Movie Review: Kahaani
The board at the entrance of a quaint Kolkata guesthouse reads running hot water in bathrooms. What it means is that a youngster runs around the rooms with a boiling kettle handing it over to the guests! The heavily pregnant protagonist Vidya Bagchi Balan discovers this much to her surprise and amusement just like the film that manages to do both. Nor can she fathom why she is repeatedly called Bidya instead of Vidya --- simply because that's the way Bengalis pronounce it!
Kahaani takes you on a ride of Kolkata along with Vidya -- the woman on a mission -- in her quest to find her hubby who has vamoosed into thin air. She conspires and even makes herself bait including hacking computers to find vital clues that can lead to her goal. Her accomplice is a cop Rana (Parambrata Chatterjee) who over due course develops an overwhelming feeling of love for her.
After a string of movies that got her noticed like Paa, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica and The Dirty Picture, here is one more to add to Vidya's memorable films kitty. Watch out for the scene when she breaks down in the guest room after repeatedly putting a brave front, it brings a lump in the throat. And when she is being pushed towards a running train - it is these among the many moments that make the film Vidya's all the way.
Though she is the star of the movie, the supporting cast, too, (mostly from Bengal) has been handpicked perfectly to match the characters they essay. Bob (Saswata Chatterjee) as the life insurance agent who doubles as a contract killer is deadly, but great fun as well. While the unmannerly Intelligence Bureau officer Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is just perfect in his socially incorrect behaviour.Director Ghosh who has also penned the screenplay weaves the City of Joy seamlessly into the narrative as his whodunnit unfolds. Yes, you want to know what will happen next and how Vidya will succeed. Especially in that huge Durga Puja celebration climax with the sea of women dressed in the typical shaada lal paad (white with red border) Bengali sarees.
However, what is a tad jarring in the opening scenes is when Vidya checks into the guest house room - it's a small enclosed confines, but suddenly the camera goes all over the place for a while which is best done in an open arena. Also, the cop Rana promptly falling in love with the heavily pregnant Vidya - the romance angle could have been well avoided as mere concern as well as the relatively ease with which Rana and she stumble upon clues and suspects in quick succession besides the rattling off the climax narrative. But despite these aberrations, this Kahaani is well told. It is worth spending your money to watch. Ghosh, whose earlier movies include Aladin (2009), Home Delivery (2005), and Jhankaar Beats (2003), can surely take a chill pill. The maverick director has weaved a distinct mystery tale and will be remembered for this Kahaani of his.
