Kho Gaye Hum Kahan

Arjun Varain Singh's direction is neat. He ensures that one can connect with the goings-on, especially the urban youth. The issues, happiness, achievements etc. of the characters are a reflection of the lives many are living today. The social media angle also gives a nice touch. Arjun touches upon ghosting, the fake life of influencers, difficulties faced by people in staying away from their phones, using social media to get validation and even stalking ex-partners, bullying on social media etc. Some scenes that are well executed are Imaad and Simran’s first meet, Lala’s birthday bash, the epic showdown between Imaad and Neil etc. But it’s the song 'Ishq Nachaawe' which shows Arjun’s real strength as a storyteller. The finale is sweet. On the flipside, there are times in the film where nothing much is happening. Hence, this 134-minute-long film could have been edited by 20 minutes.

What makes the narrative even better is that the writers do not opt for a preachy approach, there are no boring monologues trying to tell you about why one should be or should not be on social media. There is no rule book about do's and don'ts that the film tries to offer, but very subtly, passes on the message that serves as a life lesson. At 2 hours 15 minutes, the film never stretches itself to an extent that it loses focus. In fact, there are parts I felt were rushed and could have had been slightly detailed. Ananya's confrontation scene with her boyfriend, or Imaad's tiff with Neil when he picks on his relationship status for his stand-up act, or Neil's ugly moment on Instagram -- there are several well-written sequences that impress.

Debutant director Arjun Varain Singh and co-writers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti present a half-baked critique of influencer culture, everyone obsessed with ‘likes’ and ‘followers’ and dismissive of their true, authentic selves. It is a limited view of a complex sociological phenomenon, and the writing tends to get judgemental (online trolls, this film argues, are simply resentful of second-generation Bollywood stars). It doesn’t boost its cause that Kho Gaye Hum Kahan has all the aesthetic markers of a content video. Tanay Satam’s cinematography is marked by a sterile, soft-focus beauty. There is a cameo by ‘comedy consultant’ Sapan Verma, and two of the songs are by viral favourites OAFF–Savera.