There are many films which are made on a very low budget, but end up grossing a humongous amount at the box office. These include Ayushmann Khurrana and Tabu-starrer black comedy thriller Andhadhun to Zaira Wasim and Aamir Khan-starrer musical drama Secret Superstar. In this article, we are focusing on one such film which was made with a budget of less than Rs 10 crore and there was no big hero in it, yet the film was successful in scoring a century at the box office. This film that came out in 2012 was woman-oriented. It featured a pregnant woman’s struggle to find her husband. If you have not guessed it yet, we are talking about the Sujoy Ghosh-directed Kahaani, starring Vidya Balan.

The movie was based in Kolkata and showcased Bengali culture. Many actors from the Bengali film industry are also a part of it. Parambrata Chatterjee, who is a big name in the Bengali film industry, was seen as the second lead opposite Vidya Balan. The film also featured Nawazuddin Siddique in a pivotal role and was the first time that mainstream cinema utilised his acting prowess and exposed him to the audience.

In the film, Vidya comes to Kolkata during the Durga Puja festival to search for her missing husband. They are assisted by policeman Parambrata, while intelligence officer Nawazuddin does not want them to continue their search as her missing husband has links to a fugitive named Milan Damji. The suspense laden story was much appreciated and made on just a budget of Rs 8 crore. Kahaani earned more than Rs 100 crore at the box office.

Vidya Balan’s performance in Kahaani is considered one of her best performances in the last decade and has won almost all the Best Actress awards. Even Sujoy Ghosh’s skillful direction and writing has been highly appreciated. The story also won three National Film Awards and apart from these it was also honoured at the Filmfare Award. Sujoy won the Best Original Script award, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui was given the Special Jury Award. The film also starred actor Saswata Chatterjee as the feared killer Bob Biswas, a character that became immensely famous and was made into memes. The character got a spinoff named Bob Biswas in 2021, with Abhishek Bachchan taking over the role from Saswata.