Kahaani (2012)

A pregnant woman's search for her missing husband takes her from London to Kolkata, but everyone she questions denies having ever met her husband.

Director:

Sujoy Ghosh

Writers:

Sujoy Ghosh (screenplay), Sujoy Ghosh (story),

Stars:

Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, Dhritiman Chatterjee

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Vidya Balan	...	Vidya Venkatesan-Bagchi
Parambrata Chatterjee	...	Inspector Satyaki Sinha aka Rana (as Parambrata Chattopadhyay)
Dhritiman Chatterjee	...	Bhaskaran
Saswata Chatterjee	...	Bob Biswas
Indraneil Sengupta	...	Arnab Bagchi / Milan Damji
Nawazuddin Siddiqui	...	Mr. Khan
Darshan Jariwala	...	Retd. Colonel Bajpai
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sk. Azad Ahmed	...	Drunk at Monalisa
Masood Akhtar	...	Rasik Tyagi
Mohd. Faiz Alam	...	Bob's Boss
Roshni Ali	...	Student
Anindya Banerjee	...	Bimal
Kamalika Banerjee	...	Receptionist
Dibyendu Bardhan	...	Police Inspector
Paresh Bhowmick	...	Drunk at Monalisa (as Paresh Bhowmik)

Storyline

Kolkata is abuzz with the preparations for the annual Durga Puja festival, as seven months pregnant Vidya Bagchi steps off the airplane from London. Her first stop is the local police station to file a missing person report. Weeks ago, her husband Arnab arrived in India for a job assignment. The first two weeks, they talked daily on the phone, and then without explanation, his calls stopped. Everywhere Vidya turns, no one can remember Arnab. There is no trace of him at the guest house or his workplace. But Vidya will not give up her search. Somewhere in Kolkata she will discover the dangerous truth.

---

Plot Keywords:

kolkata | missing husband | pregnant woman | actress shares first name with character | terrorism | 

---

Taglines:

A mother of a story

---

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi Bengali

Release Date:

9 March 2012 (India)

Also Known As:

Story

Filming Locations:

Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boundscript, Pen Movies

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Saswata Chatterjee (Bob Biswas) used to play the character of "Topshe" in the Bengali TV adaptations of the "Feluda" until 2001. Parambrata Chatterjee (who plays Inspector Satyaki Sinha/Rana) replaced him on 2003 and since then he plays the role in four Bengali movie adaptations.

---

Goofs

The ex IB Officer is introduced as Capt Bajpayee but later he is addressed as Colonel.

---

Connections

References Call of Duty: Black Ops (2010)

---

Soundtracks

"Ekla Cholo Re"
Music by Vishal Dadlani & Shekhar Ravjiani
Performed by Amitabh Bachchan

User Reviews

This is what story-telling is all about!!!

First and foremost I would like to clear out one thing about me.

I am a Bengali but in spite of the fact that I got a mesmerizing view of the Bengali culture and the city of joy-Kolkata (which I haven't visited for ages), this review is not biased.

Ever wished you watched a movie that left you completely spellbound? Yes this is one of those movies that lingers on in your head even after you leave the movie theater.

The star cast right from Vidya Balan(as Vidya Bagchi),ParambrataChattopadhyay(as police offer Satyoki Sinha/Rana),Nawazuddin Siddiqui(as second-in command Intelligence Beaureu),Saswata Chatterjee(as a hired assassin),Kharaj Mukherjee as a kind cop to the manager of Mona Lisa hotel and lastly the two kids who interact with Vidya is simply amazing.

There are several high points in the film.Vidya as the portrayal of the pregnant woman delivers a range of emotions.She is at times tough and firm on finding her missing husband.At times, she is vulnerable,frustrated because of the missing clues. She is charming in the way she talks with the kids and playful in the bus-ride with officer Rana.Then the subtlety with which Rana emotes the love he feels for Vidya and the hesitation while picking locks to find out evidences.The brash hard talk act by officer Khan and then the evil menacing act by Bob Biswaas.Brilliant!!

Moreover Sujoy Ghosh(the director) uses Vidya's pregnancy cleverly- every time she trips or even sweats too hard, you become afraid.The story totally grips you and leaves you at a dramatic high.And what can I say about the climax.Tremendous shock value!There have been very few times when I have experienced such pin-drop silence in the theater.Take a bow Sujoy..You have given Bollywood a gem of a thriller.

For those fed up with the dark and gritty underbelly of Mumbai and the bylanes of old Delhi in recent movies, there are splendid sights of Kolkata and the iconic Durga Puja.It's a treat to watch the Howrah bridge,Hoogly river and the Victoria Memorial.

Regarding music.Its great.The movie starts on a good note with "Ami Shotti Bolchi" and Amitabh Bachhan's rendition of Tagore's famous song "Jodi tor dak shune" elevates the mood to a completely different level.The director keeps the narrative clutter-free, sans any songs or side-track.

Kahaani shows that when everything falls in place for a film — story, writing, acting, editing, cinematography, etc — things can't go wrong. Kahaani is one such film; everything's right about it.

Watch Kahaani. Period