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Writer-director Reema Kagti has quashed reports that the release of her Aamir Khan starrer Talaash has been postponed because the film bears similarities with Kahaani.
"I am rather surprised about these rumours. We have moved the release of the film to November because we didn't want it to clash with Aamir's TV show but some chose to build their own stories. I have heard a lot about Kahaani. Sujoy Ghosh is a good friend and I am sure it would be fantastic. But there is nothing that is similar about the two films," Kagti told PTI.
Kahaani, starring Vidya Balan, is a thriller and the trailers of Talaash also indicate that the film belongs to the same genre but Kagti believes that comparing the two films is too much. She believes that the rumours started making the rounds after Talaash release was postponed soon after the release of Kahaani.
"Let Talaash release and the film will speak for itself. People will realise on their own that there is no similarity whatsoever."
The film, a co-production of Aamir Khan, Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, has been in news ever since it was announced around two years back.
With Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukherji joining the cast, the film became all the more special. There is lot of curiosity about Talaash because it is releasing almost three years after Aamir's 3 Idiots.
Kagti, who started her career with the impressive Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, is not worried that the film, originally slated to release last December, has been delayed by a year and would now hit the screens on November 30.
"Such things happen. A film getting delayed is not uncommon. The film is ready and the first edit is also in place. I am not bothered that the film will arrive a few months later. I am chilled out.
"The sets of Aamir's TV show had caught fire. After that it was inevitable that there would be delay and it was bound to have a ripple effect on Talaash. It is just that the announcement has come now.
The director also denies that they had to re-shoot certain portions of the film because of Kahaani.
"There is just a little patchwork of a couple of shots to be done which would take half a day. Anyone familiar with little bit of filmmaking would know that it is common for most of the films but you can't change the film's storyline in such a short time."
Now that there are few more months before the release, Kagti is happy to have some extra time to promote the movie.
"Aamir will see the first edit soon. There are other ideas that are being firmed up for the film's marketing and promotion. There is still some time before they are unveiled," she said.
It looks like brand Vidya Balan has become a hit overseas too. Her latest film Kahaani is writing a success story in the foreign markets. In fact, it has surpassed The Dirty Picture's collection in overseas, according to latest reports.
Excited about the film's success, Sujoy Ghosh tells hindustantimes.com, "It just proves that if a film has the support of an audience then it will succeed."
"My intention was to make a film and play with the script beautifully, I never thought about the commercial aspect," Ghosh had earlier shared with the website.
The figures "Kahaani has emerged a surprise success in Overseas. The film has managed rock-steady figures in its second weekend [at places, better than opening weekend], taking the 10-day total to Rs 8 cr from seven markets [U.K., U.S.A., U.A.E., Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Pakistan]. Viacom18's strategy has yielded good dividends," writes trade expert Taran Adarsh.
Comparison with TDP Drawing the comparison between the box office collections of Kahaani and The Dirty Picture in UK and Ireland BO, Adarsh writes, "The film has collected £ 46,133 on 18 screens, with the per screen average working out to £ 2,563. Total: £ 1,57,155 [Rs. 1.25 crores]. The Dirty Picture had collected £ 93,355 after its second weekend."
Kahaani that garnered Rs 24.10 cr in the first week has amassed Rs 38.2 cr nett in the domestic market, according to Adarsh.
What was Sujoy Ghosh doing on the streets of Kolkata, exactly three days after his film Kahaani's release? No, he was not looking for his next story plot. Ghosh was in Kolkata to watch Kahaani with his fans, who by his own admission, don't even recognise him. "I bought the ticket, and watched the film with my fans. I was thrilled with the response. Of course, they don't recognise me, I'm not that famous. But I enjoyed the experience to the core."
The director is still in Kahaani mode. Thoughts of making his next are far away. All he wants at this point is soak in the praise he's getting from all quarters. That's probably why when I mentioned that I liked the film, Sujoy was overjoyed. I was still reeling under the impact of this suspense film when I gave him a call. He addressed me as Paromita. It reminded me of Vidya Bagchi getting frustrated over Kolkata folks calling him Bidiya. She eventually accepts the fact that she's Bidiya for Bengalis. I don't mind being called Paromita, instead of Parmita by Sujoy, who's a typical Bengali babu. We go on to discuss his life post Kahaani.
Did he thank the main character of his film, the city of Kolkata for the film? "I'm too small to thank Kolkata. I'm just grateful for what I have got. Frankly, I take it (Kolkata) for granted," says the ecstatic Sujoy.
Sujoy admits he was nervuos, when he was going through the first review of Kahaani, but says he's realised that critics at the end of the day are also audience.
