Lost Review: Yami Gautam’s Search Ends In A Disappointment
It needed better direction!
There’s nothing more engrossing and captivating than a mystery thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very end. The whodunit is what keeps the viewers hooked to the screen. Now, all of this becomes much more interesting when there’s a social issue that is being dealt with while dealing with the mystery. And Yami Gautam’s latest film is a mystery thriller that raises questions and addresses social evils. Helmed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and produced by Zee Studios in collaboration with Namah Pictures, Lost is inspired by true events. Set to release on the OTT platform Zee5 on February 16, Lost also stars Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, Neil Bhoopalam, Pia Bajpiee and Tushar Pandey.
The Story Of Lost
As per the crime data, every hour about 88 people go missing including kids, women and men. And every day about 2130 people go missing and every month this number rises to about 64,851. Set in the backdrop of Kolkata, Lost follows the story of a young female investigative reporter, Vidhi Sahani (played by Yami Gautam) who is working on the story of the disappearance of a young theatre activist, Ishan Bharti (played by Tushar Pandey) who is very quickly labelled as a Maoist by the police after being reported missing by his sister. While working on her expose, Vidhi finds that there’s more to this story than just a missing Dalit boy in a corruption-ridden world. Pressure mounts as things take a dangerous turn with the involvement of a political leader, Ranjan Varman (played by Rahul Khanna) and his relationship with Ishan’s career-oriented girlfriend Ankita (played by Pia Bajpaiee). Will Vidhi find the answers she’s looking for? Will Ishan be found? What happened the night this theatre activist disappeared? Is he really a Maoist? Watch the film to find out the truth behind this lost boy’s story.
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Cast And Characters
Yami Gautam as Vidhi Sahani: From easing into her character to emotionally charged scenes, Yami Gautam manages to look extremely comfortable in her skin as a crime reporter. She manages to remain restrained even during intense scenes making her character more real. The actress anchors the film from the start till the very end and with absolute ease. And her powerful performance is proof!
Pankaj Kapur as Nanu: Pankaj Kapur is an established actor and his character in the film is not only that of a grandfather but also a guide and mentor for Vidhi Sahani. His character is very much like the voice in our head that does not tell us which path to walk on but rather gives us a reality check and reasons with us for righteousness. How Pankaj Kapur’s Nanu helps his granddaughter navigate through the grey areas in life is beautiful to watch. The actor manages to switch between serious and light-hearted moments very quickly without making it seem abrupt. From talking about how he makes the best upma and sambar to discussing Maoist to going back to asking his granddaughter how did she like the food, the actor made the switches very smoothly and with absolute grace.
Rahul Khanna as Ranjan Varman: Rahul Khanna looks very suave and charming as the young political leader Rahul Khanna but his half-baked character hardly does anything to contribute to the storyline. One would expect more from a villain than just some intense chats with other characters. He is perfectly diplomatic when threatening someone and while speaking to the crime reporter Vidhi Sahani but his character truly fails to come into its villain era due to a lack of character arc and development.
Neil Bhoopalam as Jeet: Neil plays the role of Yami’s character Vidhi’s love interest. However, his relationship with Yami remains unclear as there are talks of her divorce but whether he is the husband (or ex) or her boyfriend is unclear. Apart from the lack of backstory, Neil did his bit to play the role of an ignorant Jeet but in all honesty, his character had nothing to offer or add to the plot. We wouldn’t have missed him had the makers decided to just get rid of the character altogether.
Pia Bajpiee as Ankita Chauhan: Pia plays a career-oriented news anchor who embarks on her political career with Ranjan Varman’s support. And while her acting was flawless, her character wasn’t. Ankita Chauhan’s history with Ranjan is unclear and her character is half-baked. Ankita seems like a layered character with an arc that reveals a lot about her but by the end of the film, the layers do not reveal themselves making it rather disappointing. Pia Bajpiee’s character had no meat despite the role she has to play in the film’s main theme.
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Tushar Pandey as Ishan Bharti: The actor had very little screen time as he played the role of the boy who was lost. Even in the little screen time he had, Tushar Pandey makes an impact with his portrayal of a lost boy who did not lose his values and integrity till the very end. By the end of the film, I just wished I could see more of him.
Verdict: Yami Gautam, Pankaj Kapoor Starrer Grasps All, Loses All
Now before I go on to discuss everything that went wrong with the film, I’ll start with all the good things. To begin with, Lost attempts to tackle several issues ranging from power imbalance and patriarchy to casteism and corruption and it does so in a very sensitive manner. It highlights the importance of ethical and investigative journalism and the power the press holds. But Pankaj Kapur and Yami Gautam’s endearing bond really steals the show. Pankaj plays the doting grandfather who serves his granddaughter with chai and sachai. He’s not one to hold back when it comes to guiding his granddaughter and supporting her but he never tries to handhold her.
Pankaj Kapur is the Krishna to Yami Gautam’s Arjun. He shares his wisdom with Yami’s Vidhi Sahani and guides her about her path without steering her in a particular direction leaving her to decide for herself. He gives Vidhi food for thought much like Lost gives the viewers some food for thought. Pankaj Kapur plays the voice of truth, lost values and integrity in this thought-provoking thriller. Both Pankaj and Yami delivered a remarkable performance that stays with you. Paired with mind-blowing cinematography, it makes the film the perfect package.
Having said that, there are some major issues with the film that cannot be overlooked. To begin with, Lost deals with far too many issues. The film’s attempt to tackle multiple issues is what makes it a lost cause. One cannot have multiple causes and do justice to each of them and that’s exactly what happened in this film. It attempts to tackle sexism, corruption, power imbalance, crime, ethical journalism, extremist propaganda, casteism, classism, privilege and so much more but nothing comes to fruition. It fails to highlight a single cause which makes it tough to understand the main theme of the film.
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Yami Gautam’s Vidhi Sahani is on a quest but the whats and whys of her investigation are tough to fathom. The uneven pace of the film doesn’t help the cause either. Despite the great storyline, the film does not make an impact simply because it needed better delivery and direction. The thought-provoking thriller raises a lot of questions but the answers get lost in the muddled plot making it a huge disappointment. But what’s worse is that it fails to fulfil its main purpose. The sole idea behind a mystery thriller is the big reveal, the climax but that’s exactly where the film fails to bring the strings together and answer questions. Not only was the climax THANDA but it was a major disappointment and serves no purpose.
Kudos to Yami Gautam and Pankaj Kapur for their performance but even these established actors couldn’t salvage this film.
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