Millenial or Not: Kho Gaye Hum Kahan on Netflix is the year-end gift we all needed!
Spoiler Alert!
Was it the simple and oh so relatable emotions of Ahana and the way she expressed them – with a kind of raw reveal, fully aware she’s hurting, yet carrying on with life? Was it Imaad’s effortless charm, his unconditional presence in Ahana’s life; a platonic friend we all hold onto for dear life, or the need to hit it big in life like Neil? What made these 3 friends touch a nerve, nudge viewers to break into a nod, smile knowingly, yet not judge them, or their inadequacies? What made us, perhaps the most angry, raging, judgemental lot on the face of the online community not cast a finger on Neil’s transgressions, Imaad’s exploiting his friend’s personal life on stage and Ahana exploiting her own?
It has to be, undoubtedly, the super sensitive storytelling from Zoya Akhtar, with performances to match from a lead cast that gelled together like super glue!
Netflix’s Answer To Dwindling Storytelling In Bollywood?
If Bollywood needed help in casting and turning young, upcoming talent into powerful onscreen success stories, Netflix just did that overnight with Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav giving us a heartfelt story that spoke in subtle tones of clarity, endearing friendships, heartbreaking moments from those friendships and finally, closing in on a tight embrace, kind of, like a bear hug, to sign off the year with a message, (more than one) and new year resolutions to spark the most cynical amongst us to wonder… is this really us?
A Story For The Young Or … Young At Heart?
It might be said that Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is for the young 20 something year old who’s navigating through real life, social media, and the blurred lines between both. But it must be noted also, that Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is a pertinent watch for the older, 40 or even 50 something year olds who struggle to comprehend what the millennial of today is up against. And, who want them desperately to find their way, yet feel helpless in helping them navigate it! When Ahana’s mom asked her why she would want to get bogged down with marriage when there’s so much more to life, one felt it – a silent revolution of sorts where parent turns confidante turns friend, wanting the best for their children, yet, also, perhaps, rooting that best from the baggage of their own relationships?
The story maps the lives of 3 friends, their career, life choices, personal relationships, challenges with intimacy, childhood scars, parental relationships, or the absence of… and all this, against the backdrop of social media, online relationships, online images and those images, creeping into our real lives or ….vice versa!
Makes your head hurt?
Precisely, now … close your eyes and imagine this is real life for a 20 something year old on a daily basis. It can be said safely that Kho Gaye Hum Kahan might just give a new life to South Asian content on Netflix. The performances, from Ananya Panday’s innocent yet sharp Ahana who looked stunning btw, (and we bet her dm is swimming neck deep in messages from producers now), to Siddhant Chaturvedi’s Imaad with his swift mood swings; from self-deprecating comic sarcasm to a boyish charm and eventual helplessness & then, a comeback, to Adarsh Gourav aka Neil Pereira’s raw portrayal of a young guy who just wants to make it big and is willing to put in what it takes… but Fate has other plans.
Resonating With Audiences
The Netflix film has its finger on the pulse of the online (and offline) world – addressing generational gap, communication issues with parents, the complex relationship and commitment dilemmas of a generation that does not have a parental cushion to lean back on if things don’t work out (because they want to make it on their own, such is the pressure on their daily lives). Therapy is an option and the fact that Imaad continues with his sessions while he carries on with life was such a heartening, relief-filled story insert (including his gradual turn-around.)
Neil’s revenge rage was both shocking yet credible. The moment one realizes what he’s upto, is a gasp moment for viewers… it takes stellar storytelling for a writer to enable empathy, disbelief and disappointment for a character all in one and the same moment, yet, with a hope that he will redeem himself eventually. Ahana’s heartbreak was one that must have resonated with countless young people. Stalking an ex, carrying on a superficial online existence to maintain an image, keep playing and posting the online game, getting that temporary high from checking her phone and post, what was it, over 200 times a day(?) is perhaps as real as it gets. Ahana had everyone’s heart from the moment they set eyes on her and glimpses of Ahana is what everyone must have caught as a window into their own lives.
