Missing Boy

The love for one's mother, or the 'mother sentiment' as filmmakers call it, is quite literally the most effective storytelling tool to draw emotional audiences in India. And Missing Boy, a story based on a real story of a boy coming from Europe in search of his parents, has the right premise for that. Does it work? Yes, to a great extent.

The story of Missing Boy is simple. A grown man discovers that he was adopted 25 years ago and he has almost no clues towards finding who his birth parents are. He sets out on a trip to India to search for his parents, with the help of a journalist, police officer and a cab driver. The real victory lies in the emotional portrayal of the journey to find the parents.

A similar thread was seen in the Hollywood film Lion. While that film saw technology play a big role in the journey, out here it is feelings and sentiments that play the navigator through the journey. The film begins on a rocky note, but it picks up good pace once the team embarks on the journey to find the protagonist's mother.

Rangayana Raghu is the biggest highlight of the film, with his restrained performance of Lavakumar, a character based on a real officer by the same name. Gurunandan gives the film his best, but one wishes he could have been a little more expressive in the pivotal emotional scenes. The ensemble cast, which includes many known names, do their bit. The sentimental track composed by V Harikrishna, is a clincher and can leave one soppy eyed.

Missing Boy is a film for those who love their family dramas replete with emotions. There are also mass references to matinee idols, which work well for cinephiles. Yes, there are a few English dialogues in the first half when the film is still based in Europe that can evoke chuckles, but the film picks up on emotional quotient thereafter, which makes it pardonable.