Kahaani

Setu's account of Kolkata is delightedly sincere and not superfluous cinematography - the dynamic colours and the simplicity of the artless lanes of Kolkata, admiringly, have not been lost in rhetoric black and white. The same forthrightness has mirrored to a huge extent in Suresh Nair and Sujoy Ghosh's masterful and impressive narration of Bagchi's fable of lost and deeply lost until found.

Vidya Bagchi's (Vidya Balan) hunt for her lost husband Arnab Bagchi (Indraneil Sengupta) brings her down to Kolkata from London. With a seven-month old baby magnifying her power, an infinite exploration of the byways of Kolkata with the help of a local policeman Satyoki Sinha (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) begins. Disordered links and remainders of Vidya's past conversations with Arnab are her fragile hopes. Undeterred, the firewall specialist rummages through the tightly encrypted codes of the mystery, webbed by even more securely encrusted faces.

The refreshing combination of Parambrata and Balan and the motley of emotions and the ease with which they exude them in "Kahaani" make for an outstanding watch. Balan's ability to tailor her sentiments - sympathy, anger and despair - multiplies the strength of her character. The swiftness of the movie leaves no time for the audience to mentally prepare for an upcoming situation. While Vidya accepts herself as "Bidya"in the City of Joy, gifts a chocolate to the kid in the lodge and breaks the lock of National Data Centre; the contract killer Bob Biswas (Saswata Chatterjee) playfully murders people and Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) smokes out his dedication towards his work besides a mouthful of white air.

Just when a wide array of emotions are at their peak and the frantic search is riding high, Amitabh Bachhan's rendition of Tagore's famous song "Jodi tor dak shune" transfers the mood to a completely different level. The festive mood of the city, the preceding and the succeeding of it, the red of sindoor and the expressions of the idols of Durga have been phenomenally well-utlised in the movie.

Balan is a breeze of fresh air in Bollywood, which is suffering from the curves of furniture heroines and "Kahaani", another robust step after the recent "The Dirty Picture" towards reinforcing the position of heroines in a traditionally hero-driven Bollywood. The subtlety with which the soul of the city has been interlaced in the screenplay, while not losing grasp on the flow of the story even for a moment, is a testimony of effectual storytelling.

There is not a single scene in the movie where Parambrata has been overshadowed by the presence of Balan. His acting skills are distinctly sharp and flowing. Sujoy Ghosh's choice of actors for the various characters in "Kahaani" has made an immense contribution towards the kind of impact it leaves on the viewers long after they abandon the theatre.

After all, "Shotti" sounds better as "Shotti", not "Sotti".

The climax, even though prudent and reasonably well-baked, is slightly dramatic and seems to conclude the movie before clearly justifying the actions of Vidya and Satyoki, especially the latter. The momentum of the story towards the end beats its own record and the circumstances merging with the mood of the city seems to be not so much of a coincidence.

Bagchi's "Kahaani" is one of those that would define tougher standards for the forthcoming Fridays. Why on earth would you like to miss the benchmark?

Watch it. Definitely!

Now this is some movie..Brilliant script followed with top notch direction,editing, cinematography and performances..Engaging suspense thriller..There seems only one ACTRESS in Bollywood at present..She was just too excellent..But the script was the show stealer..One of the best ever climax I've watched in Bollywood..Will blow away your minds..

After watching the movie one will definitely doubt whether this is the same director who has given duds like 'Home Delivery' & 'Aladdin'. But he has given one of the finest cinemas in Bollywood with his latest flick. He has shown the true Bengal as one of the characters in this movie. Really splendid to watch some of the scenes shot in the city

Vidya Balan is giving her best to date in all his recent movies. She hasn't failed yet. One blessed actress she is for the industry. No doubt even if she collects a national award every coming year. such a talented actress. So brave to chose such difficult scripts and make it look like cakewalk in the end is just amazing.

All the characters in the movie have done justice to their roles. Every one complementing each other, the script the story & the direction. The climax is just so powerful and will give you goosebumps. Not seen like in Bollywood before.

Don't miss out this Masterpiece..!! A must watch movie for all.!!

Genre --- Suspense, Drama

Review --

Kahani is indeed a worth for your money. A sincere effort to portray an incredible story, which would leave you baffled, would leave you keep guessing what is going on and what would happen next. We have seen several suspense movies that have a good build up but are utter disappointing in the end. Even after the climax, it would keep surprising you till last shot. Truly a nice movie that you can with you Family and kids without hesitation. No abusive language, no "story Ki demand" type intimate shots. A clean and gripping storyline. I liked that fact that story did not pushed a possible romantic element neither unneeded songs between characters and kept it straight and focused.

Story of Girl (Vidya) looking for her missing husband, is just the start. Movie is shot is Kolkata with characters that are real, you can relate and can smile to natural gestures. Movie keeps you clutched to your seat. Its a story of nice people stuck in their own mess up routine, offer help to the pregnant lady.

Even with new actors, jumping in with their cameo every now and then, each has done full justice to their role.The story has been wisely written binding intelligent writing along with actual Kolkata.

Verdict-- If you have been awaiting for a Good Bollywood Flick, with original narration and quality acting, the movie worth's every penny. A pleasure to watch with family or friends.

Music -- Consists of two songs, different from stream line cinema. Amitabh Bachhan has brought a new spirit to Rabindra Da's "Ekla Chalo Re". The other song -- "Ammi Shotti Bolchi" is a authentic rock song on Kolkata theme in Usha Utthup's evergreen Bengali voice.

