The Gone Game Review: Sanjay Kapoor, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Shweta Tripathi Star in This Inventive Thriller That Smartly Plays Within Lockdown Rules

The Gone Game Review: In 2018, Indo-American filmmaker Aneesh Chaganty had made Searching, a gripping thriller that was set entirely on computer screens and mobile phones. It was a bold and ingenious idea that worked well in an already intriguing thriller. Voot Select's new series, The Gone Game, seems to venture a little close to Searching, as most of its intense thrills come from smartphones and laptop screens. But the context feels relatable to most of the country, for it is set during the pandemic. The Gone Game: Shriya Pilgaonkar, Arjun Mathur, Shweta Tripathi to Star in a Thriller Series Shot in Lockdown.

Directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, The Gone Game puts the spotlight on the Gujral family, whose members are stuck in different cities either in India or across the world, when the pandemic struck the entire globe. The father Rajeev Gujral (Sanjay Kapoor) is in New Delhi, and is having a discreet affair with a younger girl, while he is hounded by calls from Chaudhary (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), from whom he has borrowed Rs 10 crore.

The mother, Suneeta (Rukhsar Rehman) is in Lucknow, and the younger daughter Amara (Shweta Tripathi Sharma) is in Bangalore. The elder son Sahil (Arun Mathur) is in Mumbai with his wife Suhani (Shriya Pilgaonkar), who is an Instagram influencer. The other two important characters are Barkha (Lubna Salim), Suhani's mother, and Prateek (Indraneil Sengupta), a doctor who is a close friend of Sahil and also happens to be Amara's ex.

The series begins during the first phase of lockdown when many of us thought that banging thaalis and shouting 'Go Corona Go' would be enough to dispel coronavirus. Remember those naive times? Seems like a distant past, as the country is all set to become second in the world in terms of COVID-19 cases.

Anyway, this was the time when Coronavirus was just about to leash its fury across the country, and Sahil, who apparently returned from Bangkok, has quarantined himself fearing he has COVID-19 symptoms. When the symptoms get more serious, he gets admitted himself in a hospital, with Prateek taking him there.

Watch The Trailer of The Gone Game:

The Gujrals later get the terrible news that Sahil has passed away and that the hospital cremated the body, since no one is allowed to move out during the lockdown. Here's where the mystery deepens, as Suhani begins to feel spooky happenings at her house, while Amara gets a call from her brother's missing mobile that gets cut within seconds.

So is Sahil alive or dead? If he is alive, what really happened to him? If he is dead, did the virus kill him or was it a cold-blooded murder? The suspense builds up as Amara and her family members try to find out the truth while desperately stuck at their homes. OTT Releases Of The Week: Bobby Deol's Class Of '83, Jurnee Smollett's Lovecraft Country, Swara Bhasker's Flesh and More New Content To Binge-Watch!

In between the Gujral crisis, The Gone Game also ominously reminds you of the increasing Corona numbers (What? The clapping didn't work?), the migrant crisis (that the influential uses to serve their own nefarious purposes) and the insensitivity of some of the people around us, that come out of their fear of something they can't understand.

You have to admit the audacity of the makers of The Gone Game, for creating an engaging thriller within the confines of their limitations. Yes, it has problems galore, and I am going to get to that a bit later. But the flaws shouldn't take away the dedication of the team involved to craft a suspenseful drama that keeps you hooked throughout its four episodes.

The idea to use smartphones and laptop screens to show most of its plot devices works well in providing many of its visual cues. It also helps in deepening its suspense factor, as we, the audience, along with its main characters, become involved in the happenings. It might come across as a gimmick at times, and some of the events need you to not question the logic of it all. Like, the insistence of video-calling when a normal call would have sufficed, especially when the scene involves the main characters. There are other plotholes too, like, why being such an influential family (Rajeev even has connections with the ACP), that Suhani is never allowed to see her husband's dead body. This is India, BTW, and a little influence goes a big way here.

Or for the matter, who was the person Suneeta saw at Suhani's house through her phone during the puja ceremony for her son's soul. That little mystery never gets solved.

But it is a highly commendable job to get to shoot a captivating thriller with actors stuck (IRL) at their homes. Thanks to Bhat's direction, along with the brisk editing (Amit Kumar and Manish Mistry) and the cunning camerawork (Piyush Puty), The Gone Game works in most parts. There is plenty of tense moments and the background score (Nayantara Bhatkal and Aditya N) amps up the momentum where needed.

Where things feel amiss is in how the mystery unravels in the final episode. Without offering any spoilers, I have to say I was underwhelmed by the rushed writing in these portions. There are plenty of convenience trops and the lack of proper explanation makes the reasoning and execution feel implausible. The series ends on a cliffhanger, with the promise of a new season  that might solve some of the loopholes, but I wish this episode was better written.

All the actors do a commendable job, again given the restrictions of working it out mostly all alone. That said, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Shweta Tripathi Sharma get more scope in their roles and manage to stand out.

Yay!

- Smart Making

- Game Cast

Nay!

- The Final Episode

Final Thoughts

The Gone Game comes across as a commendable example that creativity can work wonders within restrictions. Taut and captivating, the series keeps you engaged with its ingenious making and mystery-building for most of its parts. The Gone Game is streaming on Voot Select.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2020 04:30 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).