Kahaani, the first one, offered a gripping plot that boasted of a tight coupling between fiction and reality.
With that high a benchmark established, the sequel Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh, falls flat.
Interestingly, there is no ‘Kahaani’ – storytelling in sub-plots – in Kahaani 2.
It is plain, unfolds gradually, predictably and mostly chronologically. It’s a loose drama built on a few thrilling sequences and a mild-suspense element. This time around, suburban backdrops of West Bengal or usage of Bengali language fail to add any seasonings either.
Vidya Sinha (Vidya Balan) and her crippled daughter, in her early teens, live in a peaceful suburb away from Kolkata. All is going well for the mother-daughter duo until one day, the girl goes missing. Heading out in panic, the lady is run-over by a car and ends up in a hospital in state of coma.
Cops start-off with their investigation by digging into Vidya’s past. From here, the story unfolds with the usual twists and turns.
The first half draws inspiration from the backdrop it is set in: slow life in the hills of northern West Bengal – mostly deprived of sunlight – matching well with a rather sleepy story-line. Excessive time is lost in showcasing the nurturing of the relationship between Balan and the kid.
This is aptly compensated in the second half where events alternate in quick succession but simultaneously, the suspense element diminishes equally rapidly and not much remains to-be-revealed by the time the movie braces up for its climax-scene.
However, the power of Kahaani 2 lies in its sinister, urgency-inducing background score. (Eventually, nothing disastrous transpires, is a different point altogether). Clinton Cerejo, yet again, provides lifeline to a movie that was otherwise gasping for breath. (The earlier similar one was Te3n).
Whereas for Kahaani 2, the background music excels, it’s plot is an utter disappointment. It is cliched at the onset and the excruciating grumblings by the victim against the apathy of law-enforcement agencies further robs it of any declining hopes of innovation or creative variations.
It would be grave injustice to first Kahaani if you compare it with Kahaani 2. Characters appear to force-fitted here, and honestly speaking, it would have been just fine without a few of them. Often, the movie loses its grip over its characters, and amusingly, their intentions appear overly-shallow. The lady-cop, who keeps pestering Balan, is practically performing the role of a contract-killer. Why to depict her as a cop, at the first place?
Performance-wise, Vidya Balan looks sapped of energy and doesn’t look to be ‘athletic enough’ while brisk-walking or ‘suitably skilled’ at firing gun-shots with precision. A mother who has smelled a potential fatality of her daughter, is overacted by her. Her apprehensions and fears are anything but convincing.
Arjun Rampal, as Sub-Inspector Inderjeet, stands out for his neat performance. He is fatigued, stressed-out, conflicted and doesn’t disclose the professional dilemmas or personal secrets of his life, to his wife. He acts strange many a times and keeps you guessing genuinely about the reason behind it.
Naisha Khanna, playing the younger Mini, is endearingly cute. She keeps your eyes glued on herself in each scene she is present. Her face is reflective of the pain she silently conceals.
If there isn’t much to do this weekend, go for Kahaani 2. It holds you – certainly not on the edge of your seat – till it lasts.
I would go on for 3/5 for its ominous background score, fine performances by Rampal and Naisha Khanna, and last but the least, it’s moderate duration.
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