Stolen Ending Explained: Is Jhumpa Reunited With Her Daughter?

At the end of ‘Stolen,’ the fate of a kidnapped child, a mother, and two brothers is tied with a single twist of fate. Inspired by the infamous Karbi Anglong Lynching case, which took place in Assam in 2018, where two tourists were killed under the suspicion of being child abductors, this Amazon Prime mystery thriller follows Gautam and Raman Bansal, who come across a child kidnapping and find themselves sinking deeper into the investigation. As their search takes them through a haunting and traumatic experience, the brothers, along with Jhumpa, the mother, must drive through unknown territories and face dangers yet unimaginable to them. Mystery, trust, and fear swallow the narrative as the truth about Jhumpa unravels. Pitted against a faceless network of viral misinformation and mob violence, the three characters search for answers.

Stolen Plot Synopsis

Gautam Bansal reaches the railway station to pick up his brother, Raman, for their mother’s wedding, only to find him being accused of kidnapping a child. Managing to clear Raman’s name, he expects to leave. Instead, he gets tangled in a web of mysteries, as Raman’s insistence on finding the baby leads the police to an abandoned manor, which the kidnapper, Surili, uses as a hideout. Her attempts to flee lead to her death after Gautam throws a log at her. With the only lead to Champa turning into a dead-end, the group then scours through Surili’s belongings to find a lead. Jhumpa manages to link her and a possible accomplice to a rehabilitation center in the nearby village, Bansdola. Just then, the police receive a call revealing that Jhumpa is a red-alert criminal. Before they can arrest her, Jhumpa seemingly flees.

After bribing the police officers and driving away, Raman reveals to Gautam that he has snuck her into the car and that she is innocent. Following intense arguments, an agitated and reluctant Gautam agrees to take them to Bansdola. Before they can reach, however, the events take a violent turn. A video misconstruing the narrative and labeling the trio as child-lifters has gone viral. The local villagers, eager to hunt them down, form a large mob and begin attacking them. With no time to process the events, the trio desperately tries to drive away. A chase ensues; the mob, now on bikes and cars, uses every weapon at their disposal to enact their twisted sense of justice. Out of nowhere, a journey to find the truth transforms into a race for survival.

Stolen Ending: Is Jhumpa Reunited with Her Daughter?

Barely making it out of the chase alive, the trio heads for Bansdola village in search of Acchelal, Surili’s mysterious accomplice. The villagers continues to pursue relentlessly, narrowing down their path to escape. Forced to ditch the car, and with Raman inches away from death, Gautam and Jhumpa decide to head out; their only hope is to survive the mob’s inhumanity and dig deep for answers. After many arduous trials, Jhumpa reunites with her daughter, narrowly avoiding her illegal adoption as an orphan with a fake birth certificate. This comes with the arrest of everyone involved in this illegal operation, a feat only made possible by Gautam’s valiant efforts.

Throughout the movie, Gautam is frustrated, having to put up with this mess and missing his mother’s marriage. As their situation worsens, his frustration progressively turns into anger and then despair. At the center of his reaction is a lack of care for what happens to Jhumpa and her daughter. Deeply distrusting her story, he is immediately dismissive of the idea of them recovering the child. Over the course of their search, however, Gautam has a change of heart and, in the end, is the only conscious man in the story who cares about what happens to the baby. His character goes through a transformation, as his avoidant, selfish personality gives way to a man who fights tooth and nail to save Champa.

Despite being saved from those dire circumstances, Champa’s future remains bleak. Gautam learns that Jhumpa and Daya Madam are set to be imprisoned for participating in an illegal surrogacy. Despite the bravery displayed by Jhumpa and the brothers, Champa’s fate hangs in the air. Even if she is to be rescued, she will be cycled through various institutions, with no one to call a mother. While being sent to the hospital, Gautam asks if anyone will look for the child, to which Panditji solemnly replies that the system doesn’t care about her. At that moment, Gautam has to face the bitter truth of the disparity and injustices the underprivileged face, fueled by the evils of men like Acchelal.

Who is Acchelal?

