Lost movie review: Yami Gautam cannot save this ‘lost’ film that bites more than it can chew
Lost is one of the rare films I have watched recently where a great build up culminates into a rather dull climax, leaving you with many unanswered questions. Director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Lost, starring Yami Gautam, has an interesting premise, but it turns out to be a half-baked attempt at touching upon some poignant issues. At one point, you feel the big reveal would take your breath away and when things unfold, there’s very little that surprises you.
Set in Kolkatta, and inspired by true events, Lost narrates the story of a young crime reporter Vidhi Sahani (Yami Gautam), who is married to Jeet (Neil Bhoopalam) but she lives with her nanu (Pankaj Kapur). She is investigating a story after a young theatre activist Ishaan Bharti (Tushar Pandey) suddenly goes missing. Soon, Vidhi discovers the involvement of a girl Ankita Chauhan (Pia Bajpiee) who was in a relationship with Ishaan, and is now vying for an MLA’s seat, working under the aegis of an established political leader Ranjan Varman (Rahul Khanna). Will Vidhi be able to join the dots and find Ishaan? Are Ankita and Ranjan actually involved in his disappearance? Lost traces all these points but never hits you hard enough or highlights the main issue. An engaging first half keeps the intrigue high, but the second half fails to keep the momentum.
Written by Shyamal Sengupta and Ritesh Shah, the story has way too many loose ends that are difficult to overlook. It picks and drops pace without caring too much about holding on to audience’s interest. Bodhaditya Banerjee’s editing is patchy at places and some portions look abruptly stitched together.
What I found primarily problematic with Lost is that it tries to talk about too many things and could do justice to none. There are reference to gender bias at work, deep-rooted patriarchy, corruption in the system, marriage woes and naxal terror. In one of the scenes, Vidhi’s parents, who don’t approve of her profession, call crime journalism ‘mardon wali field’. And we hear Nanu come to her rescue defending the notion, calling 21st century ‘progressive’. Another sequence has a video call between Vidhi and the leader of the naxalite group but it doesn’t trigger you. So everything remains on the surface and the track never gets enough attention to be able to make an impact.
Though it’s difficult to salvage a half-baked script, some performances somewhat stand out. Gautam gets into the skin of a crime reporter quite effortlessly and never leaves her character. At no point she goes overboard and the control she brings while doing emotionally charged scenes is something I really liked. Khanna as the dashing politician is extremely impressive. Not only he has charming screen presence but also his grip on character is something that leaves you wanting to see more of him. Kapur is a treat to watch onscreen. The film gives him ample scope to throw some heavyweight lines, mostly giving life lessons to Gautam when she’s facing a dilemma. The scenes between Gautam and Kapur are extremely endearing and moving and perhaps the highlight of the film. Bajpiee has so much potential but I felt her character needed so much more depth. As Ankita, she has so many layers but there was something amiss. Bhoopalam is completely wasted in the story and has nothing to add that would take the narrative forward. His handful scenes with Gautam are just so forgettable.
Lost is watchable maybe only for yet another fine performance by Gautam, who doesn’t disappoint and stays true her craft. Otherwise the film takes title quite literally.
