'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' movie review: Come for Siddhant Chaturvedi, Adarsh Gourav, stay for Ananya Panday

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan movie review: One of the best things about Arjun Varain Singh’s Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, starring Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday and Adarsh Gourav, is that it does not pretend to be something it is not. What it is, is the story of three 20-somethings, stuck in life, and under the heavy influence of social media. 

The movie focuses on Imaad (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a stand-up comic who spends his free time, rummaging through Tinder for his next date, Ahana (Ananya Panday) whose boyfriend asks for a break and vanishes from her life, and Neil (Adarsh Gourav), a gym instructor who, convinced that he has a below-par life, wants to make it big. Imaad and Ahana are flatmates too. Imaad, Ahana and Neil have been friends since school and plan to take the next step to become business partners. But social media is a tough nut to crack, that more often than not sends its users into a spiral. 

What Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is, is it is not dramatic, the ups and downs of our heroes are not exaggerated, the fights are not gruesome, it is not overly emotional – everything about it is very measured. Crisis comes and crisis goes, but our heroes go on forever. 

What it is, is it is a contemporary film, set in an urban space – they live in posh Mumbai (their flat faces the Sea Link), they frequent fancy pubs and go bowling, are clued-in on the latest trends and influencers on social media – about three young people trying to make it in life, and getting sidetracked by the pitfalls of social media. What it is, is that it is not outlandish, because isn’t it the life of most young working/struggling professionals in a metro city? As in social media parlance, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan has a vibe to it. 

What Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is, is it is Ananya Panday’s movie. She owns the film and is the bright spark the subdued tones of film needs. She has been perfectly cast as Ahana, an obsessive, stalker, jilted lover, who has the best intentions and lots of love and warmth for her two best friends. Ahana is not a doormat or a rebel or a manic pixie dream girl. She has sugar, spice, everything nice and a lot of darkness in equal measure. 

Siddhant Chaturvedi plays Imaad with elan as he is mostly known to do. Imaad is not only a comic but uses comedy to counter the deep bruises he seeks to heal and hide from the world. Adarsh Gourav as a gym trainer might have been an unusual choice but once Neil starts spiralling, it becomes apparent why the actor was picked for the role. Neil is convinced that everything he has is a little worn-off, a little less, a little tacky, a little poor than everyone else. He marinates in his questionable thoughts till they translate into questionable actions. 

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan holds up the mirror, but not in a way Black Mirror does, it is not that batshit. This mirror is more likely to nudge you to cut down on your screen time than to say transfer your consciousness to another entity like in Black Museum.  

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is Arjun Varain Singh’s directorial debut, and has been written by Singh along with Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti. It has been produced by Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar. 

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