First, I still have some doubt that the movie has got inspired by some foreign movie or a book. Because this kind of convoluted & contrived plot is probably the first of a kind Bollywood has come out with.
There's a different kind of treatment certain plot adapts which revolves around a set of characters, whereas the plot would not necessary explain the importance of the character's role or places OR rather will not bother to provide complete answers / exposition of it. In certain cases, complete exposition dumbs the movie down. Its the audience who has to make a logical assumption for the importance of the characters/places/connections and the back stories.
North By North West is a pretty good example of it. If you see that movie and 'Foreign Correspondent' you wouldn't have that complain for 'Kahaani'. For NBNW, we will have no actual answer for why was Vadamm and/or his men staying at the UN Dimplomat's bungalow, what connection they were having with that Diplomat, what was in the Microfilm etc.
This movie is very much of a Hitchcockian story telling. Even many Film-Noirs such as 'The Lady from Shanghai', 'The Maltese Falcon', 'Shutter Island' etc. has stories with certain important events and interventions amongst characters happen before the movie begins but are not exposed fully in the movie.
I understand your point. Like how the movie revolves around so much on the Data Center. One can complain that it looked like, the Data Center was so crucial for the group of conspirators that they place a mole to manage/delete datas for them and the same person can order to kill people whenever required. But this is how Film-Noir plot works. The characters / places are there because they are there. How they got connected with each other and in what way they made each other utilize is not important.
Some of the many great movies especially 'L.A. Confidential' or 'The 39 Steps' has the plot extensively back worked and the screenplay is derived from much later part as a starting point. The story is lets say A to Z, but the movie actually starts from letter K and we are not given complete exposition. What we see in the movie is just turn of the events and interaction of the characters.
I had made a thread in Indian Cinema board about this movie with spoilers with what could be the possible backstory plot.
One has to be really good at predicting the movie like you said you sensed the twist, I wonder why Bhaskaran thing bothered you? He was the mole/informant they were looking in the IB. He need not have a role in the terrorist attack but has a role post attack in giving out internal information to the terrorist group and thwarting his office's internal investigation.
This is how the movie's plot erupts. Since they could not do any investigation from inside because any attempts on investigation on Milan Damji were leaked out before they could reach the evidence, the IB sensed the presence of informant whom they could never catch. Hence, they (Retired IB Officer & Vidya) now needed to act externally to pull the system and create a stir amongst the conspirators. Bhaskaran would now have no idea about the investigation in advance because its Vidya who is doing it and is not part of the system. Vidya starts the investigation once again from point 1 by investigating for Milan Damji at NDC.
Then IB knows abt this Millind guy and NDC but still they did nothing
This is a good point. I think we just have to assume that they didn't do very good because they might have just scanned employee datas (like how Khan said that they have scanned through their 2000 employees or so - but only that). I think here we have to stress on the point that the entire plan was deviced by the Retired IB Officer (don't remember his name). And he was a very good investigating officer. Now since he is acting externally and guiding Vidya to do the things, he could have sensed it right that she meet some Old people (who've worked at NDC from many years) and stress'em to identify the photograph. Luckily Ms. Agnes (the first one among the old lots) clicked (giving a go to the movie's coincidence) and before she died she informed Vidya about Tyagi.
Secondly, it seems all murders mean nothing to police they keep looking for her missing husband, I mean it was clear that something is very wrong here and still no one bother to even talk about that HR lady murder and then that doctor murder. Even that killer guy who was killed, that case was not taken further as why he was doing this, etc should have been easy to catch who were behind it.
Ofcourse, there was nothing which we see 'in the movie' where the police investigated the murders. It could still end up in some interrogations without concluding direct connections between victims and the murderers. The seriousness about murders could've been very well be there but was handled by IB and we know that Khan and the police officer were working together, obviously because the seriousness was they 'knew' that the murders are taking place indirectly by Bad guys. So its coming to the same thing. They were catching the bad guys. It could not click to them that Vidya is responsible for the events because for them Vidya's husband is 'existing' and they think 'now' that 'they' are utilizing Vidya.
I think here again the credit of investigations go to the Protagonist which is Vidya as she managed to detect through which website the NDC guy was sending message to the assassin. The Police could have done that too, I'm not denying but then the plot would probably dissipate.... I think we can suspend this one.
a police guy who seems to be idiot and taken for a ride by vidya to help her with her case. got enough brain to crack the whole thing behind Vidya's existence after seeing that familiar school symbol on that kid. What a farce.
Your'e right about this one. I felt what was the need of that 'usual suspects' device to include here. But at the end someone need to expose the plot and that officer was the first person narrator at that instance who provides the exposition to the audience - merging it later to flashback. Just a treatment. So its important that the movie's character who will narrate the exposition first needs to identify how it was all Vidya's game. Writer's choice may be.
For me the movie is 8.5/10. There were moments where too much focus were given in Vidya talking to kids and some minor stuffs like you said. I just pray that this one is original and not a rip of some foreign movie/book.
Next we have Peter Breene...
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