Admake India Media (Pvt.) Ltd., AR Films and AR Studios’ The Lost Girl (UA) is a social film. It is the story of a 5-year-old girl, Suhani (Aronica Ranoliya), who loses her family in the 1984 riots that rocked Delhi. She finds herself in an unfamiliar atmosphere but she is well looked after by her foster parents, Ram Singh (Bhupesh Singh) and Angrezo (Poonam Jangra), for 15 years! All along, she gets dreams about her childhood with her biological family, but she is unable to decipher them as she is unaware that she has been adopted by her foster parents who had found her on their field in an unconscious state. The dreams actually become her nightmares because she wakes up in cold sweat each time she gets those dreams. However, on the day of her marriage to Suraj (Raveesh Singh), she firmly decides that she must trace her parents who have been haunting her in her dreams. She sets out in search of them. What happens thereafter?
Aditya Ranoliya’s story, based on a true incident, is so horrendously written that it is full of holes and seems to be a classic case of a novice writing as if he were a professional. His screenplay is full of defects and is so childish that it gets embarrassing for the audience to sit through the drama. If Suhani did not know that she was adopted, how does she tell her husband that she wants to trace her biological parents and that she would not consummate her marriage till she had located them? And if she was aware that she was adopted by her foster parents, when did she get to know this? There is simply no answer to these important questions which crop up in the viewer’s mind. Once she leaves her marital home, she returns to the home of her foster parents, where she has lived from the age of 5 to 20, and literally storms out of that home by almost cursing her foster parents who had raised her with so much love and care. Why? What is the justification for her repulsive behaviour? This is not explained. Even if one assumes that she was angry that they had hidden the fact about her adoption, does that give her a licence to speak rudely to people who came as saviours in her life? Why did she not plead with them to tell her the reason for hiding the truth from her? After all, she is a bright girl who is expected to behave herself, more so with her foster parents who had been so kind to her in spite of not being related by blood. And if they had hidden the fact of adoption from her, the earlier question once again arises: how did she get to know that she was an adopted child? If the writer wanted the audience to believe that Suhani was convinced that her biological parents were different, merely because she chanced upon her childhood frock, well, the question that arises in that case is: how on earth can a frock prove that she was an adopted child? Merely because the frock had the label of a tailor’s shop in no way proves what Ranoliya would have Suhani and the audience believe. The track of Ram Singh’s sister-in-law, Anokhi (Raman Nassa), and nephew resenting the fact that he (Ram Singh) had adopted Suhani goes on and on for 15 long years, making them do weird things. This is a very weak track. Strangely, the sister-in-law, Anokhi, often visits Ram Singh and his wife, taunts them and then just leaves without anything concrete happening. And this goes on for 15 years!! Suhani returning to her foster parents after realising that her biological family is finished, makes her character look selfish — and that’s putting it mildly. Other instances of poor scripting: Suhani gets to know that she has topped the examinations when she sees her photograph in the newspaper! Why? Didn’t she even bother to go to school to know her results? Ram Singh is shown to be extremely fond of Suhani but he screams at her at the slightest pretext when Anokhi poisons his mind. And this, after he himself has been telling his wife all along that Anokhi is a mischief maker. In short, the characterisations are so ridiculous that they only serve to underline that the writer knows nothing about story and screenplay writing. Aditya Ranoliya’s dialogues are terrible.
Prachi Bansal does an average job as Suhani. Aronica Ranoliya is so-so as kid Suhani. Bhupesh Singh, in the role of Suhani’s foster father, Ram Singh, can hardly act to save his life. Poonam Jangra is okay as Suhani’s foster mother, Angrezo. Raveesh Singh is at least earnest as Suhani’s husband, Suraj. Raman Nassa (as Anokhi) passes muster. Akshay Mishra makes his presence felt in the role of Kale. Neeva Malik is natural as Leela. Navin Nishad makes a fair mark as police inspector Hawa Singh. Shekhar Yadav is ordinary as Zile Singh. Suman Sen hardly gets scope as Gurinder. Sunil Bharti (as Ramphal) and the others lend dull support.
Aditya Ranoliya’s direction is pathetic. Vivek Asthaana’s music is weak. Lyrics (Apoorva Ashish and Aditya Ranoliya) are functional. Vivek Asthaana’s background music is terrible. Farooque Khan’s cinematography is poor. AR Films’ action and stunt scenes are devoid of thrill. Admake India Media’s production designing, and Shashwat Gupta and Deepak Kashyap’s art direction are below average. Arvind Akhilesh Shukla’s editing is loose.
On the whole, The Lost Girl is an apology of a film which will get lost at the box-office.
Released on 5-4-’24 at Metro Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Panorama Studios. Publicity & opening: poor. …….Also released all over. Opening was dull everywhere.