Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Nawazuddin Siddique and Indraneil Sengupta
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Ratings: 4/5
Fascinating, mysterious and power-packed...Shotti Bolchi!
By Priyanka Ketkar
It has been a long time since I saw a good suspense movie... In fact, I don't remember any movie which can build the suspense as neatly as a book can but with Kahaani, it is a completely different Kahaani (story).
A pregnant Vidya Balan is roaming the streets of Mumbai, promoting the movie... Some said it is an excellent way of promotion while some said that they are bombarding too much and the movie might not turn out to be that good. But it turns out that Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani has a gripping story after all.
A pregnant Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan) comes down from London to find her missing husband Arnab Bagchi. But it is as if Arnab Bagchi never existed- there are no records, no witnesses, and no proofs of his existence. No one can help her, not even the police. But Vidya is determined to find out and she will ultimately and in this quest, a young police officer Rana (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) helps her, so do a few other people, knowingly and unknowingly.
Initially things appear pretty simple, it even feels like Vidya might be delusional; but as soon as the Intelligence Bureau gets involved, things start getting murkier. I will not reveal any further or else, it won't be even one bit fun to watch the movie. I will just say one thing, in the end, just like a few people in the movie; even you will come out feeling cheated (in a good way).
The song "Ekla Chalo Re..." in Amitabh's voice, although is only partly played in the background, is like a treat. The movie itself is also very interesting, although the beginning of the movie with the chemical attack on Metro Railway is a bit typical, yet, the connection of that incident later is good. Post-interval, the movie's intensity starts to fall and its loopholes, its silly mistakes and the many predictable dialogues will stare you in the face but the acting part takes care that the ship reaches the shore safely. Yes indeed, the movie starts going down the "typical bollywood" way but that can be forgiven considering the fact that we have grown up on the Bollywood way of life.
Vidya Balan is excellent without any doubt. She is so natural, as if she is actually going through the character's life. After The Dirty Picture it could've been easier to stereotype her and difficult to imagine her as someone else but Vidya Balan manages to detach herself from all her previous roles and attach to a completely new one with such ease that it is definitely comendable. Parambrata Chattopadhyay has given an excellent performance. Despite the fact that the entire movie is all about Vidya, he manages to carve his own niche in the movie. Nawazuddin Siddiqui initially is not that impressive and his charachter seems unnecessarily erratic but soon he gets better and gives Vidya's character a great support. The rest of the cast, right from the receptionist, to the two small kids and even the lunatic hitman, everybody is perfectly cast.
In short, those looking for a good "Kahaani", this one is for you all.