Bollywood Gossip : August 2020

Friday, 28 August 2020

Movie Review: Sadak 2

A list of one of the prolific directors of Bollywood will remain incomplete if Mahesh Bhatt isn’t mentioned. He carved a niche for himself and impressed audiences and critics alike with his ability to handle light-hearted musicals as well serious, intense dramas with equal panache. One of his memorable films in the latter category was SADAK [1991]. The film was appreciated for its performances, particularly Sadashiv Amrapurkar as the villainous Maharani, subject and music. 29 years later, Mahesh Bhatt decides to take this story forward with SADAK 2. It is a significant film as it also marks Mahesh Bhatt’s return to direction after almost 21 years. That it’s the first film of his daughter Alia Bhatt with the Bhatt’s Vishesh Films banner also makes it special. So does SADAK 2 manage to entertain and thrill audiences just like the first part? Or does it fail to entertain? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1129452" src="https://ift.tt/3b3egST" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> SADAK 2 is the story of a girl trying to expose a powerful godman. Aryaa (Alia Bhatt) has lost her mother Shakuntala to cancer but she feels that it’s because of the involvement of a godman Gyaan Prakash (Makarand Deshpande). Her father, Yogesh Desai (Jisshu Sengupta) is a devout follower of Gyaan Prakash and he fails to realize the truth. He even gets married to Shakuntala’s sister Nandini (Priyanka Bose), also a follower of Gyaan Prakash. Aryaa meanwhile starts an online campaign against this godman and gets close to 2 lakh followers. It also helps her meet Vishal (Aditya Roy Kapur) and both soon start a relationship. All is going well but one day, Gyaan Prakash attempts to kill Aarya by sending a henchman. Vishal, however, kills the henchman for which he’s jailed. Aryaa is sent to a mental asylum and falsely declared mentally ill. Her online activities are also ceased. She, however, escapes from the hospital and decides to go to Mount Kailash. This is because her 21st birthday is round the corner and her mother had wished that she visit this holy place on this important day of her life. She books a cab three months in advance from Pooja Travels and Tours, run by Pooja (Pooja Bhatt) and her husband Ravi (Sanjay Dutt). After Pooja accepts the booking, she dies in a road accident. Ravi is shattered and turns suicidal. This is when Aryaa lands up at his place and demands to go to Ranikhet from where she’s supposed to take a chopper to Mount Kailash. Ravi reluctantly accepts the booking, because of Pooja’s reference. The journey begins and both end up telling each other about the sorrows of their lives. Incidentally, Vishal, too, gets released from the prison and he also joins in the journey. Unfortunately, Gyaan Prakash’s men catch up with the trio. The godman sends his most devoted disciple, Dilip Hathkataa (Gulshan Grover), to finish them off. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Mahesh Bhatt and Suhrita Sengupta's story is illogical and all over the place. There’s no head or tail to the plot and it’s shocking that it even got approved. Mahesh Bhatt and Suhrita Sengupta's screenplay fails to improve the weak plot. There is so much the writers could have done as they had taken up a burning topic of fake godmen. It’s astonishing that they let go of this huge opportunity. Instead, they resorted to cheap gimmicks and twists and turns which ends up putting off audiences. Mahesh Bhatt and Suhrita Sengupta's dialogues are nothing special. Mahesh Bhatt's direction doesn’t work. Direction has always been his forte but here, he doesn’t seem to be in form at all. There are glaring loopholes in the film and his execution does nothing to hide them well. Vishal, for instance, is jailed for murdering a man. By Aryaa’s own admission, the cops arrested him because they were ordered to do so by Gyaan Prakash. Yet, how on earth he manages to get released from the prison is something that goes bouncer. The twist in the track of Yogesh Desai also is very unconvincing. The worst is however reserved for the climax. From the scene where Ravi feeds a sedated cake to Aryaa and Vishal, to Ravi entering a powerful godman’s place with ease, the last 20 minutes will make it difficult for viewers to tolerate. Aditya Roy Kapur on SUCCESS of Malang, Akshay Kumar, EK VILLAIN 2 with John, Sadak 2 | Fan Questions <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/31CHmp5" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> SADAK 2 begins on a bizarre note. The introduction of characters is not done well and it makes it clear that it won’t be a smooth ride. The film gets a bit better once Aryaa and Ravi get to know each other. However, logic consistently takes a backseat and that becomes too much after a point. The scene where Ravi gets into action mode and bashes up Dilip Hathkataa and his men raises interest. Also, the scene where Aryaa makes it clear that she still loves Vishal, despite knowing the truth, is heartening. But more and more twists are unveiled and instead of surprising, it ends up depressing the audiences. One still expects the ending to be a highpoint. Instead, it is shockingly insipid and poor. The final scene is supposed to be moving but thanks to the lack of sense and logic in most of the film, this particular sequence doesn’t evoke any emotion. Sanjay Dutt is the best highlight of the film. He is in his element and manages to give a convincing performance. He also looks quite dapper. Alia Bhatt too puts in her best but is letdown by the weak script. She, too, looks quite ravishing. Aditya Roy Kapur is fine but he hardly gets scope in the second half. Pooja Bhatt is not there in the film at all and only her voice is heard. Makarand Deshpande hams all the way and comes across as a weak villain. Jisshu Sengupta also overacts a lot. Same goes for Priyanka Bose. Gulshan Grover is criminally wasted. His character seemed so cool but doesn’t have much to do. John Gardner (John) and Mohan Kapur (Rajesh Puri) are the only two supporting actors who don’t overact in this film. Anil George (Om), Himanshu Bhatt (Gaurav), Jehangir Karkaria (Dr Dastur), Chrisann Pereira (Naina Das) and Akash Khurana (Psychiatrist) are okay. Music of this film doesn’t have a shelf life. 'Ishq Kamaal' has some recall value but the rest of the songs – 'Shukriya', 'Tum Se Hi' and 'Dil Ki Purani Sadak' – don’t leave a mark. Sandeep Chowta's background score is sans complaints. Jay I Patel's cinematography is quite good and captures the locales well. Abbas Ali Moghul's action is theatrical. Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty's production design and Priyanka Bhatt's costumes are fine. Sandeep Kurup's editing is nothing special. On the whole, SADAK 2 is confusing, depressing and a dull fare.

