Raat Akeli Hai Review: Confined Whodunnit.

Gone are the days when a suspense film will only focus on the suspense. Now, filmmakers and writers are adding layers to the suspense and also highlighting the social evils that exist in society. 15 minutes into the director Honey Trehan’s suspense thriller, Raat Akeli Hai, you feel a sense of Deja-Vu from last year’s released film, Knives Out. But crushing that feeling is what follows next – a gritty, dark, and tense drama which unfolds at a leisurely pace.

Raat Akeli Hai is a whodunnit which follows a small-town cop, investigating a high-profile the murder of a politician. But there is so much more to that, and writer Smita Singh weaves more subplots to make it an intriguing drama. The cop’s conflicted a love story, the dark side of a rich dysfunctional family, the corruption in the police, and the patriarchy drives the movie forward and helps it in exploring the suspense, that is deeper than what meets the eye.  

Mentored by Vishal Bhardwaj and Abhishek Chaubey, Honey Trehan too has a knack of dark humour and blends the drama, killings, and conflict with ease. Cinematography by Pankaj Kumar captures the proceedings with a quiet mood, subtly showcasing the dark side of human nature. 

At almost 2 and a half hours, the film loses its intensity as the film goes on but grabs the attention in the climax, it is not perfect. The songs playing in the background derail the film and soften the impact of it.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui stars as the investigating cop, Jatil Yadav, and he balances the heroism and the reality well. Nawazuddin does not go overboard and showcases the vulnerability of his character with natural prowess.  

Radhika Apte as Radha, the estranged keep, portrays the melancholy of her a character with finesse and shows great strength to create a distinct character. 

Aditya Srivastava and Tigmanshu Dhulia display the appropriate menace. Nishant Dahiya, Shweta Tripathi, and Shivani Raghuvanshi support the film’s flow. Ila Arun’s character lightens the mood of the film and her exchanges with Nawazuddin is brilliant.

WATCH OR NOT:

Streaming on Netflix, Raat Akeli Hai is a very well crafted whodunnit with decent twists and turns which leads to an intriguing finale. The setup, lighting, and the darkness of its characters along with subtle social messaging makes it a good watch.