Raat Baaki Hai is a drama thriller movie directed by Avinash Das and starring Paoli Dam, Anup Soni, Rahul Dev and Dipannita Sharma, alongside other cast members.
In the starting moments, Rahul Dev’s cop does what every cop does in movies such as Raat Baaki Hai. He has sex and then gets called out to a murder investigation. I wouldn’t be able to tell you how many times I have seen this, but it is so predictable and adds absolutely nothing to the story in any way. There’s also a quirk that cops such as these possess – they are extremely rude for no apparent reason. Maybe talking to people badly stimulates their brains to be smart or something – but it’s annoying as all heck to watch regardless.
Also, the fact that both Vaani’s finance, Karthik, and her producer/buddy, Rehaan, think that she is a property that can be owned because of her past sex life is disgusting and absolutely heinous.
Raat Baaki Hai starts off with the murder of a famous celebrity on her engagement day. When Vaani turns up with her throat slit on her bed, Rajesh Ahlawat takes up the task of understanding who could do such a heinous crime and bring the perpetrator to justice. The suspect is right in front of him though, Vaani’s fiancé Karthik who is missing from the scene. However, over the course of the movie, various things come to the forefront that have the ability to turn this seemingly easy case on its head.
Raat Baaki Hai is a known thriller. It’s a movie that we have watched too many times. The actors all play characters that they have played before and the twists in the tale aren’t really that big for you to sit back and take notice. If anything, the twists can be figured out from a mile away. The movie also leaves several questions unanswered for the audience which will further confuse you regarding the outcome.
Although the story lacks some serious novelty and freshness, the cinematography is absolutely stunning. The picturesque Rajasthan is brought to life and is, honestly, the only redeeming quality of the movie. The same cannot be said about the practical effects department though. At one point, when Vaani’s throat is being slit, you can clearly see the fake skin sprouting out blood. It immediately takes you out of the experience.
When it comes to performances, there’s not much to talk about. As I mentioned previously, Paoli Dam has played the role of the revenge-seeking crazy person many a time before. She, thus, feels great as the unhinged Vasuki. However, my major gripe comes from the fact that her hair is in beautiful waves and she’s wearing black knee-high sexy boots while out to exact revenge. It’d be so problematic to have hair on your face during these moments, but well, what do I know?
Dipannita Sharma, Rahul Dev and Anup Soni are also good in their respective roles. Rahul Dev, especially, is great as the rude cop, although there’s not much deduction that the police department does to nab the culprit. If anything, all the evidence is handed over to him because of the CCTV cameras. There’s no investigation as such and everything comes to light because of an exposition-heavy second half which, unfortunately, isn’t thrilling. Sameer Malhotra, however, is a piece of wood throughout.
Summing up: Raat Baaki Hai
Raat Baaki Hai has no thrills and its 1-hour 29-minute runtime does nothing other than having “smart-ass” dialogues. The police do a horrible job at bringing the truth to light and without the CCTVs, wouldn’t have been able to act as tough as they do. On the other hand, Paoli and Anup Soni’s conversations throughout the runtime seem frivolous and boring at best and the exposition-heavy second half feels like a chore to go through.
Atleast Rajasthan looks beautiful.
Raat Baaki Hai is streaming on Zee5.
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