After an intense interrogation at the start of the movie, the tea-seller revealed that Surili had once been called an accomplice to the Cursed Manor. This accomplice, we learn, is called Acchelal. While the entire narrative is spent building up this mysterious figure, the reveal of his identity is ironic in nature. Both Gautam and Jhumpa independently discover who Acchelal is. Jhumpa does so by breaking into the rehabilitation center and aggressively asking about his whereabouts. It is here she learns that Acchelal is a local wrestler who works in the hospital as an ambulance driver.

By a strange twist of fate, Acchelal is revealed to be the one driving the ambulance carrying Raman and Gautam. After realizing the same, Gautam begins to tail Acchelal, who seems to be in a hurry.  As it turns out, Acchelal had found his name on the drug rehabilitation booklet inside Raman’s pocket, forcing him to urgently procure a fake birth certificate for the baby and give her away, erasing all evidence. Gautam, who sees all of this, rushes to the scene at the last minute, blowing their cover and creating a public ruckus to disrupt their actions. Acchelal is caught red-handed, and so is the hospital, as the den of this illegal operation. Despite Champa being freed, the question of Jhumpa’s motherhood remains a topic of contention.

Is Champa the Real Daughter of Jhumpa?

While driving through a horde of mobs, Jhumpa gets a call from her brother, which Raman receives. Here, Jhumpa’s brother claims that she has made a big mistake by kidnapping her madam’s daughter. Following this revelation, Gautam and Raman are infuriated, lamenting their decision to trust Jhumpa and participate in the search. Their involvement leads to a target on their head, one that results in Raman getting shot. Jhumpa, trying to aid Raman, is forced away by Gautam, who curses her for destroying their lives with her dishonesty. With only one way left to prove that she is telling the truth, Jhumpa reveals her surgical scar, confirming that Champa is indeed her child.

This moment of catharsis comes after a series of doubts about Jhumpa’s true motivations. Initially, she claims that she ran away from her village following her husband’s false incrimination. However, pieces of the truth are revealed in the form of hints: large amounts of cash in her bag and pictures of her daughter living in affluence raise suspicion and put her claim of being innocent into question. Jhumpa reveals that she was the illegal surrogate mother for a wealthy woman whom she calls Daya Madam, the new assumption being that she had.

While Gautam pursues Acchelal in the hospital, in a parallel scene, the police finally manage to catch hold of Jhumpa in the rehabilitation center and, before arresting her, decide to take her to the hospital. During the ride, Panditji asks for her reason for running away with the baby after taking her payment for giving her away. She replied that she had indeed accepted the payment for one child and that they were already with the family. Jhumpa, in fact, had given birth to twins. She believes that since the deal was never for two children, she had a right to her daughter. That she’s a gift from her God to take away her state of solitude. Hearing this, even Panditji, who initially held an apathetic attitude towards Jhumpa, finds himself speechless.

What Happens to Gautam and Raman?

After Panditji saves Gautam from the mob attack, the two go to the spot where Raman is resting after losing too much blood; however, upon reaching the place, they find it empty. Faced with the potential loss of his brother, Gautam breaks down entirely and sits on the floor weeping. Raman is eventually found, barely alive, and the police immediately carry him and Gautam to the ambulance. The film’s final scene, following the incident at the hospital, shows Gautam sitting by Raman’s side. His bleak face reflects the psychological trauma this harrowing incident has left him with. Their future, much like that of Champa, remains uncertain.

The video that went viral and spread a false narrative brought unimaginable horror to the brothers’ lives. Their kindness is met with violence, as rumor and mob mentality destroy any pure emotion. Fear overtakes facts and truth: Raman, the first character who sympathized with a grieving mother, is eventually shot; Gautam, a brother who only desires to save his brother and return home, is brutalized and almost murdered; Jhumpa, a mother who has been exploited by her family but only desires to reunite with her daughter, is accused and mistrusted. A false video, thoughtlessly forwarded, ready acceptance, and action on such narratives destroy many innocents. The anonymous creator of the viral video escapes any identification and accountability while innocents face the consequences.

Read More: Is Stolen a True Story?