Kahaani 2

About the film

Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh (or simply Kahaani 2, transl. Story 2) is a 2016 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by Sujoy Ghosh, A spiritual sequel to the 2012 film Kahaani, the film features Vidya Balan and Arjun Rampal in lead roles, and Jugal Hansraj and Kharaj Mukherjee and Tunisha Sharma in supporting roles.

Principal photography took place from March 2016 to May 2016. The film was released on 2 December 2016. It was declared tax-free in Uttar Pradesh on 15 December 2016. At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Balan received a Best Actress nomination for her performance.

Plot

Vidya Sinha (Vidya Balan) is a middle-class working mother who lives in Chandannagar, West Bengal with her teenage daughter Minnie (Tunisha Sharma), who is paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair. Minnie is a happy child and Vidya dotes on her, working hard to save money so that she can take Minnie to the United States in the hope that the girl will walk again.

One evening, Vidya returns home to find her daughter is missing. She receives a call from an unknown man asking her to come to an address, or else Minnie will die. When Vidya crosses the road, a taxi knocks her down, sending her into a coma. The taxi driver takes her to a nursing home run by Dr. Maity (Pradip Mukherjee). Police Sub-Inspector Inderjeet Singh (Arjun Rampal) is put on Vidya's case. He visits Vidya's home and finds her diary, which he takes as evidence. Inderjeet's senior, Pranab Halder (Kharaj Mukherjee), informs him that a woman named Durga Rani Singh is wanted for a kidnapping and murder case.

As Inderjeet reads Vidya's diary, her past is revealed: She worked as a clerk in a school in Kalimpong as Durga Rani Singh, where she is friendly with Arun (Tota Roy Chowdhury), who has feelings for her. At school, Durga noticed that a student named Minnie Dewan (Naisha Khanna) was always punished for sleeping during classes. After repeated attempts at befriending the reclusive Minnie fail, Durga decides to visit the girl’s wealthy grandmother (Amba Sanyal), pretending to be offering Minnie extra tuition. Durga's worst fears come true when Minnie confides that her uncle Mohit Dewan (Jugal Hansraj) was sexually abusing her. Durga, also a survivor of child sex abuse, informs Minnie's grandmother but the woman admonishes her. Durga then tries to file a case with the police but an investigation by a police officer (Koushik Sen) finds Mohit innocent and he doesn't believe Durga. Minnie jumps off her house's terrace in desperation and becomes paralyzed from the waist down. A corrupt police officer (Gargi Bharadwaj), taking the side of Minnie's grandmother, threatens Durga not to pursue the matter. Durga decides to save Minnie from her family and has a fight with her grandmother, who is killed accidentally. Durga flees with Minnie, settling in Chandan Nagar with a new name, Vidya Sinha. Years later, Mohit hunts them down and kidnaps Minnie with the help of the policewoman.

Production

In March 2012, Ghosh announced that he intended to develop Kahaani into a series. He was inspired by Satyajit Ray's Feluda detective series and wanted to continue the stories of Vidya Bagchi on similar lines, with Vidya Balan reprising the role. The shooting of Kahaani 2 was scheduled to begin in 2013, but in July 2013 differences arose between Sujoy Ghosh and other co-producers. In February 2014, Vidya announced that the film was not happening due to these differences, but two years later, Ghosh confirmed that the film was in pre-production with Vidya set to reprise her role. The film, titled Kahaani 2, began filming in March 2016 with Arjun Rampal and Vidya in lead roles.

In October 2016, upon its teaser release, the film was renamed as Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh. Initially, Durga Rani Singh was intended to be a standalone film with actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but, as the story is too similar to Kahaani franchise, makers has included the project as a sequel to Kahaani.

It was later revealed by Balan and Ghosh that, this film is not a sequel to Kahaani released in 2012, but a next installment of the Kahaani franchise.

Reception

Hindustan Times gave the film 4 stars out of five. The Times of India gave the film 3 and half stars out of five. India Today gave the film 2 and half stars out of five. The Indian Express gave the film 2 stars out of five. Firstpost gave the film 2 stars out of five.

On its first day, the film collected ₹42.5 million (US$450,000) from India, and, in its opening weekend, it grossed ₹169.7 million (US$1.8 million).

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Clinton Cerejo.

Third film

The producers have confirmed plans to release a third film in the Kahaani franchise.

Key details