Kidnap
2008 · Directed by Sanjay Gadhvi
Original language: Hindi
- action
- crime
- thriller
The story
A fortnight before her eighteenth birthday, Sonia goes missing. Her family receives a call informing them that she has been kidnapped and her estranged father, a US-based businessman, must now follow the kidnapper’s instructions to the letter if he is to entertain any hopes of seeing her alive again. Is this a mere kidnapping or is there more to it than what meets the eye?
What it’s like
Glossy, high-contrast digital photography, with bright saturated city daylight and sleek interiors that shift into cooler, shadowed tones during the tense stretches. Scenes cut quickly between a worried family and a menacing phone line, and the framing favours close, anxious shots of faces and hands gripping receivers. The score is driven by thudding percussion and orchestral swells that rise sharply into chase sequences, with brief stretches of quiet when a plan is being set in motion. The vibe is slick, pulse-quickening suspense with a melodramatic streak, the kind of film that suits a Friday night with the lights down, or a long flight where it can carry you through its twists. Its pacing is brisk and escalating, its emotional register heated, and the central arc follows an estranged father forced to confront his past under pressure. Violence is present in action beats and tense confrontations, with some peril and fear but no sustained gore, and nothing gentle about its tension. It is for viewers who enjoy commercial Bollywood thrillers, big set pieces and a steady drumbeat of suspense.
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