POPCORN ENTERTAINMENT RATING : 3/5 

Straight up, Kahaani 2 is no way  related to its enormously praiseworthy 2012 prequel Kahaani . But one can easily gauge  the commonalities in terms of aesthetics and texture of the film, which are absolutely spot on. But though director Sujoy Ghosh derives a conundrum on a intriguing base to his much awaited sequel  , Kahaani 2  falters due to sloppy writing and underwhelming climax, after a gripping first half.

Kahaani 2 begins on a terrific note, with a riveting plot unfolding at a brisk space. Vidya Sinha ( Balan) is a struggling middle aged lady  staying on the outskirts on Kolkata. Her only objective in life is to get her paralyzed daughter Mini get treated in US. But her life turns upside down when she  meets with a horrific accident while searching for her missing daughter one night. Enters Sub inspector Inderjeet singh ( Arjun Rampal) who starts investigating the case and untangles the mystery surrounding Vidya Sinha and her past when she was Durga Rani Singh.

The makers weave out the plot perfectly, with a engrossing  narrative  alternating  between past and present. The actual core  of the story gets  terrifying and the simmering tension unfolding in Vidya’s life gets so  absorbing that you just cant take your eyes off screen. Adding to it the authentic mix of superbly crafted  atmospherics  and you know we have a winner on hands. But its the second half where the writing becomes sloppy and circumstances starts getting contrived . The pacing  gets  slow and the twists and turns becomes predictable. One is in for a huge disappointment when the film reaches its crescendo of climax because you might have  already guessed what it is going to be.

But what keeps you glued in this unsatisfying thriller are its performances , especially by its leading lady Vidya Balan, who is in a superlative form after a string of failures. In a completely deglamorized look and without any artifice, Balan delivers a knockout performance which is so genuine that you will end up asking more of her. Its a brutally honest performance by an actor who takes huge strides with this act.  Arjun Rampal ably supports her with a impressive act, efficiently internalizing the emotions of a caring husband and an officer who mostly goes with his gut feeling.  Jugal Hansraj , Manini Chaddha and Amba Sanyal lend credibility in their short supporting roles,  but a special mention of Kharaj Mukherjee here, playing the reporting officer for Rampal. He is an absolute delight to watch on screen.

Kahaani 2 lacks consistency and fails to clutch on its grip on the engaging premise it so skillfully builts up in its first half,  but its definitely watchable because it has so much going for it . Just watch it for the brilliance of Balan , and i am sure you wont be disappointed.