In an early sequence when Vidya Balan, playing a no-nonsense, blessedly non-uniformed cop, gently admonishes John for coming to the police station every day to inquire about his 15-year-old granddaughter's case, John quietly mumbles, 'I have nothing else in my life'. The most sincerely done moments in the film show the obdurate protagonist grappling with the law and red tapism. In 'TE3N' - the title refers to the three protagonists of this jagged jigsaw of crime and retribution - it is his character's wife who is on a wheelchair (how and when she got there, we are not told) while Amitabh tries to find justice for his granddaughter's murder. His granddaughter Angela, who was left in John's care while her father went abroad, was kidnapped for ransom and killed.ĭebutant director Ribhu Dasgputa's shimmering portrait of distant discontent is about John's atonement, his 15-year long quest for justice (not vendetta, he stresses) and his rather unconventional method of seeking and obtaining a closure to his agonising journey of pain, hurt, guilt and loss. As John parts with his only means of transportation he even helps the bureaucratic broker start the ancient vehicle. Then the 'chaprasi' casually asks if there is petrol in John's rickety scooter. There is a moment of subdued splendour in this thriller that is both brutal and tender, where a 'chaprasi' (peon) in a government office gives our autumnal hero John Biswas (Amitabh Bachchan) some vital information. Film: 'TE3N' Director: Ribhu Dasgupta Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sabyasachi Chakraborty Rating: ****

Te3n 2016 review