The Night Manager

The Night Manager Part 2 Review: Star Rating:

Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Anil Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala, Tillotama Shome, Saswata Chatterjee, Prashant Narayanan, and ensemble.

Creator: Sandeep Modi

Director: Sandeep Modi, Priyanka Ghosh & Rukh Nabeel.

Streaming On: Disney+ Hotstar.

Language: Hindi (with subtitles)

Runtime: 3 Episodes Around 60 Minutes Each.

The Night Manager Part 2 Review: What’s It About:

So Shaan/Abhimanyu (Aditya) is now entirely a part of Shelly’s (Anil) Lanka. The arms dealer now trusts him entirely and involves him in his business, making him the leading man. Lipika (Tillotama) continues to trace Shailey and is now also facing the heat of the system. Tables are turned, secrets are spilled, the part 2 is a rollercoaster.

The Night Manager Part 2 Review: What Works:

The Night Manager Part 1, an adaption of a British show by the same name, entered the Indian OTT space four months ago. It showed how one develops an adaptation without making it feel, look, or, most importantly, behave like one. The line is thing, because you might turn into a lazy first copy from adaptation real quick, and nothing can bring you back once you enter that zone. Does the Part 2 succeed in staying away? Well, it does, and with flying colours.

Shridhar Raghavan and Sandeep Modi together develop a story that borrows the structure from the original, but the sensibilities of the landscape it takes place in. Like how cleverly they changed the motivation of the manager to hunt down Shelly. The part 2 gets to the business right away. Divided in a rather abrupt number of episodes, the last three in part two act as the body to the introduction that the first four were. The fact that the show is mainly more of a ‘masala’ content, the structure it uses is slow-burn. Nothing is in hurry, no storyline feels dragged, and everything makes sense because the dots are joined very carefully.

For example, the evil in the story is Shelly, but the writing never calls him the villain, rather, he does social service as per him. Further into the phenomenon of his existence, you realise his existence was initially of the profit to a certain government. So the evil is evil, but you somehow get connected to him. Now your moral as the audience is at test. The writing counters this with not one but multiple people trying to take him down, everyone with a unique story and their redemption is Shelly’s arrest. The chase that goes in the background, while an entirely different game runs in the forefront, the layering of The Night Manager is brilliant.

The dialogues are impactful too. In a scene where Shelly puts on an arms and bomb show, he says, “dur se tamashe ki tarah dekho to jung kitni khubsoorat chiz hai unke liye jo ladna nahin ladana chahtein hain.” And that exactly is his motivation. This is beautifully supported by the exquisite nature of the set design and apparels that every cast members is marinated in. The frames are locations are luring too.

The Night Manager Part 2 Review: Star Performance:

Aditya Roy Kapur has finally found a tailor-made role for himself, and I hope he continues to choose parts like these that use him well. The mystery that comes with his subtle act is apt for the character that he plays. He is supposed to be the seducer, and that comes handy to the guy. In part 2, there is a whole lot on his plate, and stands right next to Anil most of his screen time. Does a pretty good job too.

Anil Kapoor’s charisma is unparalleled, and the star knows how to be evil too. There was always a villain in him, and Shelly is exactly the character he was craving all this time. Kapoor as the arms dealer, is a very interesting casting, and he does justice to the job. Looking at the padding of style and panache around him, one cannot think of any other actor to pull this part off bringing so much of the star vibe to it.

Tillotama Shome is the real winner here. The actor is so natural as a pregnant officer who is busy busting an illegal arms dealer and fighting her own system. She brings so much realness to her part, and her reactions at no point look rehearsed. The confidence she walks around with in every scene is so fun to witness. In one scene, she finally sits right across Shelly, and the smirk is fire.

Sobhita Dhulipala has finally found a part that does justice to her caliber as an actor and doesn’t cut short her screen time. This time you gets to see beyond her glamour and perfectly done hair and makeup. She is vulnerable and also hurt which opens so many avenues and twists. As an actor, she enjoys playing the part and showing what she is capable of.

Prashant Narayanan needs to be the new Gabbar. He doesn’t have to be evil for you to be afraid of him. The first gaze and all the mentions of him later are enough to induce fear.

The Night Manager Part 2 Review: What Doesn’t Work:

While Prashant Narayanan is great in what he is given, he is the only half baked bit of the show. Of course, the sensitivity of the descent of his character doesn’t leave much of room to experiment, but leaving it entirely one tone is not how one will be hooked to him and wait for another season.

The Night Manager Part 2 does make some lazy decisions when it chooses to introduce to the stock of arms and ammunition as they are enough to finish a country, but when it visually blows, it doesn’t even cover an entire forest. Or when a big wig government official, who is mainly corrupt, is suddenly a good man and is helping Lipika. Brainwashing and a corrupt mind-set don’t change that easily.

One of the scenes has an elaborate arm, and bomb show that acts like an exhibition of sorts. Real people are involved in the showcase, and they are probably also being killed in the same. While it isn’t clear if they were killed, but if they were, a shot from the day after, where dead bodies are being dragged out from the site, would have elevated the sequence levels higher. Considering that the show does manage to touch on slavery and exploitation of the have-nots, the scene could have done wonders.

The Night Manager Part 2 Review: Last Words:

The Night Manager Part 2 is a neatly written adaptation that attempts to be more than a remake and even succeeds in doing so.

For more recommendations, read our Dahaad Review here.

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