Aditya Datt’s Table No. 21 (2012) Movie Review

Cast: Rajeev Khandelwal, Tena Desae, Paresh Rawal, Hanif Hilal, Dhruv Ganesh.
Director–Screenplay: Aditya Dutt
Cinematography: Ravi Walia
Dialogues: Abhijeet Deshpande
Censor Certificate: A
Runtime: 108 Minutes
Watched at Sri Sai Raja 70mm, Musheerabad.

Vivaan (Rajeev Khandelwal) and Siya Agasthi (Tena Desae) are thrilled to have won an all inclusive vacation to the exotic Fiji. The couples’ excitement only increases when they meet the very suave Mr. Khan (Paresh Rawal) at the restaurant who gives them a chance to play a “tell all truth” game for a mind boggling 21 crores.

The rules of the game are simple; answer 8 questions truthfully and complete the respected tasks and the money is all yours. With a simple rule: If you lie, you have to die.

Vivaan and Siya readily agree as they can take their winnings to Mumbai and live the life they both have always dreamed of. The game begins Vivaan and Siya are off to a great start answering each question right as well as completing the tasks successfully.

However as they proceed, the questions and tasks get more and more personal. Each question ironically ties back to an important chapter of their lives.

Vivaan and Siya have had enough and choose to quit the game. One important rule they forgot which Khan reminds them of, quitting is not an option. They both realize that the game isn’t really a game but the only way to survive is to complete the game. Who really is Khan? Will Vivaan and Siya survive the game and win 21 crores? Forms the rest of the story line….

Table No. 21 mainly revolves around three main characters. Paresh Rawal looks convincing in his role and he adds credibility even to some of the weak situations, to a certain extent. The Exotic Marigold Hotel fame Tena Desae did her part pretty well, her bald looks reminds me of Delphine Chanéac from Splice. Rajeev Khandelwal has the right looks, but his character doesn’t connect well with the viewers. Rest of the characters were not that convincingly projected.

Director Aditya Datt handles the decent tale of a couple going on a free trip to Fiji and testing them through a mystery live game show, in an impressive way. The scenes where Rajeev n Tena relate to their past with every question makes us recall the format of Slumdog Millionaire & even remind us parts of Aamir sometimes. The story a sort of inspired from “Chitkabrey” a 2011 movie… The pace goes down at certain points & even the post interval happen a bit too fast, but a veracious twist makes a good impact in the end. Cinematography by Ravi Walia is neat. Art work is okay. Music by Gajendra Verma and Sachin Gupta is good.

Of course, the situations – dialogues get a bit too dramatic at times & even some times it looks inspired, But Table No. 21 is definitely an effort to move away from the conventional lines. It’s a rarity here and when it happens, the movie should be valued.

Theatrical Trailer: