Audience Member
"Kahaani" is a gripping feminist thriller with a brisk pace and a sense of time and place. It's my favourite film of the year.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
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Audience Member
A must watch for suspense movie lovers!
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
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Audience Member
such a good film! Really interesting and mind blowing!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/25/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Kahaani is a thrilling ride from start to finish - when a pregnant Vidya Bagchi travels to Kolkata in search of her missing husband, the viewers are taken on an intense, emotional journey to solve the mysteries presented to Vidya throughout the film. This movie presents a huge contrast from many generic Bollywood tropes, providing a fresh take on Hindi cinema. However, some may believe that rejecting such tropes is a rejection of true Hindi cinema. Ashis Nandy writes about important characteristics of Bollywood movies, including overstatement, creating a spectacle, and focusing on events rather than character psychology. Kahaani strategically abandons these concepts, creating an subdued yet profound work of art that draws viewers in nonetheless. Guerilla filming allowed for the city of Kolkata to be captured in its most authentic light, sticking to an auspicious color scheme (red, white, and gold for the Durga puja) and showing the sights and sounds of the city's inhabitants. This was also a more psychologically oriented movie than your typical Bollywood experience - the excellent acting by Vidya Balan as well as her lesser known co-stars showed the inner lives of the characters and the motivations behind their actions, such as Rana's awe of and care for Vidya developing over time.
Kahaani is also unique in that in portrays a strong female lead. One of the first and most famous Bollywood movies to do so was Mother India, where a mother raises her children and farms seemingly infertile land when her husband abandons the family. Like Mother India, Vidya in Kahaani chooses to take matters into her own hands when the men around her don't help her. Many characters in the movie initially tried to convince Vidya that her husband had abandoned her and she should go back home, but she ignored them and persisted in pursuit of her goal. Additionally, both the mother in Mother India and Vidya in Kahaani end up defying all expectations placed on her by these males, eventually reaching their end goals solely through their own means. The images of the female lead in both films were tied into goddess Durga, who represents strength in Indian culture. Overall, this movie wove together intricate themes, storylines, and emotions to create a beautiful piece of film.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Set in a bustling Kolkata preparing for the Durga puja, Kahaani is an engrossing mystery/thriller which follows a pregnant Vidya Bagchi as she searches for her missing husband. Starring Vidya Balan as a powerful female lead, this film captures the audience's attention as it navigates the determination and fear circling Vidya's mind. As Vidya begins searching for her husband, she finds that most people are adamant that he does not exist. The evidence instead points to an individual named Milan Damji, with whom her husband shares an uncanny resemblance. With the help of Rana, a local police officer, Vidya continues her search and attracts the attention of the National Intelligence Bureau, who also seek to catch Milan and his inside man. The film takes many twists and turns as it reaches its conclusion, with the biggest shock coming at the end. Enjoyable aspects of the film include Balan's commanding presence in the lead role as well as her friendship with Rana, which is hard not to enjoy and provides some lighter moments. The deviation from a more formulaic film plot and the use of Kolkata as a vibrant and cultural background are also enjoyable. In terms of music, Amitabh Bachchan's version of Tagore's "Ekla Cholo Re" adds a touching and emotional dimension to a very raw moment in the film. Additionally, while some may criticize the emotional and teary ending, it provides rare insight into the psychology of a character.
Vidya Balan's portrayal of a strong and independent Vidya Bagchi in this female-centered film challenges many Bollywood portrayals of submissive female characters and works to further the comparison of Vidya to the goddess Durga, the destroyer of demons whose power is a representation of a mother's strength. This image of Vidya as Durga is hinted at throughout the entire film, but is only truly emphasized and made more obvious after she dons the red and white sari given to her by Rana. As Rachel Dwyer and Divia Patel explain, women depicted in traditional saris with their hair tied back (as Vidya's initially is) are associated with the high moralities of an ideal Indian woman (Dwyer and Patel, "Female Character Types"). Once this association is made clear, the connection of Vidya to a goddess who is a powerful destroyer, protector, and mother figure is more obvious. This mirrors Radha's emblematic character in Mother India, who is similarly shown as a fierce mother and protector, not only to her own children, but to the entire community. Radha is also depicted with goddess-like images and qualities, furthering the similarity of both women as protectors, who seek to avenge and defend.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/18/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Kahaani, directed by Sujoy Ghosh and starring Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is a thriller set in Kolkata during the Durga Puja. It follows a pregnant woman, Vidya Bagchi, in her search for her missing husband, only to be told that he never came to Kolkata. She continues in her search, however, and uncovers a connection between her husband and a known terrorist, attracting the attention of both the terrorist organization and the national Intelligence Bureau. The film pulls you in with sympathy for a pregnant woman in an unfamiliar city and keeps you hooked as she acts with cleverness and ingenuity even as the danger closes in on her. Each character adds to your enjoyment of the story, from Vidya herself to Mr. Khan, a coarse Intelligence Bureau agent with a bad attitude and few morals. Vidya's strength throughout the movie is reminiscent of the strong female characters of older movies, such as Radha from Mother India, both of whom are mothers willing to put in the physical work needed to help their husband and children.
The film is an excellent example of a new form of Bollywood film, in which the audience must follow multiple characters, each with different but interconnecting stories, whose relationships are only truly understood by looking at the big picture (Gopal 341). This film takes it even farther, by keeping the audience in the dark about an explosive secret, which clarifies, even overturns, everything you thought you knew about the characters. Overall, Kahaani is a stellar film with a gripping story, well-developed characters, and colorful scenery. It is a successful use of a new type of Bollywood storytelling, and a good sign for the healthy future of Bollywood.
Gopal, Sangita. 2011. "Second-Generation Multiplexes and the Multiplot Film." Conjugations: Marriage and Form in New Bollywood Cinema. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/05/23
Full Review
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