"Everybody is an audience including critics. If the film is good, they would also like it," says Sujoy who got a brilliant reception from movie critics across the country.
Not just the viewers, congratulatory messages are pouring in for this four-film old director, from industry veterans. One call that bowled him over was from evergreen beauty Rekha. "I almost had a heart attack when she called me. She said, the film was good."
Ghosh who debuted with critically acclaimed Jhankaar Beats (2003), went on to direct Home Delivery (2005) and Aladdin (2009). But it's only after Kahaani, that he's got his due.
Filmmakers often wish, pray, and hope for their film's success. But Sujoy's 'Kahaani' is different. Now that the film's business is showing an upward trend over Saturday and Sunday, (it has collected Rs 13.83 crore net), after a slow start, Sujoy says he was not at all expecting the film's commercial success. "My intention was to make a film and play with the script beautifully, I never thought about the commercial aspect."
Will Vidya Balan's National Award win help the film's prospect at box office? "Whatever helps to sell the movie," says Sujoy enthusiastically. On a more serious note, he adds, "But it's ultimately the film's script and the word of mouth that will ensure success for the movie."
In case, you are thinking, Sujoy Ghosh is already eyeing National Award, you cannot be more wrong. "It's too early to think about awards, I don't plan that much."
As I wrap up the interview the director quips: "But do tell your friends to watch the movie and spread the word around." Certainly, but on a condition, that he'll keep directing entertaining movies like Kahaani. "That's a promise," he signs off.
Stepping out of Mumbai and Delhi's streets and lanes which have been shown in films over and over again, Bollywood is now romancing Kolkata and its Victorian aura still intact in some places.
After the just-released Kahaani where Vidya Balan traversed through the length and breadth of the city searching for her missing husband, two other big-budget films, due for release later this year, have focused on the metropolis and West Bengal.
Priyanka Chopra and Ranbir Kapoor, two of the most bankable actors in Bollywood, shot for more than a month recently in the city and in the hills of Darjeeling for the Anurag Basu directed murder mystery Barfee.
Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha, on the other hand, will recreate the old-world charm of West Bengal in Lootera, a romantic period film set in the 1950's.
It was shot recently in the natural surroundings of the picturesque Purulia district, 295 kms from Kolkata.
Director Sujoy Ghosh, who describes Kolkata as one of the characters in his thriller Kahaani, says other filmmakers might soon jump into the bandwagon.
"I am overwhelmed with the kind of interest Kolkata has generated among the people in Mumbai and elsewhere. It is Kolkata and not any other city which people are talking about now," he told PTI.
Portraying the colourful and vibrant city that Kolkata is, Kahaani has brought alive the city on screen.
The film's star Vidya considers the City of Joy as her second home which gave her a break in Bengali film Bhalo Theko.
Filmmakers point out that the landscape of Mumbai has been overused by the camera in the last few decades.
The multi-layered Kolkata, on the other hand, has a different appeal with its Metro trains, rickety trams, hand-pulled rickshaws, dingy bylanes, British-era buildings, iconic structures like Howrah Bridge and Victoria Memorial.
"If I look from the eyes of the camera all other metros look the same but Kolkata has a unique character," said Anurag Basu whose Barfee will be in theatres this July.
By Hindustan Times
Direction: Sujoy Ghosh
Actors: Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chattopadhyay
Rating: ***1/2
Kahaani is a nifty thriller with an enjoyment quotient that is indirectly proportionate to how long you spend thinking about the plot. If you back-track and try to connect all the dots, the implausibility of the story amplifies - there's even a piecing-together-the-puzzle moment that echoes The Usual Suspects but this riddle isn't a patch on the intricate web of lies in the Bryan Singer film. However, if you're willing to think less, there is some fun to be had here.
Kahaani is the story of Vidya Bagchi, a software programmer from London played by Vidya Balan, who is both heavily pregnant and missing a husband. She arrives in Kolkata and heads straight to the police station from the airport - a fact remarked upon by the cab driver who is intrigued and bemused by her. So are the cops. Vidya insists on staying at a seedy guesthouse, which proudly advertises running hot water because the employees include a young boy who runs to the rooms with a kettle of hot water. Vidya is helped in her quest by an earnest cop Rana, played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay. But her husband seems to have disappeared into thin air - there are no school records, no relatives, no immigration records for Arnab Bagchi.
