Raat Akeli Hai The Bansal Murders review: This Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Revathi thriller is eerie and engrossing

Raat Akeli Hai The Bansal Murders review: Apart from retaining the same principal characters, the story ventures into entirely new territory.

It’s taken only five years for the makers of the acclaimed thriller Raat Akeli Hai to come up with a sequel, now with the added tagline ‘The Bansal Murders’. This establishes two things immediately: one, the team was in no hurry for the sake of eyeballs. Two, it gave them ample time to work on a genuinely interesting thriller.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui gives a fine performance in the Netflix release.

The premise

Honey Trehan dons the director’s hat again to tell the story of the affluent Bansal family. Much like a murder of crows (that’s what you call a group of these intelligent birds) found dead by the family, they themselves meet the same fate. All were killed overnight, with their throats slit. And fingers are pointed at multiple people- a drug addict son, a mysterious godwoman (Deepti Naval) and an opportunistic relative (Sanjay Kapoor). Investigating the case is Inspector Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui). How he solves it is the rest of the story.

Movie Review

Raat Akeli Hai-The Bansal Murders

3/5

Director

Honey Trehan

It’s an OTT film, so there’s no intermission. For the sake of this review, let’s divide it into two halves. The film grips you from the word go, largely because the setup is eerie. And for those who get squeamish at the sight of blood, consider this a fair warning: there is plenty of it on display. A particular sequence in the first half, involving a forensic team meticulously sweeping the crime scene for evidence, stands out for its raw and unsettling feel.

What works

Honey Trehan had mentioned in a recent interview that he does not view this film as a sequel, and that rings true. Apart from retaining the same principal characters, the story ventures into entirely new territory, with no narrative connection to the first outing. The pacing is assured, rarely allowing the tension to slacken.

What hampers the film is one of its crucial tracks involving the godwoman. In the quest to plant multiple red herrings, the narrative grip begins to loosen, and the slickness takes a hit. Too many characters also lead to some confusion. While Raat Akeli Hai 2 does manage to tie up its threads neatly in the climax, the road leading up to it remains uneven. The plot also relies on convenience, albeit rarely.

How are the performances?

With a talented cast, everything feels slightly better. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is bang on as Jatil, particularly in the scenes featuring his personal life. Radhika Apte as his girlfriend Radha has a special appearance, but the chemistry she shares with Nawaz is so effortless that I could watch these two in a standalone romantic film. Revathi, as the forensic head, is delightful in her handling of the character.

Chitrangda Singh puts in a decent effort to play the role of a broken mother, but in certain sequences that require an emotional breakdown, things seem to struggle. Sanjay Kapoor and Rajat Kapoor lend good support.

Overall, even when it stumbles, Raat Akeli Hai 2 remains compelling. There was scope to make it an even darker investigation drama. But a solid cast and a neatly resolved climax make it a worthy follow-up in spirit, if not in structure.