The last 30 minutes of this
gripping thriller has a life of its own. In fact, the end-game is so
stunning and so overpowering in its message, that it makes us overlook
the ingrained improbability of the rest of the film.
Not that "Table No.21" (and wait till
you figure out why and how the film gets its title!) doesn't work in
its totality. It does. It's a surprisingly good, almost-kickass way to
start your movie-going in 2013. A goodlooking original thriller shot in
eye-catching Fiji, "Table No.21" opens with a rather ambitious
starry-eyed couple landing in Fiji to spend a prize holiday in the lap
of luxury.
Director Aditya Dutta gets the tonality
of the 'good life' right. The narrative then weaves itself into a
rather bewildering and bizarre labyrinth, that is partly a
tongue-in-cheek tribute to the preposterous aspirations of reality
game-shows where ludicrous thresholds of morality are crossed for
high-end rewards, and partly a comment on what lengths young people
would go to for their designer dreams.
Almost all through the game, we sense
there's more to millionaire Paresh Rawal's game plan than just millions
of hits on the internet that keeps him and the narration drooling till
the end. The film draws its reasonable power and energy from its mix
of the playful and the somber. The two moods co-mingle in rewarding
waves of episodic overtures where one by one, and the holidaying couple
are swept into a vortex of horrific self-exploration.
The screenplay, written by as many as
three writers (Sheershak Anand, Abhijeet Deshpande and Shantanu Ray
Chibber) exudes an uncompromising freshness of approach. The last 30 to
35 minutes of the film is where the meat of the matter materialises in
a moving flourish of conscientiousness. It is only towards the end
that we recognise the actual demons that haunt the gamely tone of the
rest of the film.
Rajeev Khandelwal is an actor who
chooses unusual projects. His repertoire from "Aamir" to "Soundtrack"
to "Shaitaan" and now "Table No.21" shows the mind of an actor in
pursuit of excellence.
Paresh Rawal's dependability as a
performer of unpredictable skills never lets a script down. Here he is
partly a slime-ball, party a screwball and finally a grieving angry
father. Watch out for the innocent young Druv Ganesh as Rawal's son. As
a victim of college ragging, his eyes will haunt your for a long time
after the film is over.
"Table No.21" is a surprise. The taut
thriller shot on a scenic location constantly keeps a step ahead of the
audience. This is an enjoyable and eventually disturbing
riches-to-ragging story to start off the year.
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