The Missing Stone is a mystery series directed by Vishal Furia and Alok Naik. The series stars Barun Sobti, Bidita Bag, Rashi Mal and Saqib Ayub.
Ah, the complicated minds of people who create murder mystery shows. Shows that make you think about how a particular chain of events took place and who could’ve committed that heinous crime. A show filled with twists and turns that keeps you wondering even after it’s over. However, The Missing Stone isn’t any of those things.
The Missing Stone follows Dhwani who, after reaching their secluded resort with her husband, realises that something sinister might have come over her sister. What follows is her quest to find the truth.
This is one of the most boring thrillers I have seen in a while. Right off the bat, you realise what’s actually going on in the series. The Missing Stone tries to pass off Payal’s disappearance as a mystery but also gives ample proof that she might actually be dead. It’s an odd choice to make honestly. You also get a limited number of people in the show to be the culprit, so it is also insanely obvious as to who could’ve committed the murder.
The Missing Stone is a post-lockdown series and thus it makes ample use of the lockdown in its narrative. It features a skeletal cast and crew and most of the actors are wearing masks. There aren’t too many people on the roads and the stores are also closed. The series could’ve benefitted from this eerie setup. However, it is nothing more than a bland mess that we have seen time and again.
The series focuses far too much on Dhwani’s anxiety with Payal’s disappearance and we follow her running around trying to figure out what’s going on while we already know the truth. This makes the story drag on for no reason. It never really provides any solid twists and thus, the paper-thin plot becomes a glaring flaw. The characters too are pretty uninteresting without any background. Since they aren’t properly fleshed out, you don’t care about what they are doing or if something happens to them.
The series also tries to put the “poor people get into trouble due to rich people” narrative into the mix while trying to sell to us that Somnath might be a bad guy. It feels weird and forced because the transition happens all of a sudden. However, when something similar happens with another character, it doesn’t create much of an impact. The series is riddled with moments like these which make it confusing and redundant.
The only good thing is probably its length. The Missing Stone has 5 episodes and each is hardly 20 minutes. Thus, you don’t have to suffer for too long. However, the ending of the series is probably the laziest piece of writing I have seen in a while. If you watch this, you’ll get what I’m saying. The performances, however, are somewhat ok. Bidita Bag and Barun Sobti do a believable job as Dhwani and Sahir. However, with a script this bland, there’s only so much they can do.
Summing up: The Missing Stone
There’s something about The Missing Stone that makes it more boring than your average bad thriller. The writing is absolutely lacklustre and leaves very little for you to wonder. You realise what’s going to happen in the first episode or two. This means that there’s no reason for you to go through this 2-and-a-half-hour show because, well, it’s not new. The plot, which consists of an extra-marital affair, a murder and jealous lovers is something we have seen time and time again and thus, isn’t something that excites the audience anymore.
The Missing Stone is streaming on MX Player.
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