The Missing Stone is an Indian Hindi Mystery Thriller Web series directed by Vishal Furia and Alok Naik. It stars Barun Sobti, Bidita Bag, Rashi Mal, Saqib Ayub, Vitthal Kale, and Pallavi Patil in main roles. It has a total of 5 episodes and was released on 25th December 2020 on MX Player.
Payal (Rashi Mal) and Ryan (Saqib Ayub) arrive at a picturesque hotel, The Stone House in Lonavala to enjoy. Next, we are introduced to a couple, Dhwani (Bidita Bag), who is the sister of Payal, and her husband Sahir (Barun Sobti). Sahir is a real estate agent and wants to give a tour of that Stone House to a client and a meeting is fixed and Dhwani asks Sahir to take her with him to that hotel as it's her birthday the next day. She is worried about her sister Payal as she never misses to wish her on her birthday.
They soon get to know that Payal is missing from the day they arrived there whereas Ryan and Payal both fought that day and Ryan had left her alone that night. From that instant, Payal is missing but Dhwani is still getting messages and videos from Payal. So the question is, where is Payal? Is she dead or alive? On this birthday, Dhwani has to go through her worst nightmare and revelations about Sahir and Ryan that will change everything between them.
The story is by Ambar Hadap and the screenplay is by Kalyani Pandit. This series is shot during the lockdown period, kudos for attempting to do a murder mystery but as you know it has it's limitations. The series starts well and holds your attention as you get to know Payal is missing and she's a bit impulsive and unpredictable. The first episode successfully raises the bar by delivering many tense scenes and puzzling moments.
But it worsens with every episode and you might even predict what's going to happen next and who might be the killer. This is where it fails miserably to keep its unpredictability. And your interest loosens from this wanna be whodunit thriller which gradually becomes a drama. There was a 4 episodes series called The Gone Game released on Voot this August which was also shot during the lockdown period and took amazing advantage of this Corona pandemic and the result was just brilliant.
There were limitations too but they did succeed in making a murder mystery quite effectual by delivering many unpredictable twists and turns. Here, they had a good cast and the execution is also all right but the story and screenplay fail here to keep you invested in this murder mystery. The characterizations and relationship dynamics here seem fake between them hence you'll not be interested in spend the two hours with them as you can easily predict who's the killer.
Barun Sobti is good as Sahir. The craziness that was required for this character is absent here and you don't hate him or you love him. After Asur and Halahal, expectations are high for Barun now and he has chosen projects wisely. Bidita Bag as Dhwani is just average and Saqib Ayub as Ryan also fails to leave any marks. Rashi Mal as Payal is quite okay but her character demands more from her. Vitthal Kale as Somnath and Pallavi Patil as Hema, the caretakers of that place, have lent good support.
The cinematography by Vikramkumar Amladi is good and the aerial shots are beautiful which shows the lockdown prevailing all over the place as the roads appear empty and the shots are gorgeous. The editing by Abhijit Deshpande and Satyajit Kelkar is good and sharp.
The Missing Stone is missing many things, a nice performance from all actors, a gripping story and emotions, and many things. The pace is slow which is all right and could have worked for the favor of the show but the makers fail to keep you engaged. It fails miserably what this series wants it to be. You can skip it as the twists are unsurprising and can be calculated from miles away what will happen in the climax. You can watch The Gone Game on Voot instead. If you want to give this a chance, you can, as it is streaming for free.
Rating:- 1.5/5
Now streaming on MX Player.
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