Kahaani

Pregnant Vidya Bagchi arrives in Kolkata from London to look for her missing husband. There is no such person in the police records, no registration at the hotel where he supposedly stayed, and nobody at the office where he supposedly worked recognises him. As the city prepares for Durga Puja, Vidya keeps following the trail. The subject is not the missing husband but an assumption nobody questions: that a pregnant woman cannot be dangerous. The film builds that assumption into both its characters and its audience, then demolishes it in a single move. The form uses the city. Much of it was shot in real crowds, with hidden cameras and without permits; the metro, the narrow lanes and the festival procession are not staged. Kolkata is therefore not the set but the second character. Sujoy Ghosh directs. It is among the most discussed performances of Vidya Balan's career and is counted among the films that opened the way for mainstream Indian thrillers carried by a woman alone. Parambrata Chatterjee plays the young policeman and Nawazuddin Siddiqui the intelligence officer. Who it is for: viewers who like twisting thrillers and a strong sense of place. Who it is not for: anyone who will go back for a second viewing hunting for consistency; some details loosen under a hard look.