Kho Gaye Hum Kahan

Liked this one. Social Media today works on 3 I's - Instant, Insecurity and I (Narcissism) and the film captures all the 3 themes pretty well.

Strong performances and refreshing tale of modern friendship is well captured after Dil Chahta Hai and ZNMD. Always have been a fan of Excel Entertainment, Zoya Akhtar and Rima Kagti's work hence the film was certainly a good watch, quite relevant with the themes of today.

Adarsh Gaurav as Neil shines through and has a pretty emotional upheaval among the 3 which is very well portrayed on screen. The character has a roller-coaster arc which is well justified by his talent.

Have been a fan of Siddhant Chaturvedi since Gully Boy and this feels no different - the guy delivers a wonderful performance, especially the dialogue towards the end that shows his prowess as an actor.

Ananya Pandey, usually bubbly, is a charm on screen and portrays her character pretty well, which is a difficult mix of displaying insecurity yet be confident. She is the mediator between the extremes of the other 2 characters which she justifies very proficiently.

First part is good and it is all relate-able, though not in the exact manner or form. The part after the halfway mark feels a bit of drag as interest does lose, primarily because its a predictable end but the message the film is trying to give is loud and clear.

Generations, be it millenials or Gen Y or Gen Z should all take away something from this film and remember that at the end of the day, in this world of instant and insecurities and comparision, it is important to be grateful, be close to friends and smile!

What a beaut!

Beautiful pacing, heartwarming narration and such sublime acting by the cast! Right from the 3 leads to the supporting actors, everyone was woven perfectly into the fabric of this story.

It's the kind of movie that holds your hand and walks across a sunset beach. A sunset beach you never knew existed, because you had your darned head up your phone's keister.

The music wasn't a show stealer, which was actually great! They worked so well with the moments and just enough so as not to pull too much attention away from the story itself.

AND this comes at such a great time.

All hearts :)

I am truly at a loss of words after watching this movie. I didn't expect much to begin with and I was genuinly surprised at how great the story is. Yes, I am one of those people whose heart strings are easy to pull but I won't lie, I was not ready for what this movie held in store.

Ah how much I love Adarsh Gaurav. He always manages to be in the best movies. I love his persona and the presence he creates is just brilliant. Siddhant was a surprise as well. I remember being a little disappointed in both him and Ananya after Gehraiyaan. I hated that movie but Siddhant can really portray a charismatic womanizer, the perfect cassanova and this movie uses him to achieve that brilliantly. Ananya, seems to have grown a lot. This performance definitely falls under her top 3, heck I would call it her best performance yet. Pretty darn impressive.

About the movie, like I said before, with a name "inspired" by the lyrics of a song, I didn't, I couldn't expect much. I decided to watch the movie at 1.25x speed and yes, the first half is kinda slow and could've been paced faster but doesn't matter, as the movie progressed, it revealed a lot layers deep within itself. The portrayal of the ugly things that go behind social media, the toxic influencer culture that permeates our society. It is a revealation. I loved that these topics were covered because I am definitely in for that.

I would love it if more such movies are made and hopefully these messages are taken positively by the community and we learn something from these. Really wish for that to happen.

Dil Chahta hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara are two of the most iconic Bollywood films in the past 25 years. Did the makers think Kho Gaye would be 3rd film to join the ranks of those two? Dunno, time will tell, but for now, watch this film if

• You're a fan of DCH/ZNMD/Rock On and like watching movies about friendship
• You're tired of over-the-top action movies that have released this year
• You're a 20something and have a mostly 'Gen-Z life'

Acting: Ananya Panday - her best work yet, happy that she got a role to showcase what she can do after all that backlash and nepotism fiasco. Adarsh Gourav - What a different role from his previous works. Wouldn't have expected him to pull off this role with such ease. Siddhant Chaturvedi - hit/miss but still convincing in what was written for him.

The film was well shot. Apparently, the music is popular too....? I wouldn't know. It's different from the commercial mirch masala movies that only offer escapism and machismo. If any of ^ appeals to you, you should watch this film...with your friends.

That said.....the audience of this film will likely fall into two buckets: 1 - A group who will likely that DCH/Zindagi were a class apart and Kho Gaye comes nowhere close, but will still agree with the messaging.

2 - A group that will find it to be some of the most relatable content out there and possible look back at it in 10-15 years and cry their eyes out like group 1 does about DCH/Zindagi, as if it was written about their own lives.

Kho Gaye seems to have been made for a specific audience and does it well. That said, it does try very hard to be very relatable and it shows. Where DCH/ZNMD won was that these were merely stories of friends living their lives and didn't necessarily have stuff specifically written in so that the audience can relate to. You can tell Kho Gaye is trying too hard to be relevant - not that there's anything wrong with it, just didn't feel smoothly written. The songs, dunno, nowhere close to being as iconic as stuff from first two, DCH especially, this includes the lyrics. A Gen Z is likely to look at the characters, maybe 2/3 and say, these are rich people issues and I don't have the privilege of this. You can't necessarily say that about the first two movies even though we had Australia and Bagvati; if you know, you know.

That said, I'd much rather watch this film over some of the other stuff that has released this year. In my books, Kho Gaye > Pathaan, Jawan, Leo, King of Kotha, Salaar, etc. While I didn't enjoy HOW the story is being told, the WHAT is being told is relevant, it's the world we live in and the messaging needs to be acknowledged.

Watch it with your friends. :)

*Kho gaye hum kahan* is a proper flashback to the today's world and generation we sre living in. It has good music, a strong storyline, great characters, nice humor, and a message to all the people like us who are too much into the world of social media now, that we have lost our own identity, our own pleasures, our own life. The movie makes us question our choices, our daily routine, in a very subtle way. The movie is about three friends who have their own battles going on, one who is a gym freak, another who is a creative business mind, while the last one, the funny guy, and their traumas of life. It felt complete to me, the way they have shown the struggles of life, each one facing their own demons, it is very relatable, I just wanted some deep dialogues to be honest, that would have made this one a much better watch. The songs are great, not memorable, but with deep lyrics indeed. The last 20 minutes are very intense, and it will make you cry, if you have a past trauma. The first half is like a honeymoon period of everyone's life, with small inconveniences, but the movie escalates to the dark reality of everyday struggle, really quickly. People who have faced them in real life, will relate more, and those who don't, I hope you never do, but someday you will. It is a perfect watch, to make real life resolutions, and see how beautiful life is.