Captured by : pg 3- anchor
Kahaani 2
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Starring: Vidya Balan, Arjun Rampal, Naisha Khanna
After delivering an absolute nail biting thriller in 2012 with Kahaani, Sujoy Ghosh returns with yet another interesting tale in the second installment of the franchise which once again sees Vidya Balan in the lead role. It should however be noted that this film is not a sequel to Kahaani.
The film set once again in Kolkata follows the story of Vidya Sinha ( Vidya Balan) who discovers upon returning from work that her wheel chair bound daughter Minnie has gone missing. Greatly perturbed by a subsequent phone call from the kidnapper, Vidya runs out of her house in a daze only to be knocked down by an oncoming taxi. As she lies in a coma in hospital, sub inspector Inderjeet Singh steps in to handle the case. Around the same time a case of a wanted criminal for kidnapping and murder arrives at his desk and Inderjeet is stunned when he discovers Vidya's face on the poster but under the name of Durga Rani Singh. While the inspector instructs him to take up the case seriously, Inderjeet has a gut feeling that Vidya/Durga cannot really be a criminal. But can he really rely on his instinct? Is Vidya really a criminal? If so, then who is framing her? And who has the daughter?
The film slowly uncovers the facts helped a lot by a diary found in Vidya's house. There is no denying that the film makes sure not to leave out any little detail to be questioned, and in fact Ghosh's decision to steer clear of any extra flourish and keep it simple is a beauty in itself. Indeed, it is plain to see that ample research has gone to make sure that the film is just right. But where the film fails is presenting its crucial bits of information in the right way, what it lacks is the punch. Revealing moments are brought to light in a very casual manner and this is what lends predictability to the whole tale. And with a mystery story, there is no place for predictability. But what is most important is the central theme of the story “ how difficult it is to spot child abuse and how tough it can be to actually bring the perpetrators to justice. The use of art to uncover the psychology of a child's mind also makes for an interesting watch.
That said Vidya Balan does give a brilliant performance just like she always seems to do while Arjun Rampal's second film in the last couple of weeks sees him don the khadi uniform in style. And although it may not live up to people's expectations after the success of Kahaani, it is definitely a film with a message to ponder on
