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Actor Manoj Bajpayee, known for bringing serious and layered characters to life on screen in the world of OTT, has once again returned to the audience in a shocking avatar. The much awaited suspense crime thriller film ‘Gajab Raat’ has finally streamed on Netflix. This project was in discussion among cinema lovers for a long time, the main reason for which was its old controversial name ‘Ghooskhor Pandat’. After some social organizations protested against this title, the producers showed sensitivity and changed its name to ‘Gajab Raat’. Now that this film has come in front of the audience, the question arises whether this thriller directed by Ritesh Shah is able to do justice to its name and the presence of Manoj Bajpayee or not. With a runtime of 2 hours 03 minutes, this story, woven around the events of just one night, exposes the system, bribery, dirty politics of the corridors of power and the conflict of human conscience layer by layer.
The film’s script revolves around the dark and mysterious streets of Delhi, centering on the character of corrupt police inspector Ajay Nirvit, played by Manoj Bajpayee. Ajay Nirvit is a pawn of a police system that has no moral compass and for which Khaki is just a means of extorting money and bargaining. The story begins with a raid on a hotel in the country’s capital, where a woman named Rosie encounters Nirvit. The character of Rosie is played by Nushrat Bharucha. Without any hesitation, Nirvit takes a huge bribe from Rosie and quietly lets her out through the back door and takes the rest of the people into custody to show them the legal consequences. Amidst this corrupt routine, a sensational incident occurs in the city, when an unknown girl jumps onto the road in a bleeding state from a speeding car. The case comes straight to Ajay Nirvit’s desk for investigation and the injured girl is admitted to a nearby hospital. But Nirvit’s priority is not justice but filling his pockets. A suspicious CBI officer enters the hospital, who plans to silence the injured girl forever. Instead of pursuing justice, Nirvit joins hands with the suspicious officer and gets involved in a bloody conspiracy to kill the girl inside the hospital. After all, who is that girl, what secrets does she have that big people are afraid of, does Nirvit succeed in his nefarious plans or does the story take a new turn in a single night, the entire film revolves around this mystery.
On the acting front, Manoj Bajpayee once again proves that he has the ability to enliven even a weak frame with his acting. As Ajay Nirvit, his body language, greedy eyes and the mischievous smile hidden behind the uniform look completely natural. His facial expressions and style of conversation while demanding bribe keep the audience glued to the screen. Akshay Oberoi and Saqib Saleem have also done a balanced job in their parts and supported the pace of the story. Rajeev Gupta has played an important role in making the atmosphere of the police department realistic, who has captured the typical Haryanvi accent very well and his comic timing brings a smile on the face even in many serious moments. However, the biggest disappointment of the film is the screen presence of the talented actresses. Seasoned actresses like Divya Dutta and Nushrat Bharucha are given very limited screen time, due to which their characters disappear before the story is fully developed.
Ritesh Shah, who has made his mark as the writer of critically acclaimed films like Kahaani, Pink, Airlift and Raid, has taken over the reins of direction with ‘Gajab Raat’. He has made a bold attempt to cover the entire film in 123 minutes of just one night. The strongest aspect of the direction is that the pace of the film does not slow down at any point and the viewer is constantly curious to know what will happen in the next scene. The story does not seem very predictable anywhere and the suspense meter keeps going up and down. However, if we compare it with the writings of Ritesh Shah’s old cult films, then some clear gaps are visible at the level of writing. The biggest technical and scripting flaw is the sudden change in Ajay Nirvit’s character. A policeman who had been working only for money all his life and who till a few hours earlier was involved in a conspiracy to murder a girl, suddenly has a change of heart in a single night without any strong and solid emotional basis. Apart from this, the characters of Kiku Sharda and Nushrat Bharucha seem to be used only to fill the dialogues. Also, the satire and sharpness which the original name of the film ‘Ghushkhor Pundit’ reflected, appears a little faded in ‘Gajab Raat’.
If we talk about the positive aspects of the film, its biggest USP is its theme and dark tone. This is not a formula based traditional murder mystery, rather it exposes multiple layers of greed for power, internal rot of the police department, dirty politics and corporate-crime nexus in the span of a single night. The cinematography brilliantly captures the tense and frightening atmosphere of the night, maintaining an atmosphere of mystery. On the other hand, if we talk about weaknesses, the way the climax of the film has been wrapped up, it may give a little disappointment to the audience. Some ends of the story remain scattered at the end and the suspense which was created very high from the beginning, the ending feels a bit hasty. Despite this, Manoj Bajpayee’s impeccable acting and the tautness of the events that take place over one night make this film worth watching.
If you are a fan of crime suspense, realistic cinema and Manoj Bajpayee’s serious characters, then ‘Gajab Raat’ available on Netflix proves to be a thriller worth watching once this weekend.