Missing: A progressive meltdown of a conformist rom-com

Watching films from other countries and cultures always feels like an open invitation to explore and wander through the nuances of others' lives, the very fabric of society, the ethos of the people, and the depth of their collective memory. However, if one wishes to learn about Nepali culture, 'Missing: Keti Harayeko Suchana' might not be the right movie for them.               

This film marked the maiden theatrical release of a Nepali film in Bangladesh. However, the debut was anything but fascinating, marred by stale storytelling and an unduly long runtime. 

The film is ambitious in its scope as it tackles many themes, including comedy, romance, escapade, culture, race, ethnic identity, and social milieu. Yet, the movie still fell flat on its face. 

The film begins in a seemingly unromantic setting with discomfort and menace—Sita, bound to a chair, handcuffed, and blindfolded inside a room, in a groggy state. 

Little did we know that this precarious situation was going to unravel into a shifting terrain of odds, love, and consequences between two people from opposite sides of Nepal's geographic and cultural map: the hills and the Tarai. 

The film's director, Deependra Gauchan, has been making films and series for nearly four decades and is known for his penchant for socially relevant subjects. He juxtaposes contrasting themes and strives to unite story, character, culture, and philosophy at a single, converging point.

So, what are the contrasts: Sita, a free-spirited, adventurous young girl, and Ram (Rambo), a soft-spoken, modest boy. Sita is from the hilly areas, while Ram is from a lowland region. Even within the roots of their family heritage and culture, a distance remains. Their upbringings unfold like narratives penned in different dialects. Shristi Shrestha plays the role of Sita, and Najir Husen stars as Ram.
One bears the features of the hill people, while the other carries the contours of the Indian plains. Their skin tones, too, stand in contrast. Between Sita and Ram lies a deep undercurrent of ethnic conflict as well. However, the director attempted to culminate these differences in a sweet-and-sour romantic journey with social commentary.
Gradually, it is revealed that Sita and Ram got connected through a dating app and met at a mall café. However, what starts as a casual meet-cute takes a sudden detour when Sita unknowingly sips coffee spiked with sleeping pill powder that Ram happens to be carrying.
Ram ultimately ends up kidnapping Sita. Baffled and unsure what to do, he placed the unconscious woman in the boot of his car and heads for Janakpur.
And as the narrative unfolds, Ram becomes Sita's tour guide, and the film aspires to become a love letter to Madhesh province: shimmering ponds reflecting the midday sun, groves of heavy-laden mango trees, the vivid colours of Holi, and the intricate warmth of Maithili people and their arts. Leaving the differences and questions suspended in the background, their love blooms, as often happens in films made in the Indian subcontinent.
Madheshi identity issues, the Madhesh–Pahad relationship, and post-movement disenfranchisement often find their way into contemporary arts, particularly in film, literature, and performance.
The recently acclaimed Nepali film Pooja, Sir, directed by Deepak Rauniyar—which had its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival last year—also carries the profound yet intricate resonance of the identical and political realities of Nepal and its people.
In a similar vein, Missing: Keti Harayeko Suchana also featured Madheshi people, culture, and beauty, but with a gentler touch, wrapped in a romantic-comedy package.
Although the film uses ethnocentrism and identity politics as a subtext, it could not break free from Bollywood's timeworn formula. This once-bankable template has grown increasingly irrelevant, even within Bollywood itself.
The film, especially in the second half, heavily relies on the unnecessary use of songs, which are not organically fitted into the narrative but appear to be inserted simply to extend the runtime.
A train encounter with the police strains for consistency (probably) but lands somewhere closer to irritation, its tonal confusion undermining whatever tension or wit it hoped to achieve.
A film cannot solely depend on its story while undermining other components, such as cinematography and editing, which contribute to the overall development of what we call a film.
The cinematography and editing techniques used in Missing: Keti Harayeko Suchana barely rise above the functional, lacking both aesthetic ambition and narrative rhythm. Often, due to a lack of visual depth and proper attention to compositional layering, scenes feel flat and disengaged.
On top of that, the excessive use of close-up shots disrupted the emotional flow. Editing could have shown potential to make the narrative even more alive for storytelling.
However, the start-to-finish linear timeline editing also failed to maintain the same level of attention until the end and markedly diminished the cinematic experience.
The film was released in Bangladesh under the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement on 18 July 2025 and runs for 2 hours and 40 minutes.