Movie Review: Kahaani

When I watched The Dirty Picture last year, I was left wondering if the leading lady Vidya Balan had anything more to achieve. Surrendering herself completely to the character, she made the audiences go Oh La La over her flawless histrionics. Quite predictably, that bravura performance of hers fetched her every single Best Actress award, including the National Award recently. Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani, which commenced even before TDP, in a way benefited from the sudden turn of tables in her favour thus raising its expectations. Does it live up to the hype? Let's find out.

Modelled as a drama-thriller and set during the nine-day Durga Puja festival, Sujoy Ghosh's fourth directorial venture tells the story of Mrs. Vidya Venkatesan Bagchi, a heavily pregnant software engineer from London, who lands in Kolkata in search of her missing husband Arnab Bagchi. She first stops at the police station to file a missing person's report, but as she is helped by a sympathetic cop Rana, she learns that there seem to be no sign of his existence whatsoever - no school records, no surviving relations and not even an indication that he flew to the city on the said date. Notwithstanding the threats made by Intelligence Bureau officer Khan to drop pursuing the search, she gets all the more determined to dig out the truth even if it means combing through the streets of the city and most importantly at the cost of her own life.

Bollywood thrillers are typically Bollywood'ized with loads of romance, comedy, song and dance routines. But Kahaani defies such stereotypes in all conceivable ways by giving out an edge-of-the-seat thriller that keeps you guessing till the very last minute. And as Vidya delves deep into the chaos, the jigsaw puzzle only begins to get more shadier and murkier, and every passing second is akin to a ticking time-bomb as the film hurtles towards an explosive climax. Ghosh achieves this by cleverly withholding information, but to his credit, the momentum never slackens and under the able hands of Namrata Rao, this crisply edited Kahaani leaves no room for second thought as it sucks you into the plot right from the start.

Part of the tension also stems from Vidya's demeanour, none of which befits a woman who is in her third trimester. And then when we know the why in an astounding big reveal, the pieces of the conundrum begin to fall into place, and in ways that will have leave your heart pounding and your mind blown. Ghosh's gritty thriller also benefits from an effective background score by Clinton Cerejo, who sets the tone of the film without skipping a beat, heightening the tension, while cinematography by Setu is top-notch, beautifully capturing the spirit of Kolkata on screen.

As far as the performances are concerned, kudos are due to Vidya Balan for her terrific act as Vidya Bagchi, dazzling in her portrait of a pregnant woman (she gets it to the tee!) and impeccably bringing out the shades of vulnerability, courage and persistence in her character. Among the rest, Parambrata Chatterjee, as Rana, is endearing and gives a restrained but impactful performance, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the foul-mouthed intelligence officer is ruthlessness personified. Saswata Chatterjee adds to the creepy quotient with his menacing histrionics, automatically sending a shiver down your spine every time he utters the word 'Nomoshkar'!

And then there is Kolkata itself, which is the protagonist of the film. The city has been remarkably condensed on screen, yet it's hard-pressed to find another film that oh-so-wonderfully encapsulates its essence. Sujoy Ghosh obviously knows the place inside out, and the narrow lanes, the claustrophobic metro, the trams, the old fashioned buildings, the Victoria Memorial, the iconic Howrah Bridge and finally the unattainable frenziness during Durga Puja celebrations take you through a colorful and a vibrant city that's been unexplored in Bollywood. Also of note is the people and the idea of double identity (as Rana puts), which nicely fits in with the theme of the movie, and the climax, which coincides with the final day of the Puja, truly depicting the ultimate triumph of good over evil.

It's indeed incredulous that a filmmaker like Sujoy Ghosh gave us movies like Aladdin and Home Delivery. His Kahaani sees him in top form, and aided by first-rate performances and a superb technical team, he deserves all the credit for delivering it without a hiccup. The ending may be debatable (in my opinion, he should have left the viewers guessing as to the real identity of Vidya) but that's no big deal in the bigger scheme of things. Admirably gripping and heart-stopping, Kahaani shouldn't be missed for no reason. Head to the theaters before someone blows off the suspense to you!