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Movie Review: Sadak 2

Friday, 14 August 2020

Movie Review: Khuda Haafiz

Over the last few weeks, viewers got a chance to see biopics of extraordinary personalities like Gunjan Saxena and Shakuntala Devi. But these are personalities whose greatness is already known to an extent. There are many who have done unbelievable feats in their lives and hardly anyone would be aware of it. Faruk Kabir, who has made ALLAH KE BANDAY [2010] and a couple of web series in the past, tells one such story in his latest outing, KHUDA HAAFIZ. It stars Vidyut Jammwal, who has created a fan base of his own thanks to his action films. So does KHUDA HAAFIZ manage to entertain and thrill? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1126552" src="https://ift.tt/3awiqlR" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> KHUDA HAAFIZ is the story of a simple man whose wife goes missing under mysterious circumstances in a foreign country. In October 2007, Lucknow-based Sameer (Vidyut Jammwal), a software engineer, gets into an arranged marriage with Nargis (Shivaleeka Oberoi). Both fall in love with each other in no time. All is going well until recession strikes the world. Sameer has to shut down his business. Even Nargis is fired from her workplace. They hunt for jobs but three months pass and they fail to get employment. With no other choice, they apply for a job in the Middle-Eastern country of Noman through an agent named Nadeem (Vipin Sharma). Nargis gets the job first and she is asked to leave for Noman the very next day. Sameer is apprehensive but Nadeem assures that she’ll be safe there. He also tells Sameer that the latter’s job confirmation notice should also come within 5-6 days and then he can unite with his wife. Nargis thus flies alone to Noman. Next day she calls Sameer and appears distressed. She is crying and she tells him that this isn’t the job she signed up for. Before she could say anything else, the phone call ends. A shocked Sameer lands up at Nadeem’s office along with the cops. Nadeem feigns ignorance. Sameer immediately flies to Noman’s capital city, Noor Us Saba where Nargis has supposedly got the job. Outside the airport, Sameer meets a kind-hearted taxi driver, Usman Ali Murad (Annu Kapoor) and he tells him to take him to the address of Nargis’s workplace. Usman tells him that this address is incorrect. The cops at Noor Us Saba refuse to help him till he gets an approval from the Indian Embassy. At the embassy, he doesn’t get timely help as the top officer I K Mishra (Ikhlaque Khan) is away. Sameer now has only one clue – the phone number from where he got Nargis’s call. From the mobile company, he manages to find out the name and address of the person owning the number. It turns out to be that of a person named Parvez Shirazi who resides in a town named Baith Us Saif, located 300 kms away. Sameer reaches there immediately. Coincidentally, it’s also the hometown of Usman and he helps him in the search. They realize that Parvez is involved in flesh trade. Sameer’s world comes crashing down. Nevertheless, he goes to the brothel, impersonating as a client and manages to locate Nargis. The pimp (Gowhar Khan) however realizes that Sameer knows her and attacks. Sameer too fights back but fails to rescue Nargis. He and Usman escape and are chased by the goons. They almost manage to run away but then meet with a minor accident. The cops land up and arrest Sameer. