Not much happens in Stolen, at least in terms of the number of events. But the shocking story, the possibility of something like this happening in real life, the harsh reality of the world, the desperation, poverty, and helplessness make Stolen a heartbreaking film. The film reminded me of Navdeep Singh's NH10, probably because of the type of locations where both films were shot, and also because of the story arcs of the protagonists, who, from feeling extremely terrified, reached a point where they simply became numb to everything.
Stolen, through its sharp script, manages to show the true India. It addresses topics that are often part of our dinner table conversations, although empathy is lacking when the privileged class talks about it, because they don't know what it feels like to be a victim of institutionalized corruption and when no one listens to your cries due to lack of resources. So, when Gautam Bansal found himself in such a situation, he just wanted to pay to get out of the trouble and not get involved. But her brother had other plans and wouldn't let her take the easy way out. Let's find out what happened in the film and what Gautam and his younger brother had to face to save an innocent woman.
Director: Karan Tejpal
Writers: Karan Tejpal, Gaurav Dhingra, Swapnil Salkar
Stars: Abhishek Banerjee, Mia Maelzer, Shubham Vardhan
Jhumpa, a worker who had escaped the clutches of her oppressive boss, was sleeping at the train station with her five-month-old daughter, Champa, when a woman arrived and took her baby. Jhumpa woke up in shock and began searching like crazy for her little girl. Jhumpa saw a man on the platform holding her daughter's woolen hat. She assumed he was the one who had stolen her baby, so she approached and started fighting him.
More people joined her, and they would undoubtedly have beaten up the anonymous man if her older brother, Gautam Bansal, hadn't arrived. Gautam told the crowd that Raman was her brother and that there must have been a misunderstanding, as he hadn't stolen anyone's baby and had come to his mother's wedding. The police officers, momentarily bewildered, forgot about the case when they learned it was his mother's wedding. They were two grown men, so it was a bit of a shock to grasp that information.
Raman had lost someone very dear to him and knew what it felt like to have someone you love taken away from you. Raman wanted to help Jhumpa, but Gautam, on the other hand, just wanted to pay the police and leave as soon as possible. Gautam didn't understand why Raman suddenly wanted to become a Good Samaritan when it was none of his business. Besides, Gautam was well aware of how someone could get involved in such cases, even through no fault of their own. The police also shared similar feelings as Gautam's. They, too, didn't want to be complicated by all the paperwork and increase their workload for no reason. Raman sensed they weren't taking Jhumpa's case seriously, so he made a few comments that infuriated them.
One of the police officers asked Raman to accompany them and help them search for the criminal, as he was the key witness in the case. Jhumpa doubted the tea stall vendor from the start, and when she overheard him talking to someone on the phone, she realized he was also part of the conspiracy. The police interrogated him, and he revealed that there was an organized crime that stole newborn babies. They told him he would receive 5,000 rupees for each baby he helped them steal. He told the police that the woman named Surili, who had stolen the baby, was in an abandoned mansion, which the locals called the cursed mansion, located on the outskirts of the village. Gautam didn't want to go, but Raman left him no choice. Enraged, Gautam got into his car and started following the police officers.
Gautam, Raman, Jhumpa, and the two police officers reached the cursed mansion, where they almost caught Surili. She was staying there, and the police officers realized that even the baby had been held there for some time. Surili ran for her life, and Gautam, on impulse, threw a wooden plank at her, causing her to fall into a ditch. Gautam and the others ran after her, only to find that the woman had died from the fall.
Gautam might have been the most heartless man till then, but he hadn't killed anyone in his life. He was in a state of shock, and Raman kept telling his elder brother that it wasn't his fault. Meanwhile, the police officers learned that Jhumpa's boss had been looking for her ever since she ran away with her baby. They believed Jhumpa was the baby thief, not the other way around. Obviously, she was a poor woman, and it was wise to ignore her version of events. Before the police could catch Jhumpa, she too fled the scene, leaving the boys alone with them.
The police had the opportunity to threaten the boys and extort money from them. Raman gave them cash and Gautam's expensive watch. The police officer, Panditji, promised that he would handle the matter internally and ensure the case was closed. Gautam breathed a sigh of relief, but the peace was short-lived; he realized that Raman had helped Jhumpa hide in the trunk of his car. Gautam was furious, as he couldn't imagine how his brother could be so foolish.
There came a time when even Raman began to doubt Jhumpa's intentions and felt she was lying about everything. But Jhumpa wasn't lying. She showed Gautam the C-section scar on her abdomen and told him it was his baby. In reality, Jhumpa had agreed to be a surrogate mother for her employer, Daya. It was an illegal surrogacy, so Jhumpa couldn't take the matter to court. As fate would have it, Jhumpa gave birth to twins, and since the agreement was to give one baby to her employer, she took the other. Now her employer wanted both babies, and Jhumpa was determined not to be separated from her daughter.
Another problem was that a video of Gautam and Raman had spread on social media, showing them arguing with the police. A rumor spread that they were the ones stealing children from the train station. Jhumpa and Raman had found the ID of a man named Acchelal in the same haunted mansion where they found Surili. They believed he was the ringleader of the organization. That ID was issued by a rehabilitation center, and the three believed Acchelal worked there. But before Gautam, Jhumpa, and Raman could reach the rehabilitation center, they were caught by locals, who harassed them, believing them to be baby snatchers.
The ensuing chase was one of the most harrowing I've seen in recent memory. The mob fired at Gautam's car, and they eventually had to abandon it and hide in a ramshackle building deep inside the village. Raman was severely injured, and Gautam feared his brother would lose his life before they could take him to the hospital. Gautam, at the end of "Stolen," decided to fetch water for Raman and call for help. But the angry mob caught him and, without even listening to what he said, almost beat him to death.
If Panditji, the policeman, hadn't arrived just in time, the mob would have killed Gautam. That beating, that feeling of not being heard, and that anger and helplessness at not being treated the way he deserved, changed something inside Gautam. He probably understood what Jhumpa may have felt all his life. Gautam and Raman were sent to a nearby hospital, where Panditji took Jhumpa. Gautam was in the ambulance when he realized the man driving it was Acchelal. Gautam arrived at the hospital and tried to find the head doctor. It emerged that the entire hospital was involved in child theft. They took huge sums of money from families who couldn't have children or wanted them for other purposes. They then stole children and handed them over to the paying family. Gautam was seriously injured, but he fought for Jhumpa and made sure Acchelal couldn't leave until the police arrived.
I think the whole incident changed Gautam's perspective on life. He saw the plight of a mother who only wanted to keep her child and found herself in conflict with the police. He didn't understand the world he lived in. There was a moment when Raman told him not to think only of his pockets, implying that not everything in life could be bought with money. In the end, a battered Gautam sat next to his brother, who was lying in the hospital bed.
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