He’s back from a de-addiction facility, only 77 days sober, and his family watches him warily. It’s Christmas Eve when Ben (Lucas Hedges) unexpectedly arrives home. In Ben is Back, Julia Roberts plays a mother named Holly caught in a terrible dilemma. You remember the glorious Tanuja, in a figure-hugging gown, with Asha Bhonsle’s velvet voice, inviting the dashing Dev Anand to whisper something in her ear? It’s flirtatious and fun and playfully seductive This film is the exact opposite of that.Cast: Julia Roberts, Lucas Hedges, Kathryn Newton The title Raat Akeli Hai comes from the classic S. He also lingers for the briefest moment on a sign that reads: UP Police. He finds the inherent absurdity in the visual of a bride sitting in all her finery on the nuptial bed while the groom has been murdered. And I must mention Honey’s sly sense of humor. Why is there such a consistent strain of violence against women?īut if you can make your peace with that, Raat Akeli Hai is a gripping tale of murder and revenge.
#SONCHIRIYA REVIEW BY RAJEEV MASAND SERIAL#
Serial Killer to Paatal Lok to Bulbbulto Raat Akeli Hai. I will also admit that I’m getting weary of watching women being brutalized on streaming platforms – from Mrs. Moments in the film feel rushed, like Honey and Smita just wanted to tie up loose ends. The songs by Sneha Khanwalkar dilute the suspense further. Raat Akeli Hai has a two-hour twenty-nine minute run time, which dissipates some of the tension of the film. Each one contributes to building this claustrophobic world. Honey, who is also a respected casting director, fills the frame with solid actors – among them, Shweta Tripathi, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Aditya Srivastava and Tigmanshu Dhulia as Jatil’s superior. Radhika Apte matches him with her fiery presence and conviction – her eyes blaze with fury at her circumstances. He manages to find the sweet spot between the flamboyant Dabangg UP cop and an insecure, irritable man who demands justice. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is in almost every frame of the film, shoulders the weight admirably. Raat Akeli Hai has a two-hour twenty-nine minute run time, which dissipates some of the tension of the film The loud, incessant traffic overhead doesn’t interrupt the bullets underneath. A stand-out is one toward the end when several characters meet under a bridge at night. Honey and DoP Pankaj Kumar, who also shot the stunning Tumbbad, skilfully stage scenes of lawlessness. The violence in the film is both psychological and literal.
Honey, who has worked extensively with Vishal Bhardwaj and Abhishek, isn’t afraid of peering into the darkest recesses of human nature. Of course through the course of the investigation, Jatil’s idea of what constitutes decent takes a U-turn. He’s fixated on finding a decent ladki but his mother, who is far wiser, tells him: Bahar ki cheezen dekhoge toh dhoka hi khaoge. The relationship between Jatil and his mother, played wonderfully by Ila Arun, provides the few tinges of humor in the film.
We are told that his name was Jatin but his mother changed it, perhaps in anticipation of exactly this case. Jatil, who must wade through this muck, refuses to do it politely.
The women, especially Radha, who is the new mistress of the house, seem trapped within these walls, which reek of the rot within. We are introduced to the feral characters, all of whom seem to be hiding something. The Thakur’s sprawling home, with long corridors, backdoor stairways and expensive-looking decorations and wallpaper, is a character itself. For the first hour or so, Honey keeps the storytelling twisty and taut. There’s greed, police corruption, family politics, servants who know too much and powerful benefactors trying to sway the investigation. This expansion of a murder mystery layers the narrative but it also makes the screenplay unwieldy. A female daku Phulia, modeled on Phoolan Devi, tells Indu, played by Bhumi Pednekar, that women are such second-class citizens that they aren’t even deserving of the cruel caste system. It reminded me of a terrific scene in Sonchiriya, directed by Abhishek Chaubey, who is the supervising producer on this film. The women, irrespective of their status – from the wealthy matriarch to maid to prostitute – are collateral, to be used, abused, traded as the men wish. The men in the film range from being merely entitled and sanctimonious to being sexual perverts, rapists and killers. But debutant director Honey Trehan and writer Smita Singh use the genre conventions to create a horrifying portrait of patriarchy.
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