Review of Kahaani (2012) by Saumya D — 16 Nov 2018

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.