One more feather in Vidya Balan's cap!
Cast: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Saswata Chatterjee, Indraneil Sengupta, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
The film was released on March 9 and I got to watch it only on April 1. It was more out of choice. In fact, Venkat had already seen it and came along with me to watch it a second time. I was rather reluctant believing that the film may be violent. But the call of Vidya Balan finally won me over and I went to watch it. Am I glad!
THE STORY:
A bio-chemical weapon is used to wipe out all the travelers in one compartment of a Kolkata Metro. The police are unable to trace the terrorists responsible for this.
Two years later, a very pregnant Vidya Venkatesan Bagchi (Vidya Balan) arrives in Kolkata from London. She directly goes to the police station to lodge a complaint about her missing husband Arnab Bagchi (Indraneil Sengupta). Arnab had arrived in Kolkata a couple of months ago and had been in touch with his wife for a few days before he stopped calling. After that, he had gone missing – it seems without a trace, as Vidya finds out.
Young Police Officer Satyoki Sinha aka Rana (Parambrata Chattopadhyay) helps her a lot as he feels sorry for the pregnant woman with a missing husband. Vidya goes to the company Arnab had been contracted to work for and later to the hotel he had been staying in. She draws a blank at every point. It seems that Arnab had never been in Kolkata. But he had arrived there and spoken to her many times over the phone. Are things as they should be? Where is Arnab? Is he alive or dead?
MY TAKE ON IT:
Better late than never, I thought as I watched this thriller. Vidya Balan has done an excellent job of playing the pregnant lady in search of her missing husband. Then, giving a great performance is a regular habit with Vidya. Kudos yet again!
Parambrata Chattopadhyay as Rana has done an equally good job as he has the next biggest role to play in the film. Congratulations!
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as the rude Intelligence Bureau Agent Khan and Saswata Chatterjee as the innocent faced paid assassin Bob Biswas were both too good.
The film had a great story, excellent script with a perfect director at the helm. Sujoy Ghosh has reeled out a superb film that keeps you hooked till the end. And over and above, the movie was less than a couple of hours.
Amitabh Bachchan croons a very cute song in the film that fits in very well – in between and as the credits roll. It sounds wonderful!
The only thing that rankled was the idea of a fully pregnant woman – at least 8 months pregnant – undergoing those gymnastics that Vidya did. That just cannot be possible. If a real woman had done what the character did in the film, she would have delivered on the roadside. And Vidya does spend a couple of weeks there that take her further into her pregnancy. I am taking away half-a-star for this reason.
VERDICT: Don’t miss the film.
RATING: ****1/2 Super (almost)
* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super
Official website: www.kahaanithefilm.com
Dear Sundariji,
ReplyDeleteYou have told the story only half which is anybody's guess. What is Vidya Balan's real role and why was she acting pregnant and who eventually Arnab and
who were the people who kept the film moving forward? Who is Vidya Balan herself? These points are to be at least touched upon if not told entirely!!
I too saw this movie with my family. We enjoyed every bit of it. I personally did not find anything wrong with Vidya Balan in the role of a pregnant woman.
Right from how she adopted to walk as a pregnant woman is to be appreciated. Again, there is a scene where she is giving a hitch like she is real pregnant and is suffering from like a normal pregnant woman. And she has a job in hand and she has to do it very professionally, that is it!
Even when she was kicked in abdomen, we could only take it as real, such was the acting.
You could put this thru' in the comments column if you feel like but the review is far from complete.
Best regards,
Ravi Nair
Raviji,
Deletethank you for the comment.
I did not want to add anything more to the story as it is a suspense thriller and details will become spoilers for those who have not seen the film yet.
I understand that you did not feel Vidya's advanced pregnancy strange because you are a male and have not personally experienced it.
I have not said anything about Vidya's acting skills here. That was too perfect. It is the director's mistake. Believe me when I say it is not practical for a heavily pregnant woman to do what all the character did in the film. Again, Vidya has personally not delivered a baby to my knowledge and hence is not aware of the practicalities.
Films are generally well researched on such matters in the present days.
I was so caught up in the film and the action that I kept worrying that she might deliver in the middle of the road. This has happened to many people in reality, for your information.
warm regards,
Sundari
Hi, sundari,
ReplyDeleteFor the first time, i saw this movie before you, with Aishu and Karthik in Delhi.
I too agree with Raviji that there was nothing wrong in the direction, though I am a woman. If you had felt that she would deliver on the roads, it was because of Vidya Balan's acting. I never felt she did something that a full pregnant woman could not do. After all, most of what she did was walking and enquiring. Anyway, each one has one's own perception.
I agree with you that you should not tell the entire story in a review. A review should preserve the suspense and make one see the movie, if it is good.
I intend to see the movie again with Shekarji, if it is still going on somewhere. All three of us liked it that day.
Yeah, the film was fabulous and Vidya's acting even better. Simply loved it :)
Deletethe comment got posted before I could finish. I am glad you are watching the film again. Watch it from the angle that I have mentioned - of a heavily pregnant woman straining herself. I am sure you will understand what I mean
Delete