Kahaani 2 Looks Unnecessarily Mysterious, And Infuriatingly Self important

Watching the trailer of Kahaani 2 -–why Kahaani 2?—I could make out why so many actresses said no to doing this film. First the actress from first Kahaani,the great VidyaBalan rejected the film,leading to much how-could-she-do-this-to-me kind of outrage from the director Sujoy Ghosh  who scuttled to Kangna Ranaut .

At the point of time the project was called just Durga Rani Singh and was meant to be  a story of a brave cop…so when did the cop heroine disappear from the script??? A mystery more baffling than any of the selfconsciously cryptic clues laid out in the ponderous trailer.

But we are digressing. When the script  went to Kangna she took nearly two months to decide she didn’t want to do it. Licking his wounds Sujoy then took the script toKareena Kapoor Khan . Known to be indecisive Kareena instantaneously said no to the film.

Exhausted and ready to dump the script in the nearest trashcan Sujoy lucked out whenAishwarya Rai Bachchan liked the script and agreed to do it.But then Sujoy had second thoughts. The original choice Vidya Balan said yes. What made Vidya change her mind? Could it be the fact that all her films since Kahaani in 2012 had bombed miserably? Without a by-your-leave  from Aishawrya, Sujoy quietly and quickly signed his ‘Balan’(that’s what he call her).Rai was forgotten.

Balan is back as  Vidya after Kahaani. That’s her name again. How do I know? In a scene in the trailer the landlord refers to her as ‘Vidya.’ So why is the film subtitledDurga Rani Singh? The plot thickens . But what the Dickens! This is a film about intrigue suspense drama mystery and a cop on investigation,  played by the very suaveArjun Rampal.

The trailer opens well with Vidya doing the distressed mother’s act with heartwrenchingscrupulosity. Mother gets call from kidnapper. She runs out gets knocked down and goes into a coma….So far so goosebumpy….Then the ride gets bumpy. The trailer derails as it proceeds to cram in every kind of red herring including a kidnap-murder-charge against our heroine.

Curiously many films this year have had the protagonist bonding with a little girl:Johnny Handsome,Jack Reacher, Shivaay…Looks  like Bajrangi Bhaijaan has had its effect.

The  little girl who plays Vidya Balan’s daughter in Kahaani 2 keeps mumbling. “They don’t let me sleep.I have to fix this.”

Could that be the scriptwriter’s line?

Rating: ** ½