Director Sujoy Ghosh, who has co-written the story with Advaita Kala, keeps the tension tight and the volte-faces, frequent. Early in the film, Rana tells Vidya that everyone in Kolkata has two names, which here literally translates into two separate identities. So no one is what he claims to be. I especially enjoyed the unveiling of a dumpy-looking insurance agent. Ghosh cleverly uses Vidya's pregnancy - every time she trips or even sweats too hard, you become afraid - and the city of Kolkata to engage us in his story. All the tourist attractions from Victoria Memorial to Howrah Bridge to Durga Puja are duly ticked off. But this is the first time the city seems dangerous and ominously frenzied - so much that even getting a cab at the airport is fraught with strain.
Kahaani loses some steam post-interval. The tonal inconsistencies become more glaring and beyond a point, I lost track of the many intelligence agents, cops, moles, informers and double agents. It's also hard to marry the gritty telling with a slightly cartoonish plot hinging on a terrorist attack and poisonous gas - the first scene which has a man in a mask testing a killer gas on rats made me flashback to Sachiin Joshi's ridiculous thriller Azaan, in which a character grimly declares: India is under attack. Khatra biological hai!
But thankfully Kahaani doesn't come unhinged. The first-rate performances help steer it to shore - from Vidya Balan to Parambrata Chattopadhyay to Nawazuddin Siddiqui who plays a hard-nosed IB agent and Saswata Chatterjee who plays the insurance agent. Balan, quite effortlessly, manages to be both vulnerable and resilient. So despite the loopholes, Kahaani fulfills what it sets out to do and keeps you hooked and guessing. Which in itself is no small accomplishment. View the original article here
Sujoy Ghosh's Vidya Balan starrer Kahaani is a captivating thriller from commencement to conclusion, Vidya Balan proves her worth yet again by single handedly carrying the film forward on her firm shoulders. Stupendous, take a bow, Sujoy Ghosh, feel critics.
"Come to think of it, the Hindi film industry is branded for creating movies from a male perspective. The women's stories are not really exemplified conscientiously. But, out of the blue, the souk of women-centric flicks is fast turning out to be a bankable genre. Kahaani is a commanding story, has an authoritative central character, has several dominant and thought-provoking moments, which makes it an all-persuasive film," writes Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama.
"Kahaani is a captivating recount from its commencement to conclusion. Sujoy has fashioned enough scenes around the plot that keep the viewer on the edge. Besides, fragments of tongue in cheek humor pop up when you least anticipate to liven up the solemn plot. Yet, the storyteller never deviates from the fundamental somber premise. His attempt in infusing drama and pace in the narrative makes the movie accessible to the mainstream spectators. Just one itsy bitsy snag: Had the culmination been lucidly elucidated in a more simplistic fashion for the common man to decipher, the film would have created an even stronger impact," says Adarsh.
"Kahaani is not an ordinary thrill-a-minute film about a search for a missing person. It's a lot more. Bringing a virgin vitality to the suspense drama, the film strikes a captivating balance between realism in art and the art of courting realism, without losing the entertainment quotient," writes Subhash K Jha, IANS.
"From the moment Vidya lands in Kolkata, the colour, vibrancy, bustle and jostle that are peculiar to Kolkata assail your senses. It's a claustrophobic yet liberating world of intrigue and deception. A pungent flavour of anxiety and stress qualify the narration from frame one," continues Jha.
"Unlike many films that rely on a city's clichés to force feed its significance, there's none of the contrived Bong paraphernalia: O-emphasizing accent, dramatic play of conch shells, rasgulla/mishit doi excesses. Even the iconic Howrah Bridge shows up sparingly only to convey an unforeseen connection, a whiff of an infatuation," writes Sukanya Verma, Rediff.
"Goddess Durga’s analogy is central to the film’s theme and the protagonist, played flawlessly by Balan, as she sheds her vulnerabilities to draw in on her inner strength or shakti to bring the perpetrators to justice," writes Bindu Suresh Rai, Emirates 24/7.
"The actress proves her worth by single handedly carrying the film forward on her firm shoulders, with an experience that transports you back to an era when Madhuri Dixit achieved the same with élan, breaking every rule in an industry that still favours a male lead," adds Rai.
"Kahaani is a thriller which you just cannot miss. Sujoy Ghosh goes about unraveling the mystery of Vidya Bagchi's (Vidya Balan) missing husband with such neat detailing that the trump card he reveals in the end is like a swift blow to the Solar Plexus. It catches you unawares and leaves you short of breath. Stupendous. Take a bow, Sujoy Ghosh," says Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com.
Performances "This is indeed a favorable moment for a Hindi movie heroine, unlike in times of yore. She is being looked up to as an actor with strengths, limitations, failures and accomplishments. She is geared up to conduct experiments, equipped to explore uncharted territories. This also goes for one of the most proficient actresses of our times, Vidya Balan. The famed actress has persistently ambled the untrodden path vis-a-vis her choice of movies, Paa, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica, The Dirty Picture and now Kahaani...," says Adarsh.
