New Delhi: Four years ago, 'Kahaani' made the audience's and critics sit up with its intriguing suspense and surprising twists and turns.The success of the film helped both Vidya Balan and director Sujoy Ghosh establish a niche for themselves in the industry as the 'torch bearers' of new age unconventional films in Bollywood.
Expectantly, 'Kahaani 2' carried with it a huge burden of expectations to match up to the original.
Viewed in this context, 'Kahaani 2' manages, in large part, to measure up to 2012 film, especially when it comes to its 'thrill quotient '.
An engaging script and a spell -binding performance by Vidya Balan in 'Kahaani 2' keeps the viewer's constantly on the edge of their seats.'Kahaani 2' is the story of a Vidya Sinha (Vidya Balan ) who lives with her daughter.
The story begins with the audience being told that her daughter has been kidnapped, Even as she was still in the shock of her daughter having been kidnapped, a car accident puts Vidya in a coma.Sub-Inspector Inderjeet Singh (Arjun Rampal) , who is investigating the case, realises that he knows Vidya Sinha personally.
He is told that she is in fact Durga Rani Singh, who is wanted in a kidnapping and murder case.
The mystery of Vidya’s dual identities deepens as the police reads about the incidents written in her diary.As the story unfolds , its tries to answer the many intriguing questions and reveal the story of Vidya/Durga Rani Singh's tumultuous life.
The screenplay of the film is engaging, keeping the viewers constantly on their tenterhooks with surprising twists and turn as the story moves ahead.Deepening the mystery of the film are the two different facets of the protagonist Vidya Balan - one of a ruthless murderer Durga Rani Singh and the other of Vidya Sinhawjo is constantly worried about the safety of her family and her daughter.
The first half of the film is extremely intriguing and filled with many an unpredictable twists and turns.Though the pace of the film slackens somewhat in the second half, it soon gains momentum.The direction by Sujoy is brilliant.He has managed to bring an element of intrigue to the story which engages the viewers throughout the film.
He excellently etches out the characters of Vidya Sinha /Durga Rani Singh and Inderjeet Singh.
'Kahaani 2' has spell binding performance by Vidya.She is the centrepiece of the film, making her presence felt all through the film.She displays all kinds of emotions with an amazing ease- be it that of a woman nervous about the safety of her family, a mother who is fiercely protective about her daughter or a woman stoic about the happenings around her.
It is the performance of a lifetime by the actress.As the Inspector Inderjeet Singh, Arjun Rampal gives an extremely subtle and understated performance.He springs a surprise with his nuanced portrayal in 'Kahaani 2'.The rest of the cast prove able support.Though the music is not much to talk about, the film has excellent background music which adds to the mystery.
Cinematographer Tapan Basu has done a good job , bringing out the beauty of fog-laden locales of Kalimpong .In short, 'Kahaani 2' is another engaging thriller from Sujoy Ghosh with Vidya keeping the viewers spellbound with her virtuouso act.Rating: 3.5/5: one for its engaging screenplay, one for Sujoy's direction, one for the spellbinding performance by Vidya Balan and 0.5 for background music. (UNI)