Missing: Search Vs Revenge

Story: When his wife goes missing, a man decides to track down the four men he believes are responsible.

Review: The concept Missing is based on is not a new one. But director Srini Josyula tries to give the same ol’ trope a new varnish, setting it up with a kidnap scene. An accident followed by a missing person generates enough curiosity for you to watch what happens. But most of what follows is sadly a let-down.

Gautam (Harsha Narra) is a software engineer who falls in love with Shruthi (Nikkesha). The two get married and lead a happy life till an incident turns it all upside down. When they meet with a car accident, Gautam wakes up in the hospital to find Shruthi missing. He identifies four men who were following them and ventures out to search for the truth. Meena (Misha Narang), a journalist, is also involved in the case. How all these threads interconnect forms the tale.

Srini does a good job of setting up the film but it all falls flat soon. The first half is all about Gautham investigating Shruthi’s disappearance and exploring their love story. Because of that the film plays out more like a drama than the thriller it promises to be. The four men central to this tale also drop dead like flies, forming another mystery. The interval bang hooks you but the second half doesn’t sustain it. The core plot gets deviated when another love story is delved into testing one’s patience.

The ‘big reveal’ about who is behind these murders, Gautham taking Meena’s help in finding Shruthi, the various plot points, flashbacks, all intertwine and become clumsy after a while. While the film is peppered with twists, there’s more confusion as things unfold. Backed by a good storyline, the film misses good screenplay and editing.

Harsha Narra has the whole film weighing on him and he fails at delivering a compelling performance. He does not excel in emotional scenes, letting down his strong character. Nikkesha and Misha have little to do but they fail to live up to that too. Chatrapathi Shekhar as a police officer is decent. The film’s technicalities are plain okay too.

Missing is a story that had potential but is let down due to the inexperience of the cast and crew.