Kahaani(2012) is a work of art. It's full of suspense, drama and all thriller elements which are moulded to perfection. Death lurks in every corner, and Kolkata has been shown in a noirish light such that the city comes alive, but not in the way you might expect it to. It's slick, but it also has a soul.
Of course, nothing is what it seems but one of the themes which strikes me is how a woman gets things done in a man's world. Here, the woman is the hero. Vidya Bagchi is of course is the main protagonist and though she does get support from Rana, she's the one doing the bulk of the work and he is very much playing second fiddle to her. Sometimes, you feel she is vulnerable, at other times you see she personifies resilience. It's astounding to see this kind of interplay two character traits which makes Vidya Bagchi an iconic character.
Secondly, the twists and turns. The movie is full of them just like any good thriller should have, but what makes these stand out is that they are not thoughtlessly crammed together. It's a duplicitous, labyrinthine puzzle which makes this film interesting, and the pace is not that of a conventional thriller. At times, it's deliberately slow, but I think it's a very intelligent plot device.
Thirdly, the characterization. Each character is fleshed out with a great deal of thought, be it of course Bagchi, the rookie cop played by Parambrata, the insurance agent by day and deadly assassin by night i.e. Bob Biswas and the hard-nosed IB agent played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Each character is unique, some intrepid, some not so much.
Do you think it's the best thriller to come out of Bollywood, or are there other thrillers which you liked equally or more? Discuss.
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