Dramas woven around the theme of lost and found is a iconic trope in Hindi cinema. From melodrama to mockery (remember Amar and Prem’s phony separated-at-Kumbh Mela reunion in a gag of Andaz Apna Apna?), there are numerous instances of its presence.

In Laapataa Ladies, which hits the screens on March 1, the amusing search that follows when two brides get lost on a train in rural India forms the focus of Kiran Rao’s second film.

On that note, Sukanya Verma jogs our memory over lost and found movies of Bollywood.

 

Jawan

A son grows up without his army officer father whom he believes to be dead.

A father survives the attack and comes to his rescue stronger than ever.

Shah Rukh Khan plays both these characters to wolf-whistling effect in Atlee’s blockbuster potboiler playing on the classic lost and found ideals to the hilt.

 

Jagga Jasoos

Anurag Basu’s whimsical musical starring Ranbir Kapoor as a young man, searching for his mysteriously missing daddy, leads to all kinds of adventures while highlighting its heartfelt father-son bond.

 

Bajrangi Bhaijaan

A mute Pakistani kid finds a saviour in Salman Khan when she accidentally separates from her mother and lands in India’s capital city of Delhi.

How Salman helps her reunite with her family, sans documents or visa, along with the help of Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s local reporter from across the border forms the heart of Bajrangi Bhaijaan’s emotional storytelling.

 

Pinjar

Based on Amrita Pritam’s poignant novel, Pinjar recounts the horrors of Partition when families were forced to flee their homes or lose dear ones in the aftermath of communal riots.

Despite the twist of destiny, Urmila Matondkar and Priyanshu Chatterjee play siblings, who never stop looking or hoping to meet each other. Until they do, only to part again.

 

Halo

Santosh Sivan’s obscure gem for kids captures a knee high girl’s love for and desolation over her lost puppy over a frantic search for the missing pooch all over town.

Do you know director Rajkumar Santoshi played the role of her dog-detesting daddy in the movie?

 

Amar Akbar Anthony

King of escapist entertainment Manmohan Desai turned lost and found into an art form of sorts.

It forms a recurring theme in most of his multi-starrers, of which the secular bromance between Vinod Khanna’s Amar, Rishi Kapoor’s Akbar and Amitabh Bachchan’s Anthony as brothers separated at childhood enjoys a hallowed place in movie memories.

 

Dharam Veer

As does Dharam Veer, another blockbuster set in the realm of kitschy costume drama fantasy that pits Dharmendra and Jeetendra as long lost brothers. One grows up to be a royal and the another a blacksmith’s son.

It’s not until they’re ready to spill each other’s blood in the end that someone stops them to inform its their own.

 

Johnny Mera Naam

Vijay Anand’s slick slice-of-crime is an evergreen entertainer for more reasons than one, among which Dev Anand and Pran’s portrayal as boxing brothers is right on top.

As kids, one goes missing following their policeman father’s murder only to be reunited by, what else, boxing, of course.

 

Yaadon Ki Bharat

Bad guy ruins a happy family picture right after they’ve sung a happy family song only to be reunited years later thanks to the same happy family song.

Nasir Hussain’s musical lost and found tale boasts of a melodious soundtrack, including the beloved title track picturised on brothers (Dharmendra, Tariq, Vijay Arora) oblivious to their blood connection since they got separated as kids, one of them played by a wee Aamir Khan.

 

Ram Aur Shyam, Seeta Aur Geeta, Chaalbaaz, Judwaa

All our significant movies about identical twins, separated immediately after birth, growing up to be as different as chalk and cheese until the daredevil one swaps places with the timid sibling and changes the status quo are of the keen belief why fix what’s not broken.

 

Waqt

Yash Chopra’s glamorous take on the lost and found story is thought of as one of the earliest instances of a multi-starrer.

True to his dramatic vision, he makes the falling apart and coming together of a scattered family starring Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Shashi Kapoor as brothers a treat to watch even after all these years.

 

Kismat

Gyan Mukherjee’s Kismat paved the way for the lost and found genre.

The ‘Madan’ tattooed on Ashok Kumar’s wrist goes a long way in reuniting him with his long lost father prompting the latter to atone for his sins on learning the woman his son loves is the daughter of the man he’s wronged for years.



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