Vidya Balan's hit with a twist

Kahaani is a 2012 Indian thriller film directed and co-produced by Sujoy Ghosh. It stars Vidya Balan as Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman searching for her missing husband in Kolkata during the festival of Durga Puja, assisted by Satyoki "Rana" Sinha (Parambrata Chatterjee) and Khan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui).

Made on a "shoestring budget" of INR80 million (US$1.4 million), Kahaani was conceived and developed by Ghosh, who co-wrote the film with Advaita Kala. Shot in Kolkata, the crew often employed guerrilla-filmmaking techniques on the city's streets to avoid attracting attention. The film was noted for its deft portrayal of the city and for making use of many local crew and cast members. Kahaani explores themes of feminism and motherhood in male-dominated Indian society. The film also makes several allusions to Satyajit Ray's films such as Charulata (1964) and Aranyer Dinratri (1970).

Kahaani was released worldwide on 9 March 2012. Critics praised the screenplay, the cinematography and the performances of the lead actors. Due to critical acclaim and word-of-mouth publicity, the film became a sleeper hit, earning INR1.04 billion (US$18 million) worldwide in 50 days. At the end of its theatrical run the film won several awards, including three National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards. The latter included trophies for Best Director (Ghosh) and Best Actress (Balan).