Raat Akeli Hai – The Bansal Murders

Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Movie Review Rating:

Star Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Chitrangada Singh, Radhika Apte, Revathi, Deepti Naval, and others

Director: Honey Trehan

What’s Good: The plotline that does not stick to being a whodunit and explores why and how!

What’s Bad: Nothing to be specific!

Loo Break: Your call!

Watch or Not?: Definitely Yes!

Language: Hindi

Available On: Netflix

Runtime: 2 hour 14 minutes

User Rating:

In an era when OTT has expanded the content pool for the audience who can watch anything from Hitchcock to Nolan, it is very difficult to grab their attention through a good whodunit! But RSVP and Netflix have struck gold with Raat Akeli Hai 2. Another instalment of the franchise with Nawazuddin Siddiqui, returning as Inspector Jatil Yadav, trying to solve a murder mystery with too many suspects, and Dipti Naval and Chitrangada Singh being the prime suspects of this murder mystery!

This instalment of the franchise reclaims the throne for Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who should be crowned as the king of murder mysteries! The film is politically explosive, sharp, and darker than the previous part of the franchise! The premise of the film is very sharp and gets interesting with each and every turn!

Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Movie Review: Script Analysis

The film opens with a gothic shot of many crows dying in a huge mansion – a mansion owned by the Bansals, Bansals who get killed that very night! Inspector Jatil Yadav is given the charge to investigate the murder mystery of this family that owns the biggest publication house in the media! While the crime scene is told to be an easy open and shut case, putting the blame of the murders on a drug addict in the family, Jatil Yadav refuses to believe so! His wisdom and experience say, it is more than what meets the eye!

If the 2020 OG was a tribute to any Agatha Christie mysteries we have grown up reading, the sequel is a beast that bites. Trehan basically takes the DNA of the first part and injects it with a shot of politically charged motive, making the second part more real and believable, as it has happened in your periphery. I am no longer interested in the whodunit; I am invested in why and how. I want to dig the modus operandi deeper and dive in the layers of the truth – the truth that is buried under layers of power, patriarchy, and cold-blooded greed.

Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Movie Review: Star Performance

Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Jatil Yadav brings a new layer of empathy to Jatil Yadav. His moral compass is still unshakeable. He never lets this dense murder mystery drift away. Meanwhile, Chitrangada Singh is a revelation. She brings a haunting quality to the screen. As a key figure in the Bansal household, she balances the emotional vulnerability with a sharp act! Her chemistry with Nawaz is crackling, and the tension adds a layer of drama!

The Intense Wildcard, however, is Revathi, who nails the investigative support to Jatil Yadav. Her animated officer, trying to figure out what and how of this murder mystery, is a winner! Radhika Apte is back as the emotional support of this intense drama, and it is a stroke of genius.

Deepti Naval as the Chilling Matriarch is understated. She could have outgrown them all, but the narrative restricts her growth.