What Is the Story About?
‘Lost‘ is the latest Indian Original film from ZEE5. The film is a suspense and crime drama that centres on a young, idealistic crime reporter, Vidhi Sahni (Yami Gautam), and her relentless quest for the truth. When she learns of a missing young theatre artist, Ishan (Tushar Pandey), Vidhi decides to dig deeper into the case, shrugging off the web of deceit spun by wily politician Ranjan Varman (Rahul Khanna).
‘Lost’ is written by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and Shyamal Sengupta, has dialogues by Ritesh Shah, and is directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.
Performances?
Yami Gautam is as flawless and efficient as ever, in her role of a righteous crime reporter. However, her earnest performance is lost in the din of the messy screenplay. Pankaj Kapur is good in his role of Vidhi’s conscientious Nanu. Rahul Khanna, dapper as ever, does not convey the menace that is required of his character. He looks as clueless as us, the audience, for most of the film’s runtime.
Pia Bajpiee and Tushar Pandey, along with the rest of the cast, lend adequate support. The talented Neil Bhoopalam is wasted in the role of Vidhi’s love interest.
Analysis
Lost, coming as it does on the heels of Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s hit film ‘Pink’, is a massive disappointment. Neither does it have the nerve-racking suspense of the latter film, nor its nail-biting sense of urgency – both elements that made ‘Pink’ such an enthralling, impactful watch. The makers try — very hard — to infuse those qualities into Lost, but the messy, muddled screenplay does them in.
The film runs for 2+ hours, but runs around in circles most of the time. The script lacks a believable central conflict, as also a strong motivating factor for the events unfolding on screen. What is Ranjan Varman’s actual interest in Ankita Chauhan; or the reason for the disappearance of Ishan Bharti; or why a fringe character, Kunal Da, is bumped off; these, and so many similar questions keep nagging at the back of the mind. But the script doesn’t give a satisfactory answer to any of them — leaving the viewer dissatisfied, disappointed, and dare we say, annoyed.
Two goons strut about on screen, trying to instil the fear of God, or shall we say death, in Vidhi, her Nanu, and sundry other characters. But they’re laughably silly, and fail to evoke any kind of terror or panic in the story. Several shots in the film feature Kolkata’s famous Metro railway system, and for a wee while, the setting does evoke fear. The scenes remind one of the terrifying interval shot from ‘Kahaani’; but the fear dissipates as soon as one realises that it’s not Kahaani we’re watching, but a wannabe lookalike.
Songs pop up at the most inopportune times in the narrative, diluting whatever little grip the script manages to drum up. The poorly-written characters fail to get us invested in their sob stories, or in the story at large. Ankita Chauhan’s character is the most annoying of them all. Try as you might, you just can’t wrap your head around it, or the motivation that drives the character.
To sum it up, ‘Lost’ is a lost cause of a movie, and you just can’t make heads or tails of it. Watch it only because it’s streaming and available to watch on OTT, or else, give it a wide berth altogether.
Music and Other Departments?
Shantanu Moitra’s music and background score is strictly average. The songs are forgettable, and the background music is nothing to write home about. Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography is good, though it’s not a patch on all the fantastic work he’s done in his glittering career. Bodhaditya Banerjee’s editing does the job required of it.
Highlights?
Yami Gautam and Pankaj Kapur
Drawbacks?
Muddled, messy screenplay
Poorly written characters
No satisfactory central conflict or driving factor for the story
Confusing Narrative
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
Not Particularly
Lost Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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