Stolen Review: Sensitive Topic, Clumsy Treatment

RATING - ⭐⭐ 2/5*

Stolen Review Movie Review:

Karan Tejpal's Stolen positions itself as a social thriller, but ironically, it’s devoid of any real thrills. When a film with a tight runtime of just 1 hour and 33 minutes starts to feel sluggish, it's a clear sign that the execution has gone awry. While Stolen ambitiously attempts to tackle a handful of pressing and sensitive issues — mob lynching, child kidnapping rackets, surrogacy, and the breakdown of law and order — the storytelling lacks the grit and conviction needed to make them resonate.

Stolen Review Story:

The plot revolves around Gautam (Abhishek Banerjee) and his brother Raman (Shubham Vardhan), who witness a baby being kidnapped at a railway station. Soon after, a tribal woman, Jhumpa Mahato (Mia Maelzer), approaches them with questions. Raman insists on helping her, while Gautam is reluctant. The police get involved, and the brothers are inadvertently dragged into a full-blown search operation. Gautam wants out, but yields to his brother’s persistence. What follows is a tense journey through suspicion, mob aggression, and moral dilemma — but the tension never quite lands.

The film’s title, Stolen, refers plainly to the missing child, but there are deeper layers — surrogacy and illegal practices — that don’t get the nuanced treatment they deserve. The surrogacy subplot is clumsily handled, and while the mob-lynching sequence briefly sparks interest, it fizzles out into a disappointing conclusion. The film faintly echoes classics like Fury (1936) and The Ox-Bow Incident (1943), but never reaches their emotional or moral intensity. Gautam’s internal conflict feels convenient rather than earned, while Raman’s relentless pursuit and exaggerated reactions often come off as forced and unconvincing. The entire narrative takes a detour down an unconvincing path — one riddled with misjudged character motivations and structural issues.

"I don’t have a problem with remakes; I'll continue doing so," says Aamir Khan –

Stolen Cast:

Abhishek Banerjee gives a good performance despite his character being underwritten. His emotional breakdown in the climax during the mob attack is hauntingly raw. Shubham Vardhan has his moments too, and Mia Maelzer delivers a committed performance, even though her accent can be distracting. It forces the viewer to rely on subtitles, which breaks immersion at key points. Supporting actors like Harish Khanna, Sahidur Rahman, and the local faces add some authenticity to the rural backdrop.

Stolen Movie Review:

The story, credited to Karan Tejpal, Gaurav Dhingra, and Swapnil Salkar Agadbumb, had genuine potential. Sadly, Tejpal’s screenplay squanders it. The cinematography is serviceable, but the editing is loose and lacks rhythm. Though the real locations add an air of authenticity, the technical elements — lighting, sound, and action choreography — fall short. The chase scenes, which should've injected adrenaline into the narrative, feel bland and uninspired. In the end, Stolen is a case of a strong subject mishandled. Instead of focusing on narrative clarity and emotional engagement, it tries to build unnecessary suspense around Jhumpa's identity, distracting from the film’s true essence. Whether by choice or necessity, its OTT release feels fitting for a film that never quite finds its footing. A missed opportunity, where a powerful theme is undone by confused direction and weak storytelling.

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