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Faruk Kabir's story is quite interesting and fit for a commercial film. The first 30-35 minutes might remind one of BAAGHI 3 [2020] which also dealt with the protagonist’s close family member disappearing in a middle-eastern country. Moreover, BAAGHI 3 also shows the protagonist finding out about his brother’s disappearance while he was on a call with him! Thankfully, once Sameer reaches Noman, the film doesn’t even seem remotely similar to the Tiger Shroff starrer. Faruk Kabir's screenplay is engaging. The film moves at a great pace and the focus is on the principle plot from start to finish. But there are times when the film moves too fast and hence, one might not get emotionally attached to certain characters. Faruk Kabir's dialogues are decent. Vidyut Jammwal: “UNLEARNING was the most AMAZING learning process in Khuda Haafiz”| Shivaleeka Oberoi | Faruk Kabir <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/3fQRDSo" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> Faruk Kabir's direction is quite good. On the positive side, the film is quite fast-paced. There are some great dramatic and action moments that sustain interest. Also, the director deserves praise as he doesn’t make the film looks sleazy despite the fact that it deals with trafficking and sex trade. Also, no item song is added for the heck of it. On the flipside, the film has its share of cinematic liberties. The manner in which Sameer manages to escape from the brothel and even from the airport raises eyebrows. Sameer’s very final fight could have been better thought of. Lastly, the courtship period of Sameer and Nargis is shown too quickly and perhaps a little more time could have been taken to explore their relationship for a better impact. KHUDA HAAFIZ begins on an intriguing note. Sameer is already captured by the cops on foreign soil and then the film goes on a flashback mode as he narrates his tale to the Indian Embassy official. Not much time is spent in showing how love blossomed between Sameer and Nargis and their eventual marriage. The director soon comes to the point where Nargis leaves for Noman and how she disappears. Sameer reaching Noman and trying to locate his missing wife keeps the interest going. The best part of the first half obviously is when Sameer goes on a rampage in the brothel in Baith Us Saif and then has a dramatic escape. The entry of Faiz Abu Malik (Shiv Panditt) and Tamena Hamid (Aahana Kumra) add to the madness. The film also slips in the middle of the second hour. But it picks up in the final act once Sameer reaches the place of Itzak Regini (Nawab Shah). From here till the finale, the film keeps one at the edge of the seat. Vidyut Jammwal plays a common man here and does his share of action. Performance-wise, he is decent and shines in some emotional scenes. Sadly, in a couple of places, he goes a bit over the top. Shivaleeka Oberoi doesn’t get much scope but is fine and has a good screen presence. Annu Kapoor is excellent and quite endearing. Shiv Panditt leaves a mark with his performance and accent, despite his late entry. Same goes for Aahana Kumra. Ikhlaque Khan is passable. Nawab Shah plays the villainous role well. Vipin Sharma is dependable as always. Gowhar Khan, Shahnawaz Pradhan (Sameer’s father), Gargi Patel (Sameer’s mother), Mohit Chauhan (Nargis’s father), Suparna Marwah (Nargis’s mother), Rio Kapadia (ISA Commissioner Ali Azam Ghazi), Tamara Mirmahsudova (Usman’s wife) and Kinal Muchhala (Sonia Singh; employee at Indian embassy) are fine. Mithoon's music is nothing great. The film doesn’t have the scope for music. The title song stands out a bit because of the Arabic feel while 'Aakhri Kadam Tak' registers a bit because of the situation in which it’s played. 'Jaan Ban Gaye' and 'Mera Intezaar Karna' are forgettable. Amar Mohile's background score is quite better and exhilarating. Jitan Harmeet Singh's cinematography is spectacular and the various locales of Uzbekistan are well captured. Bijon Das Gupta, Ranjit Singh and Prerna Kathuria's production design are authentic. Divvya Gambhur and Nidhhi Gambhir's costumes are appealing and in sync with the character’s ethnicity. Ivanov Victor and Andreas Nguyen's action is very violent and gory. It’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. NY VFXWaala's VFX is fair. Sandeep Francis's editing is rapid. On the whole, KHUDA HAAFIZ is a well-paced action thriller that works chiefly due to the script, direction and performances of Vidyut Jammwal and Annu Kapoor.

