Its Vidya Balan back to back for me in my reviews. This time in Kahaani, but have to say unlike in The Dirty Picture, Vidya as been upstaged. Upstaged by Kolkata, the charm of Kolkata, the richness of its culture and more importantly the shear presence of life in that place that comes out in the movie. Sujoy Ghosh has captured the essence of the city Beautifully.
Coming back to Kahaani and Vidya Balan, Kahaani is a kahaani of a pregnant female who comes from UK to India in search of her Husband, who came here 4 weeks back and has gone missing for the last 2 weeks. Its a thriller where the main protagonist Vidya Bagchi (or as the Kolkatains say Bidya Bagchi), searches for her husband and slowly and steadily uncovers the plot which opens up one peel at a time. The movie will grip you from the first scene itself which takes place in the shape of a terrorist attack in the Kolkata Metro and then post that in walks a probably 7 months pregnant Vidya Bagchi with a Evian water bottle in one hand and her passport in the other, immediately getting mobbed by the ever waiting Taxi guys in Kolkata Airport. From there on the ride is preety interesting going in Roller Coaster mode and then slowing down to again go back in Roller Coaster mode. This really helps as it gives the viewers that breathing time badly needed in between these developments.
Giving Vidya Balan company are a few unknown but very good actors, who seem to grow on you slowly and steady. But what really grows on to you in the City of Kolkata, or if I may say, the Charisma of kolkata, slowly one shot at a time. This for me is the best ever catching of this wonderful place in any movie that I have scene, may be even going way ahead of Amar Prem, with a Drunk Rajesh Khanna sitting on a boat with Sharmila Tagore under the Howrah Bridge. Watch out for a really odd looking LIC agent who really brings to life a very interesting character and for the weak hearted, please close your eyes at the Intermission scene, you are bound to skip a beat.
Vidya has again done a very good job in the movie, She is bound of continue her award winning streak with this, don't see any other actress upstaging this performance on a fair award distribution. Her Character gains the sympathy of the viewers slowly and steady with her condition and the progress of her search. The rest of the actors will be better remembered for their characters instead. Whether it is the ever committed Rana (a Sub-inspector) who for what ever reasons becomes Vidya's man-friday in this new town or Khan (Second in Command in the Indian Intelligence Bureau -IB), who flies down from Delhi to Kolkata, troubled by a female looking for her lost husband. Why is he curious, well that forms the crux of the story and I ai'nt revealing that, for that will kill the fun for you.
So, if Kolkata is ever beautiful, Vidya is as good as she always is in her performance, all the characters do there role to the core and the story ever gripping, then is there anything that I did not like. Well there are a few, like the Number 2 in the IB needs help from a IT professional from UK to help him hack a machine. Surely India IB has its set of genius hackers who can easily hack their way into a Computer. The ease with which Vidya is able to get one clue after the other which the IB is trying to search for the last 2 years also somehow seems a little off track. Having said that, treat this as a movie and a story and do not let your practical side to take over, things should then remain fine.
So in the end, what does Kahaani have in store for you, well its 2 hours of gripping and thrilling drama with the soul of the story being the Kolkata city itself. For me the last scene between Vidya and Darshan Jariwala was a little more dramatic, something that could have been avoided, but then that might just be a personal choice and it might work for a lot of you instead. On the question of whether it is worth watching on the Theatre, you bet it is. If not for the Thrills, or the ups and downs of the story, or the beautiful performances by the actors, then only for the way the whole Kolkata city will make you fall in love with it. This one's got almost everything, ALMOST!!!
Agreed that the movie was all that you said. One thing missing ... that the basic concept of training agents, turning rogue and some other things got a bit from CIA and from Bourne. But all said and done, it was the best thriller we have produced .... who ever has not wateched, do it before the climax is out on print!!!
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