Co-written by Karan Tejpal, Gaurav Dhingra, and Swapnil Salkar, Stolen is a thriller that keeps one on its feet. Inspired by the Karbi Anglong mob lynching in 2018, the film boldly reminds us of a distinct divide between the privileged and the powerless, the enforcers and the civilians.
Karan Tejpal made his directorial debut with this film, which had its world premiere at the 2023 Venice International Film Festival. The film went on to screen at renowned festivals including Palm Springs, Zurich, and Beijing, where it garnered multiple awards.
Stolen is a story of a 5-month-old, her mother (Mia Maelzer), and two brothers who get magnetized into a world different from theirs. The brothers, Gautam Bansal (Abhishek Banerjee) and Raman Bansal (Shubham Vardhan), have different responses during a fight or flight situation, which begins to stir events that only get escalated from then on.
Characters of Stolen
The Bansal Brothers
Gautam is entitled and privileged. He asserts his place in the social hierarchy, not through words but actions. He casually offers Raman a drink while they wait to give witness testimony. Where Gautam shows no sympathy for Jhumpa, whose child has just been snatched, Raman, the good Samaritan, connects with her, trying to help with whatever little information he has.
Their consciences are poles apart. Where Gautam’s instinct is to shove money at every problem, Raman deals with it with care and tenderness. Raman questions authority and the importance of protocol given the urgency, while Gautam aims to sidestep the mess as quickly as possible. He tries to bribe the officer and even stops Raman from intervening when another witness is questioned. Their clashing mindsets keep them at odds for much of the film.
Jhumpa – The Weight of Quiet Prejudices
Portrayed by the brilliant Mia Maelzar, Jhumpa, a voiceless tribal woman, is misunderstood and questioned for most of the film. She is victim-blamed and even labeled as a child snatcher. Gautam’s resentment towards Jhumpa is barely concealed, surfacing in dismissive gestures and sharp looks.
People’s treatment and trust of her are dictated by her background, a reflection of how society projects biases based on class and circumstance. The film plays on this instinct, making us suspect Jhumpa of deceit, only to reveal the truth later, exposing our quiet prejudices in the process.
Jhumpa evolves from a seemingly helpless woman into someone fiercely determined. Though she asks the brothers for help, Gautam’s dismissive attitude forces her to declare she’ll find her daughter alone, not once, but twice. With each setback, her resolve hardens, as she limps toward a suspected location, axe in hand.
Unspoken Hierarchies
One of the film’s underlying themes is the quiet assertion of power. From the start, Gautam exerts his privilege, remaining indifferent as tensions escalate; preoccupied with flower arrangements while an infant remains missing.
The class divide becomes clearer in a seemingly harmless conversation when Gautam questions Jhumpa about taking her infant to Manali in harsh weather. For someone like her, such choices don’t exist. She quietly replies, “That’s how life is for us. We move for work.”
Jhumpa alone isn’t a victim to Gautam’s dominant nature. He bosses Raman around as well, but Raman has the luxury to make his own choices and even answer back to Gautam. Gautam’s elder brother syndrome shines through as they fight about why Raman chose to commute via train.
It’s in these small, seemingly ordinary moments that the film exposes the casual, persistent hierarchies that quietly shape lives, and so often go unchallenged. It leaves room for uncomfortable self-recognition, urging us to notice the hierarchies we unknowingly uphold.
The Paradox of Vigilante Justice in Stolen
The film deftly plants the idea of police inaction under certain circumstances, a theory believed by people across class lines. Both Raman and Jhumpa are prepared to take matters into their own hands, with Raman directly challenged by Inspector Shakti Singh to help Jhumpa find her child, a task he readily accepts.
As the story unfolds, misinformation spreads like wildfire. The unlikely trio is accused of being child snatchers. Videos, photos, and personal details circulate rapidly across social platforms, igniting public anger and a collective thirst for justice.
By the time the authorities intervene, the damage is done. Jhumpa is badly injured, some are dead, others wounded, and Gautam lies on the verge of being lynched.
This sequence lays bare a disturbing paradox. When the system fails, people turn to mob justice. An alternative that feels momentarily empowering but is unpredictable and often uncontrollable. Raman’s argument about police inaction is valid, yet it leaves an unsettling question: if the protectors falter, who delivers justice?
It’s a dangerous remedy for systemic failure, born from collective anger, and it rarely ends without devastation.
Where Privilege Falters
In a fierce, precarious chase, Raman is shot. For the first time, Gautam becomes vulnerable. His earlier dominance disappears as he desperately pleads with the mob to let them go. This scene plays a key role in his arc.
They escape the bloodthirsty mob and find refuge in an abandoned house. In a clever directorial touch, Gautam changes into a stolen kurta, its mismatched buttons quietly stripping him of the privilege and polish he once wore like armor.
For the first time in the film, Gautam consciously acknowledges Jhumpa. In a quietly moving moment, he calls out for her. He even warns her not to go, fearing she might get killed.
It’s a turning point where stripped of status and control, Gautam’s humanity surfaces, a reminder that fear, vulnerability, and survival momentarily level the sharpest divides.
How we can support independent cinema?
After Stolen spent two years making waves at international film festivals, it took four influential voices in Indian cinema – Anurag Kashyap, Kiran Rao, Nikkhil Advani, and Vikramaditya Motwane to come together as executive producers and finally bring the film for a global release. In a landscape where most independent films quietly disappear after their festival run, moves like this shift the equation. They create space for stories that deserve to be seen, where good cinema finds backing, and stories aren’t left stranded in the margins.