Missing movie review: Slightly disoriented, but Manoj Bajpayee-Tabu make it work

Missing isn’t a spellbinding thriller you were waiting for, but it has its moments. Here’s our movie review.

Missing
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Tabu, Annu Kapoor
Director: Mukul Abhyankar
Rating: 2/5

Missing is directed by Mukul Abhyankar.

Two strangers meet on a cruise and end up in each other’s arms. Clichéd, but twist in the tale comes when the woman’s daughter goes missing.

Sushant Dubey (Manoj Bajpayee) and Aparna (Tabu) are on the mercy of the Mauritian police, its effort spearheaded by Ram Khilawan Budhu (Annu Kapoor), to find the missing girl but the list of their lies is never-ending.

Missing begins on an off-note. Both Manoj Bajpayee and Tabu struggle to find their feet. Some of their acts begin to make sense as the film progresses but Missing lacks the overall sense of urgency.

Idea is to probably give the audience a comic breather before turning the premise intense, but it gets too predictable. You start anticipating the character graphs and movements. Cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee tries his best to attain a momentum, but silhouettes and hard-edged photography need subjects, preferably gripping ones.

Missing is a story that takes place within a few hours. It begins at a dockyard and ends at a hotel. After a while, just two characters seem insufficient to hold our attention. A few more characters could have added more intrigue to the suspense. Thankfully, Annu Kapoor enters the story and stops it from becoming another ‘been there, done that’ kind of a film.

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On second thoughts, the credit should also go to the editor, Shree Narayan Singh, for keeping it short. At 120-minute, Missing isn’t exactly an edge-of-the-seat saga, but it manages to keep the viewers interested.

It picks up pace towards the end and generates necessary push to shock the spectators, but things escalate real quick to get there. However, all is well that ends well.

Tabu’s restrained act keeps the focus on her, but Manoj Bajpayee falters. Too many mood changes in a limited time don’t let his character develop. As a well-mannered, soft spoken cop, Annu Kapoor carries the film forward.

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Missing isn’t a spellbinding thriller, but it has its moments. Your exposure to world cinema and well-made thrillers will decide whether you would enjoy it or not. Nonetheless, a genuine effort on part of the debutant director Mukul Abhyankar.

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