'Stolen' review—Abhishek Banerjee's film is gritty, but struggles to engage
What's the story
What do you think of when you hear the word stolen? Perhaps a jewelry item, a phone, or cash. But what happens when a five-month-old baby is stolen while sleeping right next to her mother? Abhishek Banerjee's Stolen, backed by Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Kiran Rao, and Nikkhil Advani, deals with this gritty premise. It's streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Plot
Two brothers, a woman, and a missing child
Directed by Karan Tejpal, Stolen introduces us to two brothers: Raman (Shubham Vardhan) and Gautam (Banerjee). Gautam goes to a remote railway station to pick Raman up, but there, Raman becomes a suspect in the kidnapping of a baby, Champa. As Champa's mother, a tribal woman named Jhumpa (Mia Maelzer), and the police investigate Champa's disappearance, the brothers are pulled deeper into the tragedy.
#1
Exposes the complex Indian society sharply
The one thing Stolen does the best is hit the nail on its head with its depiction of classism, power, and social hierarchy. The brothers, especially Gautam, and Jhumpa, are nothing alike: they dress differently, speak differently, and have different concerns in life. And, what better place than a railway station to expose the wide chasm that exists between the Indian population?
#2
The differences between the brothers tell us a lot
Initially, Gautam is painfully detached from the reality on the ground. When Jhumpa cries about Champa, he offers her money because he believes there's nothing money can't fix. He is slick, wears a suit, drives a pricey car, and wants to get out of the mess. Raman, however, is the opposite and is determined to aid Jhumpa even at the cost of his life.
#3
The writing is sharp and self-aware
It is to the film's credit that Gautam is never painted in out-and-out negative shades, despite his glaring flaws. The film understands that people aren't always black or white, and though Gautam is initially blind to his privilege and quite haughty, we never hate him. In fact, as we spend more time with him, we understand his psyche a lot better.
#4
The heightened sense of realism helps the film
The film makes excellent use of real locations, and when characters speak, they seem realistic, as if our surroundings are unfolding on celluloid. Banerjee's chameleon-like ability is on full display here, and he can be both the goofy friend in Stree and the entitled rich man in Stolen effortlessly. The next best performer is Maelzer, who captures her character's ache and pain extremely well.
#5
Negatives: Tough to always stay with the movie
However, despite all these merits, I found it tough to be engaged by Stolen. A been-there-seen-that feeling never leaves your mind while watching it, and the film fails at keeping you completely immersed. The entire story unravels in a few hours, but we never feel the kind of edge-of-the-seat thrill and excitement that we should while watching a film like this.
#6
The characters fail to speak to us
Stolen is cut from the same cloth as Afwaah, NH 10, and to an extent, Joram, but cannot replicate the entertainment factor of these movies. At no point are you deeply invested in the brothers' tumultuous journey, and the varied issues explored in the film do not hit you as hard as they should. In more than one place, the film loses its direction.
#7
Seems too stretched at times
The film also remains at a distance because we don't know much about the characters, and Stolen seems a bit too eager to jump the gun sometimes. Even when we meet the crowd that's so eager to lynch Gautam, everything seems painfully generic, and there's no memorable face here that can stick with you. For the most part, Stolen is stuck in a rut.
Verdict
Banerjee's fan? Watch it, skip otherwise; 2.5/5 stars
Tejpal tries something inventive, experimental, and raw with Stolen, and the performances and social commentary keep the film in the right direction. The little quirks of the characters, the small details, and Banerjee's performance make the film worthwhile. On the flip side, the narrative seems undercooked, and the film doesn't always have enough fuel to proceed smoothly. 2.5/5 stars.