Review: 'Kahaani'

Film: Kahaani
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Rating: ***

Vidya Balan is Hindi cinema’s hot property right now. After The Dirty Picture (for which she won National Award for best actress), and now Kahaani, she’s changing the dynamics of heroinegiri, one film at a time.

Director, writer and producer Sujoy Ghosh (along with story writer Advaita Kala) weaves an unfathomable web, with the City of Joy, Kolkata, as the canvas.

Kahaani opens in a crowded Kolkata Metro where a mysterious gas attack kills hundreds. Two years later, we see a heavily pregnant software engineer, Vidya Venkatesan Bagchi (Balan) arriving from London looking for her ‘missing’ husband Arnab Bagchi. The taxi driver is perplexed when she asks him to take her straight to a police station. His are only the first of the many baffled eyes Bidya is (yes, that’s what she becomes in Kolkata) going to meet.

Sincere cop Satyoki ‘Rana’ (Parambrata Chatterjee) volunteers to help Vidya find her husband, whose very existence is challenged every passing moment. Vidya’s restlessness runs parallel to that of an overcrowded city, exuding warmth but a stone-cold rot running deep. The streets are balmy, eyes eager, and the pace breathtaking. The contradictions of the Vidya character and that of Kolkata are artistically woven, casually making subtle comments on cities, its people and typical values and traits.

This is one thriller that does not employ the usual suspects, overdone background score and clunky lines that confuse. But Ghosh introduces so many characters, it becomes difficult to keep track. He manages to build the suspense and retain it till the end. It gets asinine after a while, but keeps you guessing nevertheless.

Running the risk of inserting a spoiler, the climax is when all those expectations are blown to smithereens. Bollywood-ised, ridiculous and utterly disappointing. The unspoken attraction between Vidya and Rana stretches limits. The flaws are many, but the build-up is too tempting to ignore.

Balan dethrones her own exceptional Silk Smitha act and safely replaces it with Kahaani’s Vidya. Her steadfastness and vulnerability are just as impressive. Chatterjee as Rana is controlled, understated and impactful. Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Intelligence Bureau officer Khan is wild, burning with palpable fervor of the patriotic kind. Rana and Khan balance each other out. Siddiqui walks away as the hero of Kahaani, with powerhouse dialogue delivery and masterful acting. He was seen in last week’s Paan Singh Tomar in a brief role. This is one guy we need to see more of in our movies.

Saswata Chatterjee as Bob Biswas is eerie but comical and memorable at the same time. Those eyes haunt long after you’ve left the theatre. Vishal-Shekhar’s music adds to the Kahaani experience. Ami Shotti Bolchi and Amitabh Bachchan’s Ekla Cholo Re are particularly symbolic to the plot.

Director Ghosh, who spent his childhood in Kolkata, captures the essence of the city — neatly placing monuments, streets, people, their psychology, side by side — that becomes Vidya's partner in crime. Cinematographer Setu captures artistically the lethargy of trams, the uneasiness of the Metro, the dirt of the bylanes and the pain of dilapidated homes that make Kolkata a character in this kahaani. His story may be riddled with irrational cracks but his execution is near perfect.

To save yourself disappointment, slice off your expectations fuelled by all the hype surrounding Kahaani. You will enjoy the suspense while it lasts. The performances definitely deserve a one-time watch.