Kahaani

Kahaani (IPA: [kəˈɦaːni]; "Story") is a 2012 Indian Hindi mystery thriller film co written, co produced and directed 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 ₹80 million (US$1.2 million),Kahaani was conceived and developed by Ghosh, who co-wrote the film with Advaita Kala. The crew often employed guerrilla-filmmaking techniques on Kolkata's city 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. Following critical acclaim and word-of-mouth publicity, the film earned ₹1.04 billion (US$15 million) worldwide in 50 days. 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 (Vidya).

Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan (pronounced [ʋɪd̪jaː baːlən]; born 1 January 1978) is an Indian actress. She has established a career in Bollywood and is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, and five Screen Awards, and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2014. She is known for portraying strong female protagonists and has been acknowledged in the media for pioneering a change in the concept of a Hindi film heroine.

Vidya aspired to a career in film from a young age, and had her first acting role in the 1995 sitcom Hum Paanch. She pursued a master's degree in sociology from the University of Mumbai and simultaneously made several unsuccessful attempts to start a career in film. She subsequently featured in various television commercials and music videos, and in 2003 made her feature film debut as the protagonist of the independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko. In 2005 Vidya garnered praise for her first Hindi film, the drama Parineeta, and followed it with a leading role in the highly successful 2006 comedy film Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

Arjun Rampal

Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian film actor, producer, model and a television host. Through his career in Bollywood movies, he has established himself as a leading actor of Bollywood. He made his acting debut in the 2001 romance Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat portraying the role of a model. Rampal was appreciated for his performance and received several awards for his work in the movie including a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He starred in the 2002 drama "Dil Hai Tumhaara" as a rich business man and a faithful lover. He played lead male in the 2003 romance drama Dil Ka Rishta and received a lot of praise and critical acclaim in the 2004 action thriller Asambhav and in the 2005 mystery thriller Yakeen. Rampal got his breakthrough in Don (2006). He achieved further commercial success in films including Om Shanti Om (2007), Rock On!! (2008), Housefull (2010) and Ra.One (2011) all which fetched him numerous awards.

In his decade-spanning career, Rampal has won numerous awards and nominations. He has won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for Rock On!!.

Sujoy Ghosh

Sujoy Ghosh is an Indian film director, actor and screenwriter. He has directed Jhankaar Beats (2003), Home Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak (2005), Aladin (2009) and Kahaani (2012).

Early life

Sujoy Ghosh was born in Calcutta. He studied in St. James' School. He used to stay in Bhowanipore and then moved to London when he was 13. Sujoy attended Queen Elizabeth's College, Darlington where he completed his A Levels. He has a degree in engineering and an MBA from Manchester University. He worked as a South Asia head of the media division of Reuters before quitting in 1999. Sujoy is married to his wife, Vaishali - a psychologist and has two children Diya - a biology student and Agni - a rugby player.

Career

Ghosh made his directorial debut in 2003 with Jhankaar Beats which was a tribute to R. D. Burman. His next ventures Home Delivery and Aladin did not achieve box office success. His 2012 release Kahaani, featuring Vidya Balan in lead role, has gained both commercial success and critical acclaim. He started his acting career portraying the role of Bengali sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi in a film directed by Rituparno Ghosh in December 2012. Not many know that he has written the tagline "Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo Re" for the IPL Team Kolkata Knight Riders.

Sheena Bora murder case

Sheena Bora, an executive working for Mumbai Metro One based in Mumbai went missing on April 24, 2012. In August, 2015 Mumbai Police arrested her mother Indrani Mukerjea, her stepfather Sanjeev Khanna and her mother's driver Shyamvar Pinturam Rai for allegedly abducting and killing her and subsequently burning her corpse. Rai and Khanna confessed to the crime, and Mukerjea has said that Sheena Bora is alive and is in the United States.

Early life, family history and personal life

Sheena Das Bora was born to Indrani Mukerjea, an Indian HR consultant and media executive and Siddhartha Das in 1987 in Shillong, Meghalaya Indrani Mukerjea left the children under the care of her grandparents in Guwahati and moved to Kolkata. There she studied computers and stayed as a paying guest. Sheena along with her brother were subsequently raised in the city of Guwahati by their maternal grandparents.

In Kolkata, Indrani married Sanjeev Khanna and the couple had a daughter. They divorced in 2002, and Indrani married Peter Mukerjea. Sheena's family had their last name "Bora".