In ‘Te3n’, the kid went missing eight years before the events of the story, and ended up dead (that part is specified very early on). The mother is replaced here by a crusty, old grandfather in a role that screams “Bachchan” in its every pore (If the main character remained a mother and, assuming, Vidya Balan had played the role, this might most certainly have been called ‘Kahaani 2’). The lead protagonist in the original was the mother of a girl kidnapped 15 years before the story began. The adaptation is faithful, and whatever digressions the writers take seem smart on paper. The film is an official remake of the South Korean thriller, ‘Montage’, so there’s a readymade plot too, climax twist et al. If anything, the trailer of ‘Te3n’ gave hopes of a welcome retreat into the world Ghosh wove four years ago, and the promise of the team delivering an even more robust product second time around. This one’s a thriller set in Kolkata too, relying on old-world spaces, shots of the looming Howrah Bridge, and Old Calcutta bylanes. Both Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vidya Balan come back, joined by Amitabh Bachchan, whose rendition of Rabindranath Tagore’s “Ekla Chalo Re” in ‘Kahaani’ is indelible. There’s a distinct similarity in storytelling style, and look and feel.

To begin with, ‘Kahaani’ director Sujoy Ghosh gets into the producer’s chair, while writing duo Suresh Nair and Ritesh Shah return along with new addition Bijesh Jayarajan. It’s impossible to not think about ‘Kahaani’ while watching ‘Te3n’.

Te3n 2016 review