10 years of Kahaani: How Vidya Balan’s thriller redefined Indian cinema

“Kolkata khwahishon armaanon ka achar hai
Bilkul naya hai, fir bhi beetey kaal mein giraftar hai”

Nostalgia dominates the minds and hearts of Kolkata and the opening song resonates with the fabric of the city while the visuals capture the hues and colours of the streets.

It’s been 10 years since Vidya Balan starrer Kahaani scorched the silver screen and booked a seat in the Hall of Fame gallery. However, when friends from other parts of the country and world land in Kolkata, for most of them, Monalisa Guest House also has a place in their itinerary. Yes, it’s the same place where Mrs Vidya Venkatesan Bagchi stayed during her visit to the city. The characters, screenplay, soundscape, performances everything went right for Kahaani and it was somehow destined to be one of the most memorable thrillers in recent times. Director Sujoy Ghosh wanted to capture the vibrant milieu of Kolkata, a city where he grew up and he created the world of Kahaani rather convincingly.

While speaking at one of the film seminars in Kolkata Ghosh mentioned, “It’s important to tell a story you know before you start telling it.” The same can be seen effectively portrayed on screen in Kahaani. Ghosh followed his heart and went back to his roots after his previous two releases Home Delivery and Aladin, failed to strike a chord with the audience. Nawazuddin Siddiqui marked his grand arrival and the audience went crazy about Inspector Khan (the character Siddiqui plays in the film). 2012 was a game-changer for Siddiqui when Kahaani and Gangs of Wasseypur performed extremely well at the box office.

Vidya Balan was turning the tables too. A leading lady was redefining the box office rules which were predominantly ruled by the Khans. The change was evident and Kahaani played a major role in breaking the myth of hypermasculinity within the minds of cinema-goers. The plot which revolves around a pregnant woman, looking for her husband, challenged the very fact that a woman has to adopt masculine qualities in order to outsmart a male-dominated domain.

Parambrata Chatterjee as Inspector Satyaki (Chariot puller of Lord Krishna), too played a pivotal role in the narrative. But a special mention must be made about Bob Biswas played by Saswata Chatterjee. Bob made a special place for himself and went on to become a memorable and popular antagonist much like Mogambo, Gabbar Singh, and many others.

We rarely come across loveable yet vicious villains like Bob and when the magic happens, we really want to know more about their backdrop, their lifestyle, and their story. Although, in the 2021 tour of Kahaani Universe, Bob Biswas (the spin off movie) failed to strike a chord and could not bring back the magic created by Saswata Chatterjee. Abhishek Bachchan’s Bob travelled through those very similar shanty slums and clumsy back alleys yet failed to bring back that eerie vibe, which once haunted the audience ten years back. Because Kahaani tapped into something real and close to heart with a unique method of storytelling.

I was one of the fortunate ones who had the chance to witness Ghosh creating the world of Kahaani.
While shooting Kahaani on the streets of Kolkata, Ghosh often went for guerrilla technique and before the onlookers could spot the shooting party, the job was done. The planning was pristine and it involved a lot of hard work but the results that came out were stunning. Ghosh somehow wanted to retain the virgin quality of the locations and Setu aka Satyajit Pande brilliantly captured the essence of Kolkata through his lens. Kahaani was shot mostly without the help of artificial light and the total schedule was for 64 days. Shooting the climax during Durga Puja was a tough affair but the unit and the actors managed to capture the sequence.

It would be unfair if we don’t mention the brilliant background score by Clinton Cerejo and the songs created by Vishal-Shekhar which remained with the audience. The opening song was crooned by Usha Uthup and the final song was executed by Amitabh Bachchan himself. Verses from a Rabindra Sangeet, Jodi tor daak shuney keu naa ashey, was a rather unusual choice to drop the curtains but it worked out perfectly. Editor Namrata Rao brought everything to life and both diegetic and non-diegetic aspects of the sound design helped in making Kahaani’s world much more relatable and lifelike.

A movie is spun around a story and Kahaani’s success became a memorable story that will be remembered for a long time. An important milestone in the history of Indian Cinema which evokes classiness and creates unforgettable visual magic.