CAST: . Barun Sobti, Bidita Bag, Rashi Mal, Saqib Ayub,  Vitthal Kale and Pallavi Patil

BLUF

A real estate professional Sahir visits a resort in Lonavla for work with his wife, Dhwani who wants to celebrate her birthday there. This sets up the plot for Dhwani’s sister Payal, who has been incommunicado with her, to turn up at the resort.

Dhwani progressively learns of Payal’s spontaneous trip to Goa, but lack of any communication from her end makes the absence more mysterious. The story of where Payal went starts then.

THE MEAT AND THE POTATOES

Shot with a skeletal cast and crew in the heart of Maharashtra this series falls flat.

The thriller is too unsophisticated to create any sense of intrigue or conflict, the writing is too basic, and the characters are inadequately created. There is zero audiences connection with the characters and they seem superficial to the story. The plot of the triller is so weak that even with very convincing actors the intrigue element stays low throughout the episodes.

IN THE ZONE

You know the script and direction have failed when Barun Sobti, whose performances have been super in Asur, fails with The Missing Stone and his casting seems inappropriate. There is nothing in the script or the finale that justifies the actors’ talent or presence.

Bidita Bag has a meaty role but her performance comes off as flaky especially in the finale where her dialogues seem scrammed for emotion and honestly comically hammed.

Rashi Mal as Payal and Saqib Ayub as Ryan don’t have much footage. Vitthal Kale and Pallavi Patil as the custodians of the resort have brief but impactful performances.

Though the Missing Stone is not unwatchable, it’s so lamentably insipid. Ranjat Patnaik and Brince Bora’s music score sets up the plot at its various junctures, but the bad script does not help the impact.  Cinematographer Vikramkumar Amladi has used the sequences in a resourceful manner, and it is commendable given that he has such limited availability of options to work with.

FWAR

Everything in the series happens too quickly and too effortlessly. The director maintains the reveal of the story for the last scene but there is not much of a surprise for the audience as it is easily speculated.

WHAT WE LOVED

Short episodes.

WHAT WE MISSED

A good script, tight direction, better thriller plot.