Missing Review: This Manoj Bajpayee-Tabu Starrer Lacks A 'Spark'

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At a point in Missing, an exasperated investigating officer played by Annu Kapoor tells his juniors,'Bahut loopholes hai'. Well, these three words precisely sum up how the film makes you feel post the rolling of the end-credits. This Manoj Bajpayee-Tabu starrer falls short of being a nail-biting suspense thriller despite of an interesting premise and a brilliant cast. The film begins on an intriguing note but soon, logic tosses out of the window and predictability seeps in as the narrative starts treading on formaic movie troupes. You have twists thrown at you quite early at thunderbolt speed but mind you, you later realize they simply defy logic and were placed to misguide you. Not so cool, bro!

Moving to the plot, Missing opens with Sushant (Manoj Bajpayee) cajoling his wife locked behind a door who is upset with his womanizing ways and is keen to accompany him on his business trip to Mauritis. Suddenly a toy car arrives at his feet and he speaks to a child, also off camera reassuring him that his 'Mama and Papa' ain't fighting and instead, it's just a game.

The scene next shifts to Sushant coming off a ship accompanied by a lady named Aparna (Tabu) who is holding a child swaddled in a blanket. The couple soon checks into a swanky resort in Port Louis. Apparently, their three-year old daughter Titli is running a high temeprature and is therefore asleep in Aparna's arms all the time.

A string of events later, the next morning Aparna discovers Titli missing from her room. While she goes hysterical, her husband Sushant remains unperturbed and seems more concerned about his and the resort's reputation. The couple begins a mad hunt for their missing daughter but it goes in vain leaving Aparna with no other choice but to call in the cops.

Enter local police chief Ram Khilavan Buddhu aka desi Sherlock Holmes who loves throwing in French words every now and then. Soon, Sushant finds himself concocting a string of lies to explain his movements. But wait, there's something more to this than meets the eye as accusations fly thick and high.

Mukul Abhyankar had a compelling concept in his hands. Unfortunately, his shoody and amateurish direction reduces the film to a 'disappointing fare'! After a point, the plot simply becomes obnoxious and makes little sense. The pace of the film too slackens and that isn't good news, folks! The element of 'thrill' also pretty soon weans off leaving very little meat to the plot. However, the sore point is the absurd climax which is a major let-down.

Speaking about the performance, Manoj Bajpayee fits the character like a glove and initially, the man even manages to give you some creeps with his fishy behaviour. In fact, a few glimpses of him in the film might even take you back to his 'Kaun' days.

Tabu is superlative as always and pulls off her character with a sense of mystery prevailing around with great conviction.

Disappointingly, Annu Kapoor is merely reduced to a laughing stock who brings in more chuckles than the suspense to the plot.

Sudeep Chatterjee's breath-taking cinematography scores a brownie point. While Shree Narayan Singh's editing is passable.

Musically the film doesn't have much to offer but, M.M Kreem's background score is impressive and adds some layers.

Mukul Abhyankar's Missing makes for a one-time watch solely for acting stalwarts like Manoj Bajpayee and Tabu. They put their best foot forward to keep this film afloat. The film fails to keep you hooked; blame it on the 'missing' thrills. Go for this one only if you have got to do notthing else this weekend!