Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani is among those films which continuously make fathom the huge sea of possibilities in the minds of the viewers. You keep wondering what the story of the female protagonist actually is throughout the movie. Yes, Vidya Bagchi, the lead character played by Vidya Balan, is pregnant and yes, she is desperately and determinedly looking for her husband Arnab Bagchi. But that’s just the main and apparent plot. This two hour suspense flick which depicts a Kolkata metro terrorist attack in the beginning and soon follows it up with visibly pregnant Vidya’s arrival into the Kolkata city does not waste time with meaningless item numbers and irrelevant sub-plots. The movie strictly sticks to its main plot in the process, captures the local market atmosphere and the street spirit of the city quite well.
Vidya arrives in Kolkata and straightaway goes to the police station to file a complaint against her missing husband who landed in the city from London a few weeks ago. She seems genuinely worried and perplexed regarding what happened to the father of the child she is bearing. Vidya, the software engineer, helps a young police officer Satyuki, informally called Rana, with some computer software problem and soon he takes up the Bagchi case. Vidya’s search seems to point to a guy called Milan Damji who looks exactly the way her husband looks in their wedding picture. What follows is a brilliantly executed and skillfully crafted suspense-thriller that promises to keep you at the edge of your seat. The mystery of Arnab Bagchi seems to be inextricably intertwined with the story of Milan Damji. The story attains a greater magnitude when the Intelligence Bureau also gets involved and the viewer only seems to wonder what, after all, did happen to this lady’s husband.
Again, Vidya Balan delivers a praiseworthy performance. She manages to glide through the role of a pregnant lady who may be in distress but that does not mean she is in despair. She subtly shows the emotions that a woman in her condition would feel in such a situation. That is why your heart goes out to her whenever she breaks down in her room in the guest house. The actress seems to be custom-made for playing the lead in the film and proves that she is ‘the actress’ in the industry when it comes to playing the lead in female-centric films. The main male character of Satyuki/Rana is also well-executed by Prambrata Chatterjee. He plays the police officer who most genuinely wants to help Vidya get the answers she is pursuing and in the process, develops a soft corner for her. Other actors also portray their parts very well and what we have after all the hard work is a brilliant movie.
Another striking aspect of the film is its symbolism. The allegorical meanings and allusions to good and bad, devi and asur, etc. are quite well depicted in the movie. The terrorist attack in the beginning, the involvement of the Intelligence Bureau, Vidya’s place in all the chaos is very intricately woven around such mythological beliefs. The antagonists, who you will keep on guessing about till the very end, represent the Asurs and Vidya symbolizes the female force which rests with goddess Durga. The climax, in fact, takes place on the last day of the famous Bengali festival of Durga Puja. Even Satyuki proves to be exactly what his name means – Arjun’s companion. The movie will force you to think about how deceit and corruption and inhumane thought have seeped deep within the system of the country.
Kahaani is undoubtedly one of those rare movies which are literally ‘a must watch.’ It’s hard to find flaws with this one and since you keep thinking about what the truth actually is the whole time, you will never find the time to find flaws with the movie either. The movie is a brilliantly-executed piece of cinema which will surely keep you glued to your seats and will leave a lasting impression on your mind.
Samah Rafiq is English Hons. Student, Amity University.
Feedback: samah.r.121@gmail.com

Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Mar 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 14 Mar 2012 00:00:00 IST