Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders – A Brutally Honest Review (Spoilers Ahead)

I just finished watching Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders on Netflix, the 2025 sequel to the 2020 original, and honestly? It’s a mixed bag that left me frustrated more than satisfied. Directed by Honey Trehan and starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui reprising his role as the brooding Inspector Jatil Yadav, this film tries to be a sharp crime thriller with social commentary. But it ends up feeling like a preachy, in-your-face critique that’s less subtle than it thinks it is – especially when it comes to painting certain sections of society in broad, stereotypical strokes.

The plot kicks off strong: Multiple members of the powerful Bansal family – owners of a massive media empire – are brutally murdered in their mansion. Dead crows, a pig’s head on their newspaper – ominous signs pointing to something sinister. Jatil Yadav is called in to investigate, navigating a web of suspects among the surviving family members, including a grieving mother (Chitrangada Singh), a shady godwoman devotee, and relatives with their own dirty secrets.

Nawazuddin is, as always, the standout. His weary, no-nonsense cop carries the film on his shoulders, delivering a restrained performance that’s worlds better than some of his recent sleepwalking roles. The supporting cast – Revathi, Deepti Naval, Rajat Kapoor – is solid, and the atmosphere is suitably noir-ish, with shadowy mansions and simmering tension.

But here’s where it falls apart for me: The “subtle underpinnings” the film prides itself on aren’t subtle at all. The Bansal family is portrayed as this entitled, corrupt upper-caste clan entangled in corporate greed, religious opportunism (that godwoman subplot feels like a direct jab at blind faith in gurus), media manipulation, and cover-ups of industrial accidents. The killer turns out to be Om Prakash, a lowly night guard seeking revenge for his daughter’s death in a gas leak at the family’s factory – a tragedy they buried for profit.

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It’s classic class warfare: The rich, powerful (implicitly upper-caste Hindu) family exploits the poor, hides behind religion and media power, and gets away with murder (literally). The film hammers home how “societies decide whose lives matter” – the workers’ deaths are forgotten, but the elite’s murders demand attention. Fair point on inequality and corruption, but it comes across as repetitive whataboutery. Every elite character is flawed to the point of caricature: hypocritical, superstitious, morally bankrupt.

And the ending? That’s the real kicker that pissed me off. Jatil uncovers the truth, gets a confession, but… the case gets twisted due to “public perception” and political pressure. The powerful walk free (or face minimal consequences), while the system protects them. The cop basically has to compromise or face suspension. It’s meant to be a grim commentary on justice failing the common man, but it feels like nonsense – a cop spouting lines about closing cases based on perception? In a film that’s supposedly about integrity?

It reeks of that Bollywood trope where the “system” is rigged against truth, but conveniently absolves certain narratives while demonizing others. Feels like trying to whitewash or deflect from real-world issues by amplifying stereotypes of “everything wrong with traditional Hindu society” – patriarchy, caste entitlement, fake godmen, corporate Hinduism – without balancing it with nuance. The religious angle is shoved in: Blind devotion to a guru, using faith to manipulate and cover crimes. It’s not wrong to critique, but it’s so one-sided and “in your face” that it borders on propaganda.

Compared to the original Raat Akeli Hai (which tackled caste, patriarchy, and family secrets more tightly), this sequel bloats the runtime (over 2 hours) with red herrings and slow pacing. The whodunit is predictable if you’ve seen enough of these, and the social message overshadows the thriller elements.

Brutally honest verdict: 5.5/10. Watch it for Nawaz and some tense moments, but don’t expect a fair, balanced take. It’s engaging enough for a one-time Netflix binge, but the heavy-handed preaching and unsatisfying closure left a bad taste. If you’re tired of films that stereotype entire communities while claiming moral high ground, skip this one.

Streaming now on Netflix. Your mileage may vary but for me, it was more irritating than insightful.

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