The ‘KAHAANI 2’ (2016) Trailer Impresses Despite Probably Not Being A Sequel

The team behind 'Kahaani', a highly successful thriller, returns with its sequel and it looks just as amazing as the first. The original featured an amazing script executed by Sujoy Ghosh starring Vidya Balan in the lead. The sequel returns all the major players for a new story, that could possibly, maybe be a sequel?

Check out the Trailer for 'Kahaani 2' and read on to see if it's a true sequel.

Starring Vidya Balan, the 'Kahaani 2' trailer starts off with a shock, as we see a ransom demand for a little girl cause her mother (Vidya Balan) to get hit by a car as she's looking for her. While the mother, named Vidya, lies in a coma, her life is investigated by a police officer (Arjun Rampal) as part of a hit and run case, who then discovers that she is actually wanted for murder and kidnapping.

This trailer is, in one word, amazing. It's an effective trailer that gradually confuses, frustrates and intensifies as it plays on. And if the trailer is an indication of the movie, then writer-director Sujoy Ghosh has done it again!

From the Trailer, the narrative format of the movie seems apparent: Starting off with Balan's Vidya falling into a coma, the first half of the movie may be all Rampal's character investigating her life and discovering her fugitive status, along with a mysterious diary. It looks like his reading of her diary will be juxtaposed with flashbacks of Vidya's life leading up to her predicament, but not entirely. The second half will maybe feature Vidya's recovery as she wakes up to continue the story.

Everything in this trailer screams success. Rampal looks the best he has in years. Vidya Balan seems very worn down, but that definitely has to do with her characterization in the movie. You can even spot a brief glimpse of Jugal Hansraj ('Mohabbatein') in the trailer, which is surprising, given that this isn't the kind of films he's usually associated with. The supporting cast looks as impressive as they did in 'Kahaani' (my Review) as well.

There are certain things of note in 'Kahaani 2', which just increases the intrigue factor that much more. When realizing that the sub title for this movie was 'Durga Rani Singh', I rolled my eyes, thinking this was another 'sequel' cashing in on the success of the first film, but just borrowing it's name for a completely different movie. However, that may or may not be the case. Maybe. It's confusing.

Balan's character in 'Kahaani 2' seems to have the same as the first film; Vidya. This is confirmed with the movie's listing in IMDB, and also as a character mispronounces her name in the trailer, similar to what happened during the entire first time.

However, there is no mention of the events in 'Kahaani'. Even though one of the supporting characters, seemingly playing the same role, has no recollection of Balan's face. The bumbling Inspector Chaterjee in 'Kahaani', played by Kharaj Mukherjee, returns here as the same character handing Rampal's character Vidya's 'Wanted' poster. He reappears another time in the Trailer, but seems to have no idea that was the pregnant wife of a missing man that he encountered a few years ago.

So it's very unclear whether 'Kahaani 2' is an actual sequel of 'Kahaani', or whether it's a completely different movie with the same character and actors. (The 'Munnabhai' franchise did something similar for its sequel.) There are similar themes at work as well. The first film featured a possibly missing husband who acted as the Macguffin for the whole story, while the same here may be a missing daughter. Also the nature of the sympathetic police officer helping Vidya is similar.

Being a thriller, there obviously will be more twists and turn in the story that may explain without doubt regarding if the movie is a sequel or more of a franchise film. But regardless of if it's a sequel or not, 'Kahaani 2' looks incredibly impressive, even as a standalone film, and I for one am highly anticipating it with baited breath.

'Kahaani 2' releases December 2nd, 2016.

What did you think of the 'Kahaani 2' trailer?

Let us know in the comments below.