Raat Baaki Hai

Adapted from a popular play called "Ballygunge 1990" directed by Atul Satya Koushik, Raat Baaki Hai is the tale of one fateful night in the lives of Vasuki (Paoli Dam) and Kartik (Anup Soni), two estranged lovers who happen to meet by chance after a gap of 12 years. Kartik and Vani (Dipannita Sharma), a top actress get engaged the same night at a plush hotel in Rajasthan and the former is too heavily drunk to carry himself through the night. Unfortunately, the bride to be is soon found murdered with the throat slit apart in her suite. Inspector Rajesh Ahlawat (Rahul Dev) begins his investigation and gradually gets to work out the progress of the crime, only until a point where the CCTV camera footage goes missing.

In the interim, Kartik is on the run realising the gravitas of the situation and lands up in Vasuki's mansion, as if by chance. She claims that she is happily married to Raja Sujan Singh, the owner of the mansion and the hotel for the past 12 years since separating from Kartik. She makes Kartik comfortable and asks him to wait for the Raja to return to rid him of his immediate problem. As the night proceeds, matters get a little complicated as beans are spilled and Kartik is in for some strange surprise.

Raat Baaki Hai is languid, low key and short (89 minutes). It could have been taut and slick, but fails in execution as the ending is somewhat underwhelming although unpredictable. Paoli Dam is effective, but doesn't find too much support from the others. The settings are plush and rich and the proceedings are palpable.

A decent weekend watch! However, the film doesn't keep you on the edge of your seat. Most of the casts have done a good job but none gives a memorable performance. Storyline is ordinary (but not bad) and that's the weakness of the movie. Do watch!

Barring Rahul Dev and the other cops, all performances are below par. Even from seasoned actors like Anup Soni.

Can be a 1-time watch if you have nothing else to do.

Very predictable story line with not so much uniqueness to the plot. This isn't a bad film. Probably bit better than some of the craps out there on OTT.

For the first half hour, it was tedious to sit as the movie was too slow. Some pace to the movie could have brought a difference. Characters seems half baked and even in an predictable script, the right execution could have made the difference. Dialogues were good.

Basically, this isn't a very bad movie. Intent was there to make it a good film but somehow the execution failed.

Rahul dev was my pick from the movie, but his character lacks depth. Anup Soni was okay. Rest of the cast was average. None of them able to leave strong impression.

#sanjuzzreviews

Based on a play Ballygunge 1990, the story of this whodunit unfolds in a single night with the murder of a bollywood actress, Dipanita Sharma on her engagement night. Her writer fiancee Anup Soni is the primary suspect as he absconds from the crime scene. Fate lands him at the doorstep of his ex-flame, Paoli Dam who gives him shelter for the night. Rahul Dev plays the part of a police officer on the roles of a high ranking politician asked to take charge of the case to save someone.

A great concept for a classic whodunit, great cast too.

Alas, the film falters in the execution department. A very linear narrative might work in a play, however it fails to create an impact here. It starts off with great promise but becomes very predictable in the end.

The are no adrenaline rush moment's as the film slowly moves towards a climax that makes you feel that something could've been better.

Rahul Dev , Anup Soni and Paoli Dam give sincere performances, but cannot translate a good play into a great film, thus making it a rather average watch.. Adios🙂