Rating -- 8.5/10

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Anjaneai

Who would expect that someone who directed 'Home Delivery' could create magic. Sujoy Ghosh's 'Kahaani' is a mouth watering treat for any movie lover. Right from the very beginning till the end the tight narrative keeps the viewer on his toes without any hiccups whatsoever. Starring Vidya Balan as Vidya Bagchi(Bidya Bagchi) as a wife who is in search of his husband Arnab Bagchi and in its course arrives in Kolkata all the way from London even though she is pregnant. The story follows her search at the same time playing with your mind with many twists and turns. After a long time have I seen a film in which every actor has given a peach of a performance and thus requires a special mention. From Parambrata Chatterjee who plays the role of inspector Rana who helps Vidya find her husband to Office Khan played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui to even Saaswata Chatterjeeas who plays the serial killer Bob every one is brilliant. I am really looking forward to more actors from the Bangla film industry to shine in Bollywood. The script is tight with loop holes you don't even bother worrying about and to add to that the haunting background score that gives you the true feeling of a thriller. Though it awkwardly seems a bit longer than its 2 hour running time I still won't mind watching it again. And yes Vidya Balan our very own Meryl Streep is almost certain to get another filmfare and national award. Of course the year has just started but i might just be disappointed if she doesn't get it. Ha! really satisfied with Kahaani.

7.5/10 for Kahaani and another 0.5 for the collective acting performances of the cast. Audience which included a lot of family and friends - 3.5/5

A perfect noir or thriller is like a Cornetto Ice-cream which you start licking with excitement that doesn't fizzle away in the course of your action. In fact temptation gets multiplied as your taste bud is surprised with hidden nuts, choco chips, wafers along with added flavor which makes one forget about everything. In the very end one finds that unexpected solid chunk of chocolate whose aroma stays in your mouth for hours. Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani is one such taut thriller that will engross you with interesting twists and turns gradually reaching the climax that takes a complete somersault. From the very first scene of a man in a gas mask testing some lethal chemicals on rats in a lab, Kahaani has you gripped. And then enters Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant women in an unknown city in search of her husband Arnab Bagchi who is a scientist working in NDC, Kolkata. There lies the mystery as from every corner Mrs Bagchi is proved that her husband hadn't been to this city. Even his existence seems to be a mere figment of imagination. Things get complicated as IB department of country shows interest in the case. Revealing a single suspense of this gripping thriller will be a crime and it is must watch for all lovers of suspense thriller. Sujoy Ghosh's script as well as direction is restrained yet poignant with metaphors revolving around Maa Durga and her fight with Asura (the demon). It is one of the rare scenarios where the script and the execution respect audience intelligence. In fact the ending compels the audience to revisit the scenarios and then one realizes the dots do connect. That's the most successful poi of this riveting thriller which can be compared to best of the thrillers in the world. The cone of this Cornetto is city of Joy Kolkata who is the true protagonist of the tale. The violence lurking in the by-lanes of the city, the mystery flowing with the murmuring sound of the Ganges, there is an air of conspiracy and Ghosh's script rightly captures that. Ritesh Shah who wrote the dialogs of the film deserves mention to consummately penning down the thoughts of Ghosh. Thankfully there is no cliché involving Kolkata which were shown in earlier film made on this city. Adding to the beauty there is Setu's camera-work which portrays Kolkata like never before in Hindi celluloid. Ghosh is gifted with brilliant technical team who did their best to make a captivating thriller in such a shoestring budget. Namrata Rao is another "hero" of the film. She gave the razor sharp cuts much needed in a thriller like this and her editing abilities will surely get her phone ringing for more thrillers. The background score did the much needed haunting effect to compliment the proceeding without going overboard. There are two songs in the film. "Ami Sotti Bolchi" which is there in the beginning is kind of introduction to the city as well as story. Usha Utthup's voice creates the aura of suspense. Amitabh Bachchan rendered his voice to Tagore's "ekla chalo re" which somehow worked. Vidya Balan is the pillar of Kahaani. Her character V(B)idya Bagchi is epitome of strong quintessential woman who is strong to take care of herself and at the same time vulnerable to regular emotions of life. This is the role which actresses will die for and luckily the role chose Vidya Balan who is beyond competition. One of the finest actress of our generation she can display any role with perfection. From Ishqiya to Paa, No one Killed Jessica she went a notch higher with The Dirty picture and now sealed the top spot with "Kahaani". She deserves the best actress awards once again. Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the loud mouthed IB office Khan had superb screen presence. His voice modulation will lead him to such meatier roles in near future. Parambrata Chatterjee aptly cast as Inspector Sinha added the soft side to the story with his unsaid love for Vidya. He was powerful even when he didn't mouth any dialogs through his expressive eyes. Saswata Chatterjee as Bob Biswas was scene stealer. Whenever he landed on screen people knew something is going to happen and with his expression he just stole the show. One of the finest actors in Bengal today, he must get noticed after this brilliant performance, in national circuits as well. His scenes with Vidya in the metro station just prior and after the interval are one of the best sequences of the film. Revealing his character will die down certain elements of suspense. Kharaj Mukherjee as podge thana head was adequate and provided some comic relief without getting too loud. Indraneil Sengupta, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Darshan Jariwala, Falguni Chatterjee (as manager of Monalisa lodge) let their presence felt. Special mention to the two kids who can give the big stars run for their money. Kahaani again proved Story is the real winner. If you have a good story you can compromise on budget and still make a engaging film. Kahaani should become a guide book for those who want to make thrillers. With Agent Vinod,Shanghai,Talaash on the cards hopefully good thrillers will revive in celluloid. Till then salute to the whole team of Kahaani and hope Sujoy Ghosh forgets his "Alladin" days and make another thriller as riveting as Kahaani. Watch Kahaani and experience neo-bollywood ……aami sotti bolchi!!