Never Ending Movie Carnival
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Stolen review: Haunting, Harrowing and Hard-hitting
The ghastly scar on his cheek and the battered face of Abhishek Banerjee on Stolen's poster are chilling reminders of precarious scenario that unfolds over a day for two brothers who uncontrollably descend into a deadly ordeal of chase and survival in raw, barren terrains somewhere in Northern rural India.
Stolen movie synopsis
The urban Bansals - Gautam and Raman, played by Abhishek Banerjee and Shubham Vardhan, almost witness a poor mother's child being kidnapped at a rural India railway station.
While Raman, driven by morality and compassion, persuades the reluctant Gautam who acts per his self-interest, to help the impoverished mother (Mia Maelzer), along with two local cops played by Harish Khanna and Sahadur Rahaman, little do they know that their worst nightmare is looming large.
Within no time, debutant director Karan Tejpal plunges his audience into a harrowing and immersive experience - the brothers' relentless run on the car while being chased by outrageous assailants whose wisdom, or rather the lack of it, identify them as child abductors
At one point, Gautam exclaims, "Bachcha chor dikhta hoon main!" Tejpal's empathic gaze at the societal divide and hypocrisies imbibed in it, elevates ‘Stolen’ into a staggering craft with heft.
Blessed with impeccably scouted locales and bolstered further by DoP Isshan Ghosh's swooping camera work into the dark dingy lanes and moribund homes, ‘Stolen’s blunt and unrelenting setting hits you hard as you almost become part of the perilous run.
Karan demands your attention at life's irony with a rightful authority. The affluent brothers, starkly contrasting characters, who have to attend their mother's wedding find their fate toppled and themselves at the crossroads of harsh realities of the society which tests their resilience.
The other daring themes in the film are not mined much - be it the child racket and surrogacy racket or the back story of the Bangalan mother, Jhumpa and the fraternal grudges that dwells in the brothers' clumsy dynamics. May be a deliberate switch of gears by the writers, which could dilute the gritty nature of the subject.
‘Stolen’ haunts you with a mighty performance by Abhishek Banerjee. Is there anything in the galaxy which he can't do? No! In the last 7-8 years, the actor has straddled diverse genres and characters, and triumphed with hard-hitting acts. Here, he doesn't fight any particular villain. ‘Stolen’ doesn't have one.
Rather he gets beaten and bruised by uncountable blows in one of the most gut-wrenching scenes with the camera's unflattering long shots at his plight and wounds.
But his Gautam doesn't break. Marking a moral shift, he fights for justice and reclaim the truth of the three - achingly authentic performances from Ahubham who co-wrote the taut script (inspired from real events) and Miah.
‘Stolen’ deserved every bit of the accolades at the myriad film festivals in 2023. Championed by a team of acclaimed executive producers - Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Kiran Rao, it hits you hard at the solar plexus.
I go with 4 stars, ‘Stolen’ is streaming on Prime Video from 4th June 2025.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee