Kahaani

The story of Kahaani! Quite unexpected and took most of us by surprise. Not the best of the films for a purist or for a Namrata Joshi kind of profile. Yet kind of enjoyed the moments in the films. The daily return of "Rana" by tram (why does he take a tram!) and the customary phone from his "Ma". Very very Bong, the Calcutta in silhoutte and the constant clobbering of sound, make all o fit vibrant. The pace is brisk and always has you on the edge. Nawazuddin was good (though I thought he had more room in Peepli Live) and Saswata took the cake, as the cool calculated villain. What about Bidya (ohh! Vidya), she was good in parts, the moments of her lowliness in the hotel room, her first shot of getting down from the taxi at the Kalighat Police Station. Parambrata and Kharaj were good and so where all the support cast that included a small cameo by Collen Blanche.

What stood out; definately the plot, the cast and a very strong backdrop, CALCUTTA. What did not, as Namrata says in Outlook, too much of Computer mumbo jumbo and too much of dependence on the same, led to the suspense factor wearing off briefly.

The scene that stood out to me, where Bidya Madam(!) steps into the Kalighat police station for the first time. The innocence of Rana (Saptaki), the cherubic Kharaj (Inspector Chatterjee) and the conversation that follows between the three. Perhaps the seriousness of the situation, gets absorbed in the humid and hallowed walls of the phari (read P.S.) of Kalighat. Balan stands out here for the candid approach and downplaying the sequence. We know she has a missing husband, so dilemma of not finding her, a new city and the fact she knows something "more", cuts across very strongly. Bravo Sujoy.

To me Kahaani is a fresh and innovative approach to the more tried and tested and trusted approach that most filmmakers (perhaps the PP* factor) fall into.

There is a lot of Ray and company inspirations in the scenes, but they do add in a word of good to every sequence.

* Producer's pressure