Kahaani   Producer: Sujoy Ghosh, Kushal Gada Director: Sujoy Ghosh Starring: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterji, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Saswata Chatterjee Music: Vishal-Shekhar Lyrics: Vishal Dadlani, Anvita Dutt, Sandeep Srivastava Srivastava Genre: Thriller Recommended Audience: Parental Guidance Film Released on: 09 March 2012 Reviewed by: Tanuj Manchanda  - Rating: 9.5 / 10 More Reviews and Analysis by PB Critics:     • Feature Review by Amodini Sharma - Rating: 8.0 / 10   Let us know what you think about this review Music Review

The story begins with software engineer Vidya Bagchi (Vidya Balan), a seven months pregnant woman arriving in Kolkata from London, days before the Durga Puja. She is in search of her software engineer husband, Arnab Bagchi, who came to Kolkata with an assignment but suddenly gone missing. As she starts searching for her husband with help from the rookie cop Satyaki/Rana (Parambrata Chatterjee), she soon realizes that it won’t be easy. Arnab Bagchi just vanished into thin air, without any trace. To the city, her husband never existed. With extreme reserves of determination and resolve, Vidya Bagchi starts her own search through a cobweb of mysteries.

The strongest point of this film is the story written by Sujoy Ghosh and Advaita Kala. It’s so intelligent and comprehensive that it makes the audiences sit up and admire the talent behind it. The Screenplay by Sujoy Ghosh, Suresh Nair and Nikhil Vyas is arresting and captivating as it doesn’t allows the viewer to take a breather. From the first scene to the last, the audience remains glued to the seats and the high suspense quotient makes it an edge of the seat thriller. But at the core, it is more than just a thriller as it deals beautifully with human emotions.

Cinematography by Setu is splendid as he captures the bylanes of Kolkata so realistically that it makes the film look all the more authentic. The crowded streets and the famous Durga Pooja Festival are all beautifully captured. Kolkata never looked so sexy. Editing by Namrata Rao is water tight binding the viewers for two hours. The pace of the film is uniform throughout giving little bit clues in between leading to a spellbinding climax. I don’t remember the last time I was so thrilled and amazed by the climax of a movie.

Direction by Sujoy Ghosh is excellent and flawless. The film is for the intelligent and thinking audience and all credit goes to him. He doesn’t let go off even for a moment and has taken care of even the minutest detail. He is a master storyteller and shows his craft in this film which is his best work so far.

Music by Vishal –Shekhar is awesome and provides a flavor of Kolkata. Although only two songs are used in the film; “Aami Shotti Bolchi” and “Ekla Chalo Re”, the soundtrack contains 3 more songs and all of them are soulful. Background Score by Clinton Cerejo is exceptional and heightens the impact of the tense moments and also increases the chill factor.

Now coming to the performances, Vidya Balan is the lifeline of the film. She sparkles the screen throughout and plays the role of a pregnant women so well you can’t see any other actress matching her. Her interactions with police inspector Rana/Satyuki played by Parambrata Chatterjee are excellent. The expressions of grief, eagerness and despair are well reflected through her performance. Note the emotions from her eyes and her impeccable dialogue delivery. Expect another National Award for the talented actress. Parambrata Chatterjee as Rana is a natural and restrained. His character evokes sympathy from the audiences. Bob Biswas played by Saswata Chatterjee is chilling and interesting. His Character evokes dark humour. Nawazuddin Shah as Khan, a ruthless IB Officer is apt and does a fine job. The rest of the supporting cast has done a good job.

Kahaani is a perfect example of a thriller with an emotional layer with a brilliant story, skilful direction, awesome performances, haunting music and a nail-biting climax. The film is flawless in all respects and is a landmark film in Bollywood. A Masterpiece!