"If, after The Dirty Picture you still needed convincing that you will miss a leading 'hero' in this one, get ready for another punch in the jaw. Once again, a 'pregnant' Vidya, ironically displays more 'male ornaments' (excuse the watering down) than most heroes. She takes on her role with power and pride. Living out of a suitcase, amongst strangers, she takes on the soul of the city. Her performance leaves you in awe of an actress, who walks through her role as easily as a stroll down Chowranghee Lane. And even that is perfected as a pregnant waddle, add to it her disheveled look and eyes dark with anguish," says Madhureeta Mukherjee, TOI.
"Balan is as usual in crackling form, but it is the array of other characters who make the film come alive. Parambrata Chatterjee is perfect as young Rana, who is half in love with Mrs Bagchi, and is her willing accomplice in breaking into offices and interrogating/charming informers. Nawazuddin plays an IB officer with gusto, abusing, smoking, throwing attitude around. Dhritiman Chatterjee, all stiff upper lip, is the IB chief (or commander in chief, we are told). My favourite though is Bob Biswas (actor Saswata Chatterjee), the moonfaced hit man masquerading as an LIC agent. All the cliches are there - the seedy motel owner, the cheerfully bumbling police officer, the smiling urchins. but used to good effect," writes Kaveree Bamzai, India Today.
"Vidya Balan’s performance will be applauded as she manages the highly intense breakdown scenes as well as the chirpy playful ones with the same ease and excellence. Her companion, assistant and committed to being obedient cop played by Parambrata Chattopadhyay is a strong contender for Best Supporting trophies and might attract curious character roles in Bollywood. Regrettably, Nawazuddin Siddique’s arrogant agent role doesn’t lend him an intimidating or even an abominable image to break into being a regular baddie in Hindi films. That said, it was refreshing that his character was consistently harsh and brash and didn’t have a hidden golden heart unlike most similar characters in other films. A special callout needs to be made for the deliciously devilish contract killer Bob Biswas played by Saswata Chatterjee (the one wearing spectacles in the top picture) who is easily the most terrifying of all in this film," writes Kunal Guha, Yahoo.
Cinematography "The cinematography is strictly average and it doesn’t really contribute or take away from any scene. The background score however blends well and that is why you can hardly distinguish it in many crucial scenes. But the Ekla Cholo Re by Amitabh Bachchan isn’t any more than a publicity stunt and doesn’t fill up your senses or anything. Hope he doesn’t use it to lull his granddaughter to sleep," adds Guha.
Direction "Sujoy, with the skills of a master storyteller, amalgamates a human story in a thriller format. There is a certain uninhibited genuineness in Sujoy's direction. Besides, the writing is outstanding [story: Sujoy Ghosh, Advaita Kala; additional screenplay: Suresh Nair, Nikhil Vyas]; one seldom witnesses such aptitude and deliberation to specifications. Without doubt, Sujoy gives it his best shot with gleaming sincerity. Positioned alongside an intimidating environment of Kolkata's tapered side streets and constricted alleyways, the setting is ahead of credence in its realism," feels Adarsh about Ghosh's direction.
"Sujoy Ghosh, whose earlier films gave us no clue of the ingenuity that he displays here with such ostensible casualness, cuts the footage with razor sharp economy, leaving no sign of the surgery involved in leaving behind scenes and putting together a tale that pays homage to Hitchcock even while it tilts its topi to the detective films of Satyajit Ray," says Jha.
Conclusion "On the whole, Kahaani works big time because Vidya Balan makes it come alive. It is several notches above the stuff we've been subjected to in the past. The movie triumphs in evoking emotions. You experience compassion, resentment, defenselessness and triumph at a variety of stages. A wonderful movie-going experience, you come out feeling a sense of pride, pleasure and fulfillment after having watched Kahaani. Just do not miss it. Hugely recommended!" concludes Adarsh.
Celebs on Kahaani
@Sophie_Choudry: #Kahaani is truly brilliant!Ammi Shotti Bolchi!So proud of @sujoy_g! Balan is outstanding.The entire cast superb!Massive congrats 2 the team
@ranvirshorey: 'Kahaani' seems to be a great way to celebrate women's day. All week. #fb
@iamsrk: @sujoy_g all the best sujoy and the team of kahaani. Korbo...lorbo....jeetbo.....inshallah allah
@Riteishd: A big day 4 my friend sujoy_g .So proud of him that his film #KAHAANI is getting critical acclaim frm all corners-A must watch this weekend.
@Tarunmansukhani: Just saw KAHAANI. If there ever was a film which is a must watch.... Then THIS IS IT!!
