Director: Leena Yadav

 

Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, R Madhavan, Shraddha Kapoor

This movie is what can be called a really meaty plot. The story is flawless and it has the capability of gluing the viewers to their seats for at least an hour in the first half. This movie is about gambling and ‘probability’ which is a well known term in mathematics. It tells that how probability if implemented properly can even predict gambling and help winning it. Though the plot is good but it will be able to attract only a small mass of Indian audience because of its complex subject. The movie speaks a lot about randomness (a part of probability in mathematics) which is a hard nut to crack for normal people with less IQ .Intellectual group may be able to grasp each aspect of the movie for others be prepared for some facts going above the head.

The first impression for people who have already watched the Hollywood flick ‘21’ is that ‘Teen Patti’ is its Hindi version but, the movie if watched and compared with the Hollywood one it’s completely different though the concept is a bit similar. The movie is starred by two of the most renowned actors Amitabh Bachchan and Academy Awards Winner Ben Kingsley. Though the first half of the movie is very thrilling the second half of the movie is quite slow and the climax is just dragged too far. Some instances like short appearances of Ajay Devgan, Saira Mohan make the script a mingle-mangle. Also, Amitabh’s narration to Kingsley seems to go on and on. The movie at the end could not finish too well. The interest with which the story starts, the more complicated and confusing it becomes at the end.

The story begins when the two geniuses Perci Trachtenberg (Sir Kingsley) invites Venkat Subramanium (Amitabh Bachchan) at Cambridge University. This is where the story begins: Venkat who is an eccentric mathematician narrates his life’s story. Venkat invented a theory of probability which can predict any gambling, though he submitted a thesis on this invention it was not approved by his seniors. One day while playing an online game of cards, ‘Teen Patti’ Venkat realizes that his theory really works. He tells about his findings to Shantanu (R Madhavan) a junior professor. Both of them together starts training three bright students Aparna viz. Apu (Shraddha Kapoor), Sid (Siddharth Kher) and Bikram (Dhruv). Soon each one of them starts gambling in different casinos using the probability theory and successfully starts winning the game. But, then every coin has two sides, money is followed by greed and once that virus called ‘greed’ sets in their whole lives gets messed up. Another character makes an entry as a student Abbas (Vaibhav). Then, suddenly one day Venkat gets an anonymous phone call demanding a big amount of money. Later, that person starts giving instructions about which game should be played. Venkat suspects that the blackmailer is one among the group but at last the mystery unfolds which should be better watched than narrated.

 

About the performance of the actors the Big ‘B’ is as usual outstanding. The role of Venkat cannot be imagined without him. Sir Kingsley is just superb. Shakti Kapoor’s daughter Shraddha Kapoor debuted in this movie but she is quite talented like her father, the other three debutants Vaibhav, Dhruv and Siddharth have also impressed with their acting. Madhavan’s acting is also superb as he is seen in a different and a grey role. Raima Sen plays the role of his fiancé but, there is nothing much to mention about her role. There are short appearances by Ajay Devgan, Saira Mohan, Jackie Shroff, Shakti Kapoor Mahesh Manjrekar being the best.

Superior cinematography by Aseem Bajaj, decent, appropriate costume designs by Ameira Punvan. Salim-Sulaiman’s music is so-so. The song 'Neeyat' also features a Brazilian hot cake Mariah.

This movie is a must watch for people who love mathematics especially ‘probability’ to sharpen future prospects of using it for gambling. It’s quite a different movie so it won’t be a bad idea to watch it after all.