Kahaani (IPA: [ˈk haːaː ɳiː]; English: Story) is a 2012 Indian thriller film directed, co-written and co-produced by Sujoy Ghosh. The film features Vidya Balan, Parambrata Chatterjee and Nawazuddin Siddiqui in lead roles. Balan portrays the role of Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman in search of her missing husband in the city of Kolkata during the Durga Puja festivities, who is helped in her quest by Satyaki "Rana" Sinha (Chatterjee) and Khan (Siddiqui).

Made on a shoestring budget of 8 crore (US$1.6 million), Kahaani was developed by writer Advaita Kala as a memoir on the city of Kolkata, based on the initial idea of Ghosh. The film explores themes of feminism and motherhood in a predominantly male-dominated Indian society. Filming took place on the streets of Kolkata with Ghosh employing the art of guerrilla filmmaking to avoid unwanted attention. Ghosh has admitted to using several allusions to Satyajit Ray's films such as Charulata (1964) and Aranyer Dinratri (1970). Additionally, critics have compared the twist ending of the plot to the Hollywood film Taking Lives (2004). The film was noted for deft portrayal of Kolkata and use of a significant number of crew and cast members from the city.

Akshay Kumar (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia on 9 September 1967) is an Indian film actor, producer, comedian and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. He has nominated for Filmfare Award several times and won two times. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series", which included Khiladi (1992), Main Khiladi Tu Anari (1994), Sabse Bada Khiladi (1995), Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), Mr. and Mrs. Khiladi (1997), International Khiladi (1999), and Khiladi 420 (2000), as well as other action films such as Waqt Hamara Hai (1993), Mohra (1994), Elaan (1994) and Suhaag (1994).

Later he also gained fame for his drama, romance and comic roles. He started becoming known for his performances in romance films like Yeh Dillagi (1994) and Dhadkan (2000) as well as drama films such as Ek Rishtaa (2001). His comic performances in comedy films such as Hera Pheri (2000), Mujhse Shaadi Karogi (2004), and Garam Masala (2005) met with acclaim. His success further rose in 2007, when he starred in four consecutive commercial hits. He has thus established himself as one of the leading actors in Hindi cinema.