In a pivotal scene from Netflix’s Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, two men have an argument that becomes personal. “Zara si intimacy handle nahi hoti,” “Tu emotionally stunted hai bro” are just some of the verbal volleys exchanged. So elegantly crafted, these sound like cautiously observed feedback offered over a google doc rather than a blowout between two young-blooded men who in that moment at least, want to inflict pain. The confrontation isn’t physical as much as it is emotionally loaded. Because only people who know you might say the precise thing that breaks you in ways no one else can. The tenor and construction of these barbs feel far too accessorized, but their relatability (and woke quotient) cannot be debated. Maybe this is how ‘zillennials’ lock horns. Not with an aggressive reflex but a suggestive, yet vindictive poke. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is a fascinating survey of the social media generation, except when it wants to view them through lens of tradition.
Neil, Ahana and Imaad are three friends living in upper-tier Mumbai. They live out of a palatial flat, but are somehow broke still. Imaad, played by Siddhant Chaturvedi, is an entitled stand-up rookie. Ahana, played by Ananya Panday, is a workaholic MBA type, while Neil, played by Adarsh Gourav, is a fitness trainer trying to make it on his own. Social media is the centring axis against which each of these lives will be traced.
The provocation is clear as day. Imaad might be witty but carries a hint of trauma behind his endless flings. Neil is more of a romantic at heart, but fantasizes about the privileges he, or his father, cannot afford. His arc is perhaps the most interesting of the lot, for he endures humiliation in a way few would understand. Ahana, on the other hand, belongs to an old school of thought, the kind that still believes in relationships and fidelity. This is maybe one of Panday’s best performances, insomuch as you don’t see this version of her coming - a level-headed, career-oriented, desexualized agony aunt.
The three friends deal with different challenges. They live together, trust each other enough to want to be business partners and open up rather impressively about their indiscretions. Their chemistry, however, is of the lukewarm quality, ironically resonant with the Instagram connections the film is gunning after.
Maybe that’s the point. Modern friendships maybe essentially are roster fillers in places where life has learned to nurture blanks (or posts, tweets and reels). The film at least in that sense, subverts our expectation of Hindi cinema folklore. No wires cross, so to speak, in a refreshing update to relationships shared by men and women.
Directed by debutant Arjun Varain Singh, Kho Gaye Hum Kahan has the music, the aesthetic and most importantly, the semi-polite woke lingo of the urban elite. It takes a chainsaw to the phenomenon of social media influencers. In one scene, a popular internet celebrity masterfully orchestrates a make-believe birthday party to show off. It’s slyly satirical, if seen through the eyes of the comedian but stops short of becoming scathing satire.
The film, co-written by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, doesn’t adopt absurdism, but only the glum pathos of watching incredibly lonely people do silly things to fill a void they can’t even describe.
To which effect, the narrative offers a grim undertone of isolation and some not-so-convincing theories about its effects, as they manifest on the surface. Some of these feel like re-imagined versions of old tropes. Like watching old people try to make sense of all the recklessness with outdated tools and metrics. In fact, for all of its ‘wokeisms’, the film struggles to recommend a new paradigm for sex, pleasure and ‘living in the moment’.
There is definitely a lot to like about Kho Gaye Hum Kahan. The music fits the brief, the actors pull their weight– including an excellent Panday – and the provocations suggested are relevant to the age. The only let-down maybe is that Akhtar and Co’s writing never truly becomes about one thing or the other. The individual arcs are interesting, but they coalesce into one unseemly whole.
For a film about friendship, the chemistry between the three feels forced as opposed to persuasive. And though this is a film about the upper 1 percent, the ones who set social media trends as opposed to following them, there isn’t enough bite to the satirical ledge you are offered a view from, without being allowed to jump into the abyss below. That said, like the monster of social media it hovers around, there is plenty to debate, dissect and outrage about to warrant your dry eyes, swollen ears and tired thumbs.
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