This Yami-starrer stands true to its title — you feel completely lost

Cast:

One of the very few films I’ve watched in the recent times where a great buildup culminates in a rather dull climax and a dozen questions unanswered — this perhaps best describes director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s Lost. With Yami Gautam Dhar in the lead, the film has an interesting premise, but it turns out to be a half-baked attempt at addressing some poignant issues. At one point, you feel the big reveal would take your breath away. But when things unfold, it all goes south.

Set in Kolkata, Lost, which is inspired by real events, is about a young crime reporter, Vidhi Sahani (Dhar), who is married to Jeet (Neil Bhoopalam), but lives with her nanu (Pankaj Kapur). She is investigating a story after a young theatre activist, Ishaan Bharti (Tushar Pandey), suddenly goes missing. Vidhi unearths the involvement of a girl, Ankita Chauhan (Pia Bajpiee), who was in a relationship with Ishaan. She is vying for an MLA’s seat, working under the guidance of an established politico, Ranjan Varman (Rahul Khanna). Will Vidhi find Ishaan? Are Ankita and Ranjan actually involved in

Ishaan’s disappearance? Lost traces all these points, but never hits you hard enough. An engaging first half keeps the intrigue factor high, but the second half fails to keep up the momentum.

Written by Shyamal Sengupta and Ritesh Shah, the story has way too many loose ends that are tough to overlook. Bodhaditya Banerjee’s editing is patchy at places; some portions of the film look abruptly stitched together.

The main problem with Lost is, it tries to talk about too many things but doesn’t do justice to any. There are references to gender bias at work, corruption in the system, deep-rooted patriarchy, marriage woes and naxal terror. In one scene, Vidhi’s parents, who don’t approve of her profession, call crime journalism ‘mardon wali field’. We hear her nanu come to her rescue, calling the 21st century “progressive”. Another sequence is of a video call between Vidhi and the leader of a Naxal group, but it doesn’t trigger you.

Though it’s hard to salvage a half-baked script, some performances do stand out. Dhar gets into the skin of a crime reporter quite effortlessly; the control she brings in while doing emotionally charged scenes is something I really liked. Khanna, too, is extremely impressive — not just with his charming screen presence, but also his grip on his character. Kapur is also a treat to watch. The scenes between him and Dhar are endearing and perhaps, the highlight of the film. Bajpiee has so much potential, but I felt her character needed so much more depth. Bhoopalam is completely wasted in the story and has nothing to add that would take the narrative forward.

Lost is watchable for yet another fine performance by Dhar, who stays true to her craft. But that aside, the film, by the end of it, makes you resonate with its title — you do feel pretty lost.