Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh

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Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySujoy Ghosh
Written bySujoy Ghosh
Ritesh Shah (dialogues)
Screenplay bySujoy Ghosh
Story bySujoy Ghosh
Suresh Nair
Produced bySujoy Ghosh
Kushal Gada
StarringVidya Balan
Arjun Rampal
CinematographyTapan Tushar Basu
Edited byNamrata Rao
Music byClinton Cerejo
Production
companies
Distributed byPen India Limited (India)
Eros International (some overseas territories)[1][2]
Release date
  • 2 December 2016 (2016-12-02)[3]
Running time
128 minutes[4]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹17 crore[5]
Box officeest. ₹54.7 crore[6]

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 Arjun Rampal and Vidya Balan in lead roles, and Jugal Hansraj and Kharaj Mukherjee and Tunisha Sharma in supporting roles.[7]

Principal photography took place from March 2016 to May 2016.[8][9] The film was released on 2 December 2016.[3] It was declared tax-free in Uttar Pradesh on 15 December 2016.[10] At the 62nd Filmfare Awards, Balan received a Best Actress nomination for her performance.

Plot[edit]

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.

In the present, the policewoman comes to the nursing home and threatens Vidya to pay ransom to save Minnie. Terrified, Vidya escapes from the hospital after recovering from her coma and returns home in search of the address that the kidnapper asked her to come to. She is caught by Halder and Inderjeet at her home but escapes after shooting Inderjeet in his arm. Vidya then arrives at Kolkata, where she goes to the docks as ordered by Mohit and offers to pay the ransom to the policewoman. Mohit shoots the policewoman when she takes interest in the ransom money and then tries to strangle Vidya as revenge, but is shot dead by Minnie, who picked up his fallen revolver. Vidya then calls Inderjeet to seek his help, but Haldar and other police officers ask Inderjeet to call her to a place where they can arrest her. Inderjeet asks Vidya to come to his paternal house, where they are surrounded by the police force. Halder tries to arrest Vidya, but she shoots him in the leg and later sets the house on fire.

It is revealed that Durga was married to Inderjeet at a very young age, but they separated later. After recovering from her coma, Durga asked Inderjeet for his help to save Minnie and they planned her escape. In the present, Inderjeet helped Durga in escaping to Kolkata in the police Ambassador car by smuggling her in the trunk, and he helps her escape from the burning house. Inderjeet also arranged passports for Durga and her adopted daughter under their new identities.

In the end, Durga (who is believed to be dead by the police) is traveling to New York City for Minnie's operation. Inderjeet is seen happily driving with his family.

Cast[edit]

  • Vidya Balan as Vidya Sinha[11] / Durga Rani Singh
  • Arjun Rampal as Sub-inspector Inderjeet Singh[12] also Durga's ex husband
  • Tunisha Sharma as Minnie Dewan/Minnie Sinha
  • Naisha Khanna as Young Minnie Dewan[13]
  • Jugal Hansraj as Mohit Dewan, Minnie's uncle
  • Amba Sanyal as Mrs. Dewan (Mohit's mother)
  • Manini Chadha as Rashmi Singh (Inderjeet Second Wife)[14]
  • Kharaj Mukherjee as Inspector Pranab Halder
  • Tota Roy Chowdhury as Arun, Durga's friend
  • Koushik Sen as the policeman at Kalimpong
  • Pradip Chakrabarty as Benu Kaka, Vidya's neighbour
  • Nitya Ganguli as Constable Ram Singh
  • Pradip Mukherjee as Doctor Maity
  • Ardhendu Banerjee as Doctor Sen
  • Biswajit Chakraborty as Police Officer, Lalbazar
  • Gargi Bharadwaj as the kidnapper assassin / police-woman
  • Soma Adhikari as Minnie's nurse
  • Haridas Chatterjee as mad beggar

Production[edit]

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.[15] The shooting of Kahaani 2 was scheduled to begin in 2013,[16] but in July 2013 differences arose between Sujoy Ghosh and other co-producers.[17] In February 2014, Vidya announced that the film was not happening due to these differences,[18] but two years later, Ghosh confirmed that the film was in pre-production with Vidya set to reprise her role.[19] The film, titled Kahaani 2, began filming in March 2016 with Arjun Rampal and Vidya in lead roles.[8]

In October 2016, upon its teaser release, the film was renamed as Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh.[20] Initially, Durga Rani Singh was intended to be a standalone film with actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan,[21] but, as the story is too similar to Kahaani franchise, makers has included the project as a sequel to Kahaani.[22][23]

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.[24]

Reception[edit]

Critical reception[edit]

Hindustan Times gave the film 4 stars out of five.[25] The Times of India gave the film 3 and half stars out of five.[26] India Today gave the film 2 and half stars out of five.[27] The Indian Express gave the film 2 stars out of five.[28] Firstpost gave the film 2 stars out of five.[29]

Box office[edit]

On its first day, the film collected 42.5 million (US$530,000) from India, and, in its opening weekend, it grossed 169.7 million (US$2.1 million).[6]

Award and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
2017 Filmfare Awards Best Actress Vidya Balan Nominated [30]
Best Costume Design Darshan Jalan Nominated
Zee Cine Awards Best Actress (Critics) Vidya Balan Nominated [31]

Soundtrack[edit]

Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh
Soundtrack album by
Released2016
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelSaregama

The music was composed by Clinton Cerejo.

All lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya except for "Anandoloke" song, which is a Rabindra Sangeet

Kahaani 2
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Mehram"Arijit Singh4:41
2."Lamhon Ke Rasgulle"Sunidhi Chauhan, Bianca Gomes3:21
3."Anandoloke"Clinton Cerejo3:05
4."Aaur Main Khush Hoon"Ash King3:49

Sequel[edit]

The producers have confirmed plans to release a second sequel.[32][33][34][35]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Kahaani 2 – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  2. ^ "Kahaani 2 – International Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Kahaani 2 Movie trailer released: Vidya Balan sends moviedom into panic mode!". Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Kahaani 2 (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Box office report: 'Kahaani 2' defeats 'Kahaani' on opening day; but is it enough?". Indiatvnews.com. 3 December 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Box Office: Worldwide Collections and Day wise breakup of Kahaani 2". Bollywood Hungama. 3 December 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  7. ^ Sen, Zinia (17 March 2016). "Vidya Balan, Arjun Rampal begin shooting for the 'Kahaani' 2". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 9 January 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  8. ^ a b Ghosh Choudhury, Soumodeep (16 March 2016). "Kahaani 2 begins in Kalimpong". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Vidya Balan wraps up 'Kahaani 2' shoot". The Times of India. 16 May 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  10. ^ "Amar Ujala – Hindi EPaper Lucknow city| Hindi News – News in Hindi | अमर उजाला हिंदी न्यूज़ | Amar Ujala". Epaper.amarujala.com. 13 January 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Kahaani 2 Has An 'Independent Story' to Avoid Comparison, Says Director – NDTV Movies". Movies.ndtv.com. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Trailer Watch: Kahaani 2 looks intriguing! – Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Vidya Balan breaks down while filming 'Kahaani 2'". The Times of India. 22 November 2016. Archived from the original on 24 November 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Check out: Arjun Rampal posts pictures from Kahaani 2 set". Bollywood Hungama. 3 September 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  15. ^ Jha, Subhash K. (16 March 2012). "Kahaani to be a franchise?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
  16. ^ IANS (24 May 2013). "Kahaani 2 with Vidya Balan will hit the floors in 2013". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  17. ^ Trivedi, Dhiren (17 July 2013). "Why was Sujoy Ghosh kicked out of Kahaani 2?". Bollywoodlife. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  18. ^ Batra, Ankur (27 February 2014). "'Kahaani 2' shelved". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
  19. ^ "'Kahaani 2' in pre-production stage, to star Vidya Balan: Sujoy Ghosh". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 8 February 2016. Archived from the original on 9 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  20. ^ "Kahaani 2 trailer review: Unnecessarily mysterious and infuriatingly self-important". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 9 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  21. ^ "Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Sujoy Ghosh's 'Durga Rani Singh'?". The Indian Express. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  22. ^ "Vidya Balan's 'Kahaani 2' is the reason why Sujoy Ghosh scrapped 'Durga Rani Singh'". Ibtimes.co.in. 12 April 2016. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  23. ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (22 November 2016). "Vidya Balan talks about 'Kahaani 2'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  24. ^ "Bollywood Star Vidya Balan Talks About Playing Powerful Women And Equal Pay". Forbes. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  25. ^ "Kahaani 2 review: Vidya Balan is on auto pilot mode in this thrilling ride | movie reviews". Hindustan Times. 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  26. ^ "Kahaani 2 Review: The movie fails to keep a tight grip on proceedings throughout its duration". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  27. ^ "Kahaani 2 movie review: Vidya Balan is the hero in this thriller : Reviews, News". India Today. 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  28. ^ "Kahaani 2 movie review: Vidya Balan's performance is the saving grace of this predictable thriller". The Indian Express. 3 December 2016. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  29. ^ "Kahaani 2 movie review: Vidya Balan is lovely but Sujoy Ghosh's climax is a let-down". Firstpost. 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  30. ^ "62nd Filmfare Awards 2017: Winners' list". The Times of India. 15 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  31. ^ "Zee Cine Awards 2017: Get ready to welcome 2018 with Priyanka, Katrina, Shahid, Ranveer". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 21 September 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  32. ^ Sharma, Bulbul (14 December 2016). "Confirmed! Sujoy Ghosh to come up with Kahaani 3". Pinkvilla. Archived from the original on 18 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  33. ^ "Vidya Balan: 'Kahaani 3' confirmed". The Times of India. 14 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  34. ^ "'Kahaani 2' success could pave way for 'Kahaani 3'? | BizAsia Showbiz". Media247.co.uk. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  35. ^ "Kahaani and Gangs Of Wasseypur to get third installments – Mumbai Mirror". The Times of India. 14 December 2016. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.

External links[edit]