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Movie Review: Khuda Haafiz

Monday, 10 August 2020

Movie Review: Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl

In many parts of the world, women have faced discrimination in every field and India, sadly, is no exception. But at the same time, India is also full of inspiring stories of those women who fought the challenges posed due to gender discrimination and yet emerged victorious. Bollywood, off late, has taken keen interest in such films. Last year saw two such inspiring films release in the form of MANIKARNIKA – THE QUEEN OF JHANSI and SAAND KI AANKH. As for 2020, just a couple of weeks back, we got a chance to witness the adventures of a ‘Human Computer’ in SHAKUNTALA DEVI. And now, get ready for GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL, a tale of a Kargil war hero. So does GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL manage to entertain and thrill the audiences? Or does it fail to impress? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter wp-image-1125478 size-full" title="Movie Review: Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl" src="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Movie-Review-Gunjan-Saxena-–-The-Kargil-Girl-2.jpg" alt="Movie Review: Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl" width="720" height="450" /> GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL is about the tough journey of India’s first female combat aviator. The year is 1984. Gunjan Saxena (Riva Arora), who is around 9 years old, is travelling with her family in an aeroplane. She gets a chance to enter the cockpit and experience the magic of flying an aircraft. She decides immediately that she wants to be a pilot. In 1989, Gunjan (Janhvi Kapoor) passes her Class 10 exams with flying colours. She tells her family – father Anup Saxena (Pankaj Tripathi), mother Kirti Saxena (Ayesha Raza Mishra) and solider brother Anshuman (Angad Bedi) – about her plans of quitting further studies so that she can fulfil her dream. Kirti and Anushman disapprove but Anup tells her to go ahead. However, when she applies at a flying school, she realizes that the rules have changed and she’ll have to study till graduation. She applies again after five years but by then, the fees for the course have increased to Rs. 10 lakhs, a figure which is unaffordable for the Saxena family. Gunjan is dejected. Anup then asks her to apply in the Indian Air Force, which has recently started a course to get female officers. Gunjan applies and emerges as the only one who gets selected. She then successfully completes her training and then heads to Udhampur Air Force Station in Jammu and Kashmir. Here, she faces massive discrimination over her gender. The fellow officers refuse to fly with her, fearing that she might jeopardize the sortie and crash. Her flight commanding officer Dileep Singh (Vineet Kumar Singh) makes it clear that she’s not equal in the camp. And the commanding officer Gautam Sinha (Manav Vij) also appears to be strict and not-so-understanding. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma's story has a lot of potential and the need of the hour. Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma's screenplay is watertight. The focus is not just on narrating Gunjan’s life story but also on ensuring that the entertainment quotient is maintained. They also keep the narrative very simple and hence it’ll be easy to comprehend for anyone who watches it. On the flipside, it’s important for character names to be uttered in some way and that’s something that doesn’t happen in this film. The names of Janhvi’s parents or commanding officer Gautam Sinha are never mentioned. In case of Jahnvi’s brother, his nickname Anshu is mentioned but never his real name! Nikhil Mehrotra and Sharan Sharma's dialogues (additional dialogues by Hussain Dalal) elevate the impact and also the humour to another level. Again, the balance is maintained – the dialogues never turn too filmy. Sharan Sharma's direction is superlative and it’s impossible to say that this is his debut flick. He keeps the focus on story, without adding a romantic angle or anything of that sort. He also keeps the duration firmly in check – the film is just 1.52 hours long. And thanks to his narrative, boredom doesn’t creep in even for a moment and there’s a lot happening in the film every now and then. On the flipside, the war scenes in the last 20 minutes could have been more thrilling and terrifying for a better impact. Also, Sharan fails to extract the desired performance from Janhvi Kapoor. More on that later! Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl: The Story Behind | Janhvi Kapoor <iframe id="jwiframe" class="playerFrame" src="https://ift.tt/2DKXEme" width="800" height="340" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL starts on a tensed and thrilling note. Gunjan’s entry is heroic and it would have been fun to witness it in cinemas amidst claps and whistles! The film then goes on a flashback mode but before it does, it makes it clear that the country is at war and that Gunjan, despite being able, has been left out in aerial operations. The growing-up years of Gunjan is dealt in a very entertaining and hilarious manner. Several scenes stand out here – young Gunjan in the cockpit, the party sequence and late-night conversations of Gunjan’s parents. However, two scenes take the cake in the first half. The first is when Gunjan doles out Bollywood gossip when asked to comment on current affairs – it’s sure to bring the house down! And the second is when Anup explains to Gunjan the real meaning of patriotism. The second half is where the film gets very grim as Gunjan faces obstacles at the Udhampur base. The film ends on a very emotional note. Janhvi Kapoor delivers a fine performance and one can sense that she has given her best, physically and emotionally, to the film. But she doesn’t have a range of expressions which would have elevated her performance and also the film. On the positive, she is great in the scenes where she fails to reach the tarmac on time or the scene where she confronts Dileep Singh. Pankaj Tripathi is outstanding and this is surely one of his most accomplished performances. He would be loved for his role of a supporting father – every girl would wish for a father like him. Although he’s done great throughout the film, the scene where he drags Gunjan into the kitchen is something to watch out for. Angad Bedi is strictly okay. Ayesha Raza Mishra plays her part well. Vineet Kumar Singh as usual gives a very fine performance. It’s surprising, however, why his role is credited as a special appearance part. Manav Vij leaves a huge mark and he suits the part. Manish Verma (SSB Officer Sameer Mehra, who trains Gunjan) is memorable. Same goes for Yogendra Singh (Pilot Montu) and Akash Dhar (Pilot Shekhar). The other actors who do well are Riva Arora, Maria Shrishti (Air hostess), Barbie Rajput (Gunjan's friend Mannu), Rajesh Balwani (clerk at Delhi Flying School) and Gulshan Pandey (Chief operating officer at Srinagar Air Force Station). Amit Trivedi's music is fine but mostly situational. There are 6 songs in the film but are well woven into the narrative. 'Bharat Ki Beti' stands out and is very moving. 'Rekha O Rekha' is hilarious and very witty and also serves as a beautiful ode to actress Rekha. 'Dhoom Dhadaka' is catchy but gets wasted as it’s played during the end credits. 'Asmaan Di Pari', 'Mann Ki Dori' and 'Dori Tutt Gaiyaan' are okay. John Stewart Eduri's background score elevates impact. Manush Nandan's cinematography is stunning and captures the various moods nicely. The location of Georgia works well for the film as it has a resemblance with the Kashmir valley. Aditya Kanwar's production design is rich. Samidha Wangnoo's costumes are very realistic. Vikram Dahiya's action is subtle and not gory at all. Special mention here should also go to Marc Wolff's stunts and aerial coordination. Red Chillies.VFX's VFX is very good. Nitin Baid's editing is topnotch as so much has been packed in 112 minutes and yet, it doesn’t seem like a rushed job. On the whole, GUNJAN SAXENA – THE KARGIL GIRL is a well-narrated tale of a female war hero of India. Despite some minuses, this flick would touch a chord, especially with the family audiences.

