Stolen moments that light up the screen

How many of us would care to get involved in a stranger’s problem even if it’s a serious one like the kidnapping of a baby? Especially since the child belongs to a poor woman. But, these two brothers, Gautam Bansal (Abhishek Banerjee) and Raman (Shubham Vardhan) — one, like most of us, impervious to the situation and the other empathetic to the predicament of Jhampa (Mia Maelzer) — get embroiled in a case which has no personal connection to them.

After its stellar festival run and a rich haul of awards, ‘Stolen’ is streaming on Prime Video. It is backed by a clutch of some of the most celebrated names in the industry — Anurag Kashyap, Kiran Rao, Nikkhil Advani and Vikramaditya Motwane. The directorial debut of Karan Tejpal not only brings to fore some significant issues, but also has a visceral engaging quality to its proceedings.

An innocuous act of picking up the cap of the kidnapped baby lands the younger brother Raman in an unenviable situation not of his choosing. But, as the ‘couldn’t care less’ police arrive on the scene, his conscience drives him. No good deed goes unpunished, so as the more conscientious brother prevails over the pragmatic one and chooses to help the woman in distress, hell breaks loose. Net result, both become part of a quest for the missing baby, which soon transforms into a meltdown they had neither envisioned nor bargained for.

Things spiral out of their control, but the director remains in full control. Co-written by Tejpal, Swapnil Salkar Agadbumb and Gaurav Dhingra, the build-up has that chilling effect all through. Cinematography by Ishaan Ghosh adds to the unsettling momentum. And once the Good Samaritans are mistaken for kidnappers, Tejpal truly keeps you on the edge.

Those of us who have only heard about mob justice find ourselves facing the gruesome reality on our screens with dread. The tension in these scenes is palpable. The drama leading up to this climactic moment, too, has an eerie effect. But once Banerjee as Gautam is hauled up by the villagers to be crucified, there is a numbing reminder of how insane mob lynching can be. How the system is stacked against the impoverished is a recurring thread.

Early on in the film, a dialogue — “I hate celebration of depression” — pops up. So you expect the film not to wallow in misery. Sure enough, the thriller ends on a hopeful note. Yet, it does not flinch from looking at the harsh reality in the face. Mounted as a thriller, there are no permanent villains here.

It’s good to see this year’s Critics Choice awardee Harish Khanna put up another fine act. And Banerjee never ceases to surprise. From an indifferent, well-heeled bloke to someone caught in the eye of the storm, his character arc allows him to get into the skin of Gautam. He is truly superb, especially in the crowd scenes. Vardhan as Raman is a perfect foil, the conscience that is sadly going missing in a large majority of us who live by the dictum: “saanu ki”. But one fine spark can ignite goodness in even the most thick-skinned.

The award-winning Mia Maelzer becomes this traumatised yet brave Bengali woman who is ready to go to any extent to find her child. And you end up sympathising with the likes of her, as much as admiring her grit.

The concerns that the film raises are not just token red flags, never an empty rhetoric. True to its locales, the only grouse could be that the well-to-do invariably know how to get out of messy situations. Even though there is a wedding in the family, why no one cares to check where the brothers are does strike a jarring note. But if you overcome this slight irregularity, the film, which has picked up the Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Female Actor awards at the Beijing International Film Festival and a Special Mention at the Zurich Film Festival, should be on your watch-list.