Raat Akeli Hai is set in Uttar Pradesh and shows Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the role of an unmarried cop Jatil Yadav. He is asked to investigate the murder of a family patriarch. The victim has a very dysfunctional family and everybody living in the haveli is suspected. Each and every person has their motives to kill but it is for Jatil Yadav to decide who is the real killer.
On the personal front, we see his mother played by Illa Arun who is looking for a bride for her son. He is often rejected by young girls because of his age and color. He is very embarrassed by the lack of choices and continuous rejections and his mother trying to find him a girl at random weddings. To overcome all of this, he busies himself at work. As destined, his work leads him to love.
Trehan has been a casting director in Raees, Maqbool, Fukrey, Omkara, Dedh Ishqiya etc. He has also been an assistant director of Abhishek Chaubey and Vishal Bhardwaj. We can see the influence of these directors in his directorial style. The film stays sincere to the genre and subject. He is, however, unable to bring the grittiness as we see in Bhardwaj or Chaubey’s films. There is always an element of fear, tension, nervous energy and urgency in crime thrillers.
Raat Akeli Hai does not have any thrill factor and is exhausting and long-winding. The screenplay by Smita Singh is a tame version of well-crafted Knives Out and an ode to Agatha Cristie. Nawaz is a police officer who also shows his detective skills while fighting with a corrupt system and an unknown powerful nemesis. The story is good in unpredictability but the love track is a big distraction for all.
Raat Akeli Hai is equipped with slow-burn gradual buildup and does not stray away from the topic at hand. The climax is very convenient and sudden. The characters do not have enough substance so that you can invest in them or their hidden motives. A tight woven screenplay and better characterization would have made the film more engaging. The crux of crime mystery is the desire to know the truth.
In this movie, you want to catch the culprit but the events which take the investigation forward do not keep you at the seat’s edge. Siddiqui is back in the form after forgettable Ghoomketu. He is well in form as a man who is battling professional and personal problems and displaying conflicting principles. Radhika Apte is compelling as the mysterious Radha.
Shweta Tripathi, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Nishant Dahiya and Tigmashu Dhulia excel in their roles. Aditya Shrivastava looks out of place in the movie. Raat Akeli Hai is a good attempt but is not engaging and does not gives you the thrill to solve detective riddles or murder puzzles
