By Meghana Pawar - Dec 2, 2016 09:32 PM

Rating: 3/5

One line Review: Strong performances by the lead stars manage to drive this suspense thriller through a rough path.

Positive Points: The story highlights a very important issue of child abuse precisely. The strong and gripping first half leaves a sturdy impact. The film is performance driven.

Negative Points: The intensity of the first half is seemingly dropped in the second half. Also, mid-way you can figure out the suspense and hence predictability kills the strength of the climax.

Plot: Vidya Sinha, (Vidya Balan) lives with her crippled daughter Minni, in a small town of Chandan Nagar. One day when she was out for work, her daughter gets kidnapped and while looking for her, Vidya meets a deadly accident. The accident case is investigated by Sub-Inspector Indrajeet Singh (Arjun Rampal). Soon Indrajeet learns that Vidya is actually a wanted criminal Durga Rani Singh who has been charged for murder and kidnapping. As Indrajeet dives deep into the case, thus reveals further mystery about Durga’s dual identities.

Durga Rani Singh’s story is written in her personal diary which Indrajeet uses as the main evidence link. The story further unfolds the mysteries of Durga’s life and, leads the narration towards the climax.

Direction and other Technical Aspects: Sujoy Ghosh’s direction is impressive as he handles the base of a thriller really well. The first half of the film is extremely gripping and engrossing while the second half loses its pace. The narration and the transition of the frames are smooth and comprehensible. The dialogues are perfectly written and completely gel with the storyline. The sequences are so aptly shot and hence are easily believable. Kahaani 2 rides on the shoulders of the protagonist Vidya Balan and Lead Arjun Rampal. The suspense though was predictable in the second half as the situations started to unfold in a foreseeable manner. The most important highlight of the film is that it spotlights the issue of child sexual abuse in an upright method. The characters are skilfully developed and the small town backdrop is aptly captured.

Performances: Vidya Balan manages to pull of any character with ease and clarity. She is a gem when it comes to acting and is profoundly talented. Every emotion that she performs seems so real. She carries the entire film on her able shoulders. After watching her in Kahaani, a performance like this was very much expected out of her and the actress aptly delivers it.

Arjun Rampal does a perfect job as Sub-Inspector Indrajeet Singh. He performs just what was expected from his, a believable young cop who manages his work life while trying to balance it with his personal life.

Jugal Hansraj essays the antagonist in the movie. He does fair justice to his role. Supporting actors play their parts appreciably.

Music: The songs are passable while the background score is good. The last song Aur Main Khush Hu is a delightful melody.

Final Verdict: Kahaani 2 is a film that can prove to be a treat for all the thriller genre lovers. Performances of Vidya Balan and Arjun Rampal are worth watching.