Stolen Review {3.5/5} & Review Rating

Director: Karan Tejpal

Stolen Movie Review Synopsis:
STOLEN is the story of two brothers on the run. Gautam Bansal (Abhishek Banerjee) arrives at Kumba railway station to receive his brother Raman Bansal aka Rambo (Shubham Vardhan). They have an important family function to attend the next day. Raman alights from the train and at the same time, a kidnapper escapes with Champa, the five-month-old daughter of Jhumpa (Mia Maelzer). The kidnapper bumps into Raman and then runs away. At first, Raman is accused by Jhumpa of snatching her child. The cops arrive and begin investigations. Raman is interrogated thoroughly and the cops even catch the tea boy at the station, who confesses to being a part of the kidnapping. He reveals that the kidnapper is hiding with Jhumpa in ‘kasuni kothi’ (cursed manor). The cops express their inability to go to that place. Raman calls out their callousness as he feels bad for Jhumpa. This enrages the cops and they compel Raman and Gautam to join them for the expedition to the cursed manor. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Stolen Movie Story Review:
Karan Tejpal, Swapnil Salkar and Gaurav Dhingra’s story is inspired by real-life events. Karan Tejpal, Swapnil Salkar and Gaurav Dhingra’s screenplay is engaging for most parts. Shubham Vardhan and Swapnil Salkar’s dialogues are straight out of life and conversational.

Karan Tejpal’s direction is decent. The film is around 93 minutes long and keeps one on the edge of the seats, especially in the second half. Also, it’s relatable as it’s derived from incidents of innocent men being attacked on suspicion of being child kidnappers. The director also makes sure that the film is unexpected from the very beginning. One assumes that the function in the Bansal family must be the marriage of one of the children but it turns out to be something else. Similarly, the track of Jhumpa has been well executed. After every 10-15 minutes, the opinion of the viewer would change about her. Is she a victim or is she a criminal herself? – this question will keep playing on one’s mind. The second half is much more hard-hitting and the film ends on a justified note.

On the flipside, a few developments seem unconvincing, especially how Gautam and Raman get entangled in the whole affair of the missing child. The back story is not much established and this also dents impact. It’s also bewildering that the family is completely forgotten. Moreover, a few scenes are disturbing while the execution is niche and film festival-type. Hence, it is not a film for every section of the audience, even on OTT.

Stolen Movie Review Performances:
Abhishek Banerjee is superb in his first leading role in a feature film. His character goes through a lot – from an arrogant chap who can get away with the help of money to the one who gets humbled by the circumstances – and he gets it right perfectly. Shubham Vardhan has a fine screen presence and plays his part with aplomb. He’s sure to get noticed by the film industry, thanks to this film. Mia Maelzer is an even bigger surprise and is an actor to watch out for. Harish Khanna (Pandit ji; constable), Sahidur Rahaman (Inspector Shakti Singh) and Saarthak Dewan (Acchelal) lend able support. Bhanu (Tea Boy) is fair.

Stolen movie music and other technical aspects:
Arpad Bondy’s music is minimal yet effective. Isshaan Ghosh’s cinematography adds to the realism and also the impact. The same goes for Babbu Khanna’s action, Neeraj Kumar Singh’s production design and Harsh Dedhia’s costumes. Special mention should also go to Uma Sejwal’s makeup, hair and prosthetics. Shreyas Beltangdy’s editing is slick.

Stolen Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, STOLEN leaves an impact due to its stark realism, performances and edge-of-the-seat moments.