2008). However, Table No. 21 is different from them whose script has been woven through a game-show which is telecast live on internet.
The way in Agatha Christie's masterpiece novel - And Then There Were None and in the Hindi movie -Gumnaam (1965) which was its celluloid adaptation, the would-be victims are allured by the would-be murderer through a free-holiday abroad so that they reach the place which is going to be the death-hole for them, the same way the lead pair of Table No. 21 (Rajeev Khandelwaal and Teena Desaai) are trapped by the mastermind (Paresh Rawal) who calls them to Fiji by keeping them under an impression that they have won the trip. Considering themselves as lucky to enjoy the things they could only dream of prior to that, they land where the mastermind wanted them to land. And then they are further allured to play a game show titled as 'Table No. 21' through its whooping prize money of around 21 crores of rupees. The catch in the show is that they cannot leave the game in between and the tagline of the show is - 'If you lie, you die'. And then going through the rounds, one after another, the husband-wife duo suffer a lot out of their original greed. When the truth comes out in the end, they are taken aback and then realize what a shameful sin they had committed in their past.
Table No. 21 is a spellbinding thriller. It's a bit slow in the first half but that's required for the build-up of the second breathtaking half. Flashbacks have been used to link the present happenings to the past of the main characters which I found as somewhat boring, still very useful for the understanding of the narrative.
With a high production value (beauty of Fiji scattered like anything in different frames), the total presentation of the movie is simply superb. The movie appears to be treading the path of Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and the TV show - Sach Ka Saamna (hosted by none other than the hero of this movie) but once this small movie (105 minutes only) is over, you can contrast this with them and conclude that it's different.
Technically the movie is up to the mark. The actions and thrills have been executed nicely though this movie is not action-oriented. The undercurrent of thrill, sensation, fear and above all sentiments makes it special. The ending scene containing repentance of the participants of the so-called game and expression of grief and anguish of their host moves the spectator deep within and makes him / her leave the theatre with a heavy heart. Whether the hero is actually the hero, whether the heroine is actually the heroine and whether the villain is actually the villain; will be known to you only when everything is over (for you and not for the characters of the story).
Performances are good. Paresh Rawal takes the cake and the young actors shown in the flashback when the movie is undergoing its finale have also done superbly. Teena Desaai is a skilled actress (I simply loved her performance in Yeh Faasley which was released two years back) and she has done well here also. Rajeev Khandelwaal is also a good actor and barring some odd scenes, he has also done justice to his role. The bearded sidekick of Paresh Rawal who keeps on moving alongside the actions of his master throughout the movie, keeping a stony face and without uttering a single word from his mouth, has also impressed me very much.
This thriller of a different genre is not everybody's cup of tea. If you are fond of taut thrillers sans comedy, romance etc., then only you will like it. The movie has touched the issue of ragging which is now a crime punishable by imprisonment in India but till a few years back, this vice was rampant in schools and colleges, swallowing several innocent young lives. And the filmmaker has made the audience realize the macabre after-effects of ragging very effectively.
Before signing off, I come back to the original issue once again. Who deserves forgiveness ? So many posts, blogs, PP presentations, tales, articles and even books have been written singing the glory of forgiveness. It's a great virtue, no doubt. But it is good for the forgiving person who has been the sufferer in the first place. If the offender does not realize his / her error of hurting / harming the victim, what's the use of forgiveness ? I firmly believe, forgiveness is deserved by those only who realize their error / sin and repent for that, going for penitence. If one does not realize his / her error / sin and does not repent, then the victim may opt for forgiveness, the Lord should not. Poetic justice should prevail and punishment should be meted out to such insensitive sinners.