Ahana is no Netflix character.
She is, for all practical purposes, as real as it gets! Kho Gaye Hum Kahan couldn’t have dropped at a better time. As the world staggers back from Covid, full throttle now, influencers play the online game and Lala of Lalaland (aptly named) played by Anya Singh was perhaps a face of influencers we’d rather look away from.
Ahana taking a shot of her Tinder date’s hand and posting it as a romantic linkup to fool followers (and her ex) was a sad reminder that we often see the made up, the not real, life moments show up on social media. And to not believe everything we see. While Ahana seemed very aware that she was flirting with reality, many might not. And hence begins the virtual world of make believe that dupes us into feeling bad for ourselves everytime we follow influencers with near perfect posts, sprinkled with happy moments that might not even hit anywhere close to real life!
Take that for a bitter truth pill to swallow!
Kalki Koechlin though a great onscreen presence needed a slightly more chunky character to play with. Perhaps the story could have done her more justice or perhaps we expect more from a character performed by Kalki who has always given us super character roles.
Tinder rearing its ahem, ugly or dodgy head, time and again, reminded us that perfectly amiable, normal people like us, could sport a profile on this app. Not everyone is into long term relationships and the thriving business apps such as these are doing in our very neighbourhood is a nod at how we choose to lead our lives… connecting more than ever before, yet pulling us further apart than ever before.
Neil able to hack an Instagram account so easily was a bit of a damper as one wonders how, even if he got the password right, the app managed to check him in so smoothly. In the real world, there are a few more steps to slipping in. Perhaps if he’d taken help from a professional hacker, it might have been more believable. But nevertheless, that did not take away from the story much. The rage one feels and letting it lose on an unsuspecting online community was so real world. However, the fact that Neil owned up to his misdemeanour publicly was a bit far-fetched yet, great messaging. Especially as the voice-over spelt out… “my words and actions revealed who I am, more than what you are,” to Lala.
Imaad exploiting his friend’s personal lives to amp up his comedy act shed light on an ever-present debate. When dies comedy cross the line? When does free speech turn personal? Perhaps Neil answered that best for us, by questioning why Imaad doesn’t use his own life instances to make audiences laugh. Seems he got his answer in the final act and Imaad was certainly listening.
Was Neil’s redemption a tad too didactic or preachy, or even, spoonfeeding audiences a byte-sized lesson on online rage? Since the rest of the film had chosen to cut loose from moral policing, yes, perhaps this one was a bit in your face. Also, many questioned that Neil’s character was scripted a bit unfairly and the reasons for his behaviour were many and self explanatory. Nevertheless, it is perhaps noteworthy that Adarsh Gourav ended up performing Neil in such lifelike manner that despite his heinous act, deep down, we felt for him and the injustice done to his character – a win in the end!
Directorial Wins
There were moments when the scenes manifested a part of ourselves onscreen in a way that spoke out loud and clear. When all 3 friends are deep inside their phones, engrossed, engulfed with their virtual relationships, all 3 have baggage that needs to be lightened by sharing, communicating, talking to each other, but they tend to turn to their phones instead.
We saw ourselves in either one or all 3 of them.
Finally, The Takeaway From Kho Gaye Hum Kahan!
Among others, was the mantra that we hear often, yet perhaps needs to be fed again with resounding clarity. “Put down that cell phone and live life … with the people before you, in your life at present.”
Celebrate your relationships and be thankful for what you have in the now, rather than what you hope to get one day … and if you have friends like Ahana, Siddhant and Neil to celebrate New Year’s, make sure they’re by your side to ring in 2024!
Yeah, it’s the simple messages that are the hardest to get through?
So tell us now, how are you planning to celebrate the new year? Perhaps a Netflix watch with friends and/or family isn’t such a bad idea after all!
Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is streaming on Netflix. Penned by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti, it is produced by Farhan Akhtar with Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav in lead roles.
