Netflix, Excel Entertainment and Tiger Baby’s Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (UA) is a coming-of-age film about three friends who turn business partners, each dealing with his demons.
Imaad (Siddhant Chaturvedi) is a stand-up comic. His mother died when he was just nine years old. He has a father who insists on sending him to a psychiatrist (Suchitra Pillai) ever so regularly as he is unable to cope with his past which, incidentally, even the father is not aware of. Imaad lives with Ahana (Ananya Pandey) whom he considers as a true friend. Ahana is in a relationship with Rohan Bhatia (Rohan Gurbaxani) but the latter suddenly one day decides that he needs a break. Ahana has a corporate job. The third friend is Neil Pereira (Adarsh Gourav) who is an expert trainer. Neil is in a relationship with Lala (Anya Singh) who is a social media influencer and whom he trains. Neil and his father (Vijay Maurya) have a relationship which is far from being warm.
Neil wants to open his own gymnasium. Imaad and Ahana decide to join Neil in his business. It is decided that Imaad would bring in the initial funds, and Ahana would look after the business development (for which she quits her job). Although Imaad loves womanising and one-night stands, he gets into a serious relationship with Simran (Kalki Koechlin).
Does their business idea fructify into anything concrete? Do Ahana and Rohan hook up again and become the perfect couple? What happens of Neil and Lala’s affair? What happens to Imaad and Simran’s relationship?
Arjun Varain Singh has written a very modern story about the social media generation and the fake lives they lead. Although it reminds of Dil Chahta Hai, it is not a rehash of that film at all. Zoya Akhtar, Arjun Varain Singh and Reema Kagti’s screenplay is fast-paced and very engaging as well as entertaining. The youngsters, especially, will identify with the six lead characters because there’s a bit of one or more characters in today’s youngsters. The language the characters speak, the attitude they wear on their sleeve, their actions, reactions, thought process… all of them ring true. The older generation will also identify with the characters because they will see their kids/younger siblings in them. Although the drama has an excellent message at the end, it never once gets preachy. In fact, the thread of entertainment runs through the entire drama. Yash Sahai’s dialogues deserve distinction marks for being so real and so today.
Siddhant Chaturvedi does a phenomenal job as Imaad. He gets into the skin of his character and comes out trumps. He looks very handsome too. Ananya Pandey looks cute and also delivers a fine performance as Ahana. Adarsh Gourav is fantastic in the role of Neil Pereira. Kalki Koechlin gives a mature performance as Simran. Rohan Gurbaxani has his moments as Rohan Bhatia. Anya Singh is alright as Lala. Rahul Vohra makes his mark as Imaad’s father. Vijay Maurya is very natural as Neil’s father, Malcolm. Malaika Arora adds glamour and sex appeal in a special appearance as herself. Divya Jagdale (as Neil’s mother, Sally) is adequate. Kat Kristian (as Tanya), Kashyap Kapoor (as Melbun), Ramona Arena (as Shivani), Asmara Sharma Khan (as Suhana), Arah Singh (as Eliza), Narendra Jetley (as Paresh), Devarshi Shah (as Ashish), Mahathi Ramesh (as Aisha), Aditi Sharma (as Neha), Manasi Tare (as Paresh’s wife), Ashish Sawhny (as Mr. Sharma), Aditya Nanda (as Yash), Roshan Mahendru (as Harsh), Archana Mittal (as Anita), Kyla D’souza (as Shruti), and the others provide lovely support.
Arjun Varain Singh’s direction is wonderful. His narrative style is very real and to the point. Music (Oaff & Savera, Sachin-Jigar, Ankur Tewari, Karan Kanchan & Rashmeet Kaur, and Achint Thakkar) is racy and will appeal to the youth. Lyrics (Javed Akhtar, Ankur Tewari and Yashraj Mehra) are very nice. Choreography (Bosco-Caesar and Rahul Shetty) is in synch with the mood of the film. Background music (Sid Shirodkar) is fantastic. Tanay Satam’s cinematography is first-rate. Sally White’s production designing, and Sheena Gola and Richard Vaigulam’s art direction are excellent. Nitin Baid’s editing is super-sharp.
On the whole, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is an excellent entertainer and will be loved by the viewers. The youth, in particular, will relate so much to the film that it will dominate their discussions for several weeks.
Released on 26-12-’23 on Netflix.