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Movie Review: Gunjan Saxena – The Kargil Girl

Saturday, 1 August 2020

Movie Review: Raat Akeli Hai

Murder mysteries can never go out of fashion and some of the finest Indian, Hollywood and world cinema has something to do with murder. Last week, we saw casting director Mukesh Chhabra turning director for the love saga DIL BECHARA. This week, it’s the turn of another casting director, Honey Trehan, to don the director’s hat. For his debut, he chooses an intriguing murder mystery, RAAT AKELI HAI. So does RAAT AKELI HAI manage to entertain and thrill viewers? Or does it fail? Let’s analyse. <img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1123891" src="https://ift.tt/31carX3" alt="" width="720" height="450" /> RAAT AKELI HAI is the story of a cop investigating a complicated murder case. Inspector Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) from Belghat, Kanpur gets a call one night informing him of a murder in his jurisdiction. The murder turns out to be that of the wealthy Thakur Raghubeer Singh (Khalid Tyabji). Incidentally, it is the day of Raghubeer’s second marriage, with Radha (Radhika Apte), who was his mistress earlier. Raghubeer’s first wife Kavita Singh (Natasha Rastogi) had died five years ago in a hit-and-run case that remained unsolved. Raghubeer’s nephew Vikram Singh (Nishant Dahiya) informs that he last spoke to Raghubeer at 11:30 pm. Radha meanwhile doesn’t give a proper reply, which raises the suspicion of Jatil and his colleague Nandu (Shreedhar Dubey). Though the other family members – son Karan (Nitesh Tiwari), daughter Karuna (Shweta Tripathi Sharma), son-in-law Ravi Sisodiya (Gyanendra Tripathi), niece Vasudha (Shivani Raghuvanshi), sister-in-law Pramila Singh (Padmavati Rao) and the maid Chunni (Riya Shukla), too, behave suspiciously, Jatil can’t help but wonder if Radha is connected with the murder. At the same time, he gets intrigued by her and even gets attracted to her. Radha, meanwhile, is despised by other family members and one day she is about to get assaulted at the hands of Karan when Jatil stops the latter by slapping him. This infuriates Ravi and he complains to the local MLA Munna Raja (Aditya Srivastava) who was also Raghubeer Singh’s close friend. Munna finds Jatil’s investigation method unfair and he complains to Jatil’s senior, SSP Lalji Shukla (Tigmanshu Dhulia). Soon, Jatil realizes that Munna Raja is also connected, not just with Raghubeer’s murder but also with the murder of Raghubeer’s first wife. What happens next forms the rest of the film. Smita Singh's story is promising and it also gives one a déjà vu of last year’s Hollywood flick KNIVES OUT. However, it’ll be wrong to conclude that RAAT AKELI HAI is a copy as it was made way before. But the resemblance is uncanny in not just the murder mystery bit but even the house setting! Smita Singh's screenplay is a major spoilsport. The script ideally should have been watertight and tense. Instead, it’s needlessly dragging at several places as the investigation goes around in circles for most parts of the film. Also, the film is quite lengthy with a run time of 2.29 hours. Smita Singh's dialogues are okay. Honey Trehan's direction is average. Technically, he gets the film right and makes good use of the location, setting and even extracts fine performances from his actors. But on the flipside, he takes a lot of time to get to the point as the narrative just needlessly wanders from here to there. A few developments are also very unconvincing. When a murder of this sort