Lost (2023) ‘Zee 5’ Movie Review: What is Lost? The film’s title and synopsis imply that a character is lost. That would call for a change to the ‘what’ in the first sentence with another word from the traditional ‘5Ws’, meaning ‘Who’ is lost would be the correct question. Too straightforward? Well, luckily, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s film pushes the boundaries of the word. His first directorial since the critically acclaimed and powerful Pink sees him use his characters to shed light on numerous other lost things. These include values, relationships, perspectives, thoughts, traditional roles, and conscience. Upon watching this movie, I remembered a quote from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of The Ring-
“Not all those who wander are lost”
Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury ensures that Lost isn’t preachy, which allows audiences to not turn off Zee 5 with an understanding that they just consumed a movie about the manner of society’s evolution. This film may even strike a chord with individuals who were/are in the field or studied it.
Zee 5’s Lost advances through the main character Vidhi Sahani (Yami Gautam). She works at a news company called Daybreak as a crime journalist. One particular case, or rather the narrative slapped on it, piques her attention, and with the blessing of her superiors, she sets out to uphold the principles of her chosen profession: search through everything, investigate, gather the facts, and most importantly sift through for what is the hard truth.
This Zee 5 film does not extol the process of journalism (to present it) as a desirable field. In fact, the things Vidhi went through may even deter individuals. It is often said that when one is sitting on the fence, it is because they have temporarily lost the ability to decide. With a cinematic presentation of reality, Lost shows the absolute truth to allow people to make an informed decision about venturing into the field. It is a film where the audiences experience the journey of a story from ideation to publication. This process isn’t as simple as going from point A to B.
It is visible through Avik Mukhopadhyay’s lens, which allows the ones behind the fourth wall to travel across West Bengal with the protagonist. His focus on the characters provokes the audience to feel a multitude of emotions. Shantanu Moitra’s music adds to the plight, tension, euphoria, and courage that the director intended to convey within each scene. The two leads did an admirable job in luring and keeping the audiences invested in this film.
Pankaj Kapur’s performance is what stood out for me. His character Nanu was a man of ideals, with his age lending weight to his thoughts. Despite having lines that would relegate him to being the sensible old guy, Ritesh Shah’s dialogues allow him to exhibit his childlike innocence. I loved how the dialogue seamlessly transitioned from light-hearted to serious and back. Nanu serving as the voice of understanding and reason, is the only thing that convinces Vidhi to pause before taking a step.
Yami Gautam’s Vidhi displays a fearless exterior but is aware of how close she is to cross a line. Her pursuit of the truth is admirable. In seeking the ‘lost,’ she encounters mindsets that should have been lost years ago. I particularly loved the way her character subtly communicated a look of knowing to the audience at particular times. She knew not to pursue a lost cause in many ways.
Given that Lost was a film about an investigative story, I really enjoyed how body language was a factor. The screenplay having moments of the same allowed viewers to get non-verbal hints about the truth and the lies in Q&A scenes. Voice modulations also played a key role here. Chowdhury’s film didn’t let this become the norm, as he showed how experience is key when faced with tough questions. A seasoned individual would have encountered and practiced how to navigate them.
Seasoned cinephiles would have consumed numerous investigative journalism films and may, include Lost in the same breath as some heavyweights such as The Post and Frost/Nixon. It reaches there, but not quite. I say so as the protagonist just letting some things slide were against what she was built up as through the film.
The ending may feel like a whimper. But it really fits if one considers the reality of the profession and the world. Had they gone for something flashy, this explanation of everything lost would have been the tale of two films, i.e., the first 105 minutes and the final 900 seconds.
Also, Read: Chhatriwali (2023) Review: The ZEE5 Comedy Tries It’s Best To Educate About Contraceptives Within The Logic of A Hindi Film
Lost (2023) Movie Links: IMDb, Wikipedia
Lost (2023) Movie Cast: Yami Gautam, Pankaj Kapur, Rahul Khanna, Neil Bhoopalam, Pia Bajpiee
