Raat Akeli Hai: Nawaz Steals the Show in Murder Mystery

Ever since the coronavirus lockdown came into effect, the top OTT platforms have been signing on a lot of new films, series and documentaries as there are millions of people at home, consuming a lot of content on a daily basis. On Netflix too, a number of new films are being released, one being Raat Akeli Hai which made its debut on Netflix on 31st July 2020.

Directed by Honey Trehan, the movie is a perfect murder mystery which keeps you on the edge of your seats from the start to the end. One of the major reasons that made me watch the film was the leading actor Inspector Jatil Yadav, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is easily among the top actors in the country at the moment.

The movie begins with the victim Raghubeer Singh (Khalid Tyabji) found dead on the night of his second wedding. All through the movie, we’re led to believe that the murder was done by his second wife/mistress Radha played by Radhika Apte, also one of the top actresses in the country at the moment.

While the suspicions are on her throughout, we see countless twists and turns in the plot and we realize it’s not just this single murder but the mystery goes back 5 years prior with the murder of Raghubeer’s first wife as well. Every member of the wealthy Kanpur family are suspects and eventually, Nawaz manages to solve the case! (no spoilers)

It’s Honey Trehan’s first film as a director and he’s impressed one and all, with the movie becoming the number #1 trending film on Netflix India on the first day of its release itself, also bagging at 7.8 rating on IMDb. Nawazuddin dons the UP role perfectly, using the right kind of language with the right character traits as well.

If there’s one part of the film I personally didn’t like, it would be the unwanted soundtrack. None of the songs fit into the film and honestly, it took away from the suspense and drama of the moment. Not sure it’s necessary to have songs in a movie, just because it’s Bollywood and you’re expected to do so. Regardless, we rate this a 4/5 and would recommend watching it!