takes place, the investigating cop should have ideally grilled each and every person present in the mansion. Instead, Jatil focuses chiefly on Radha and Vikram Singh. In one scene, he does hint that his junior has investigated but it’s never shown. It’s only in the second half that Jatil finally investigates Karuna and others. The kind of question he asks her is something he should have asked on the night of the murder itself! There are many more silly instances in the film. Jatil gets hold of a nursing home report in the later part of the film. A dedicated cop like him should have ideally checked its contents immediately. Instead, he forgets about it and is reminded a few days later when he’s waiting for his train at the railway station! As a result of such moments, the film fails to engage. RAAT AKELI HAI begins on a very horrifying and thrilling note and sets the mood. The introduction of Jatil Yadav’s character and his relationship with his mother (Ila Arun) is funny. The initial scenes of the murder mystery are quite engaging. But in no time, the interest begins to drop. A few scenes do impress and catch attention like Jatil reaching the tannery, Karuna’s investigation and the action chase sequence, but at the rest of times, the film just drags. The last 20 minutes is when the mystery is solved. It’s unpredictable but thanks to the slow pace and long length, the desired impact is not made. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is in his element as always. It’s interesting how he tries to add something new in each and every performance and RAAT AKELI HAI is no exception. Radhika Apte leaves a huge mark and plays the role of the mysterious and troubled woman earnestly. Nishant Dahiya is a bit polished but it works for his character. Shreedhar Dubey is okay initially but gets better in the second half. Ila Arun is hilarious and also quite touching. Shweta Tripathi Sharma doesn’t get much scope initially. She, however, makes her presence felt in the second half. Gyanendra Tripathi is a bit over-the-top, as per the requirements of his part. Shivani Raghuvanshi is quite good especially in the later part of the film. Padmavati Rao is decent. Aditya Srivastava is okay but his character ideally should have oozed fear. Tigmanshu Dhulia is wasted. Khalid Tyabji is hardly there. Same goes for Nitesh Tiwari. In fact, his character is nothing to do in the film and is added just for the heck of it. Ravi Bhushan (henchmen) is quite scary and is well-casted for the part. Swanand Kirkire (Ramesh Chauhan) does well in the cameo. Riya Shukla is an actor to watch out for. Baljinder Kaur (Chunni's grandmother) is superb in a small role. Natasha Rastogi and Vijay Kumar Dogra (driver Ramdeen) get no scope. Sneha Khanwalkar's music is forgettable. All three songs - 'Jaago', 'Ghoom Charkhaya' and 'Aadhe Aadhe Se' don’t have a shelf life. 'Ghoom Charkhaya' however does impress a bit due to Sukhwinder Singh’s singing. Karan Kulkarni's background score is subtle and has the mystery feel. Pankaj Kumar's cinematography is terrific and captures the many moods and moments of the film beautifully. Shruti Kapoor's costumes are straight out of life. Rita Ghosh, Vinay Narkar, Niyoti Upadhye's production design is realistic. Harpal Singh Pali's action is impressive. A Sreekar Prasad's editing is very bad and the film ideally should have been 30-40 minutes shorter. On the whole, RAAT AKELI HAI is a slow, lengthy and flawed murder mystery. The only saving grace are the performances and the climax.

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