In Netflix’s recent release Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders, tough-cop Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is onto a new case. A new murder, this time of the mass variety. All but two members of an influential media family, the Bansals, are found slaughtered in their own house. There are murmurs of black magic, a cult headed by a bald Deepti Naval and a survivor (Chitrangda Singh) whose statements don’t add up. The first part of the now film-franchise came in 2020, during the pandemic, as a complete film with no open-end hinting at a sequel. “When it came out in 2020, viewers appreciated it a lot,” says director Honey Trehan, who also helmed the first part. “Recently, Netflix reached us asking if we can have another story, another case to place Jatil Yadav in.”
The cop character was Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s turn towards the good-side of the law after he played a gangster in Sacred Games. In Raat Akeli Hai (2020), beneath the uniform, Jatil is actually a man deeply insecure about his looks. He even hides a fairness cream tube behind a mirror. “Some of my personal experiences also made to the character,” reminisces Nawazuddin. “Initially, I housed a lot of insecurity regarding my skin tone.”
In the second outing, however, such internalisations of the character are rare. Jatil is the same fish just in a bigger pond. “He is now investigating a murder which has happened amidst the posh ones,” shares Nawazuddin. “The situation might be different but yeah, it’s essentially the same guy.”
Not just in the economic standing of its victims, Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders also scales up in its cast. In addition to Deepti Naval and Chitrangda, seasoned actors like Rajat Kapoor and Revathy have also joined in. Rajat plays Jatil’s senior DGP Verma. “I am tired of playing these boss characters,” he quips. “But the actual excitement was to work with Nawazuddin, Revathy, Deepti (Naval) and Chitrangda. Surprisingly, I have known all of them socially for years but this is the first time I am working with them.”
Revathy plays a rather entertaining character in the film, that of forensic expert Rosie Panicker, a woman in charge who doesn’t bow to anyone except her own integrity. “She is a woman who knows exactly what she is doing,” says Revathy. “Rosie is a person of detail. She goes into the depth of everything. She is extremely passionate and honest, that’s how Honey described the character to me. These attributes connected with me in some way. I could relate.”
Revathy goes on to give a glimpse of her process of preparing for the character. “I pestered Honey with so many questions,” she says with a laugh. “I just wanted to know what he thinks of Rosie. That made the character easy to form in my head.”
But the real trouble, Revathy says, were the Hindi dialogues. “I really needed to be prepared because I had such ace Hindi cinema actors working with me,” she says.
“When Revathy ma’am used to perform, I noticed these little nuances she added to her character, that was a learning moment,” adds Nawazuddin. “With Rajat sir, you can’t go in without prepping. He can take you off guard.”
“My preparation, however, was all about deciding whether my character should keep a moustache or a beard,” jokes Rajat. “For me as, an actor, all the work is done on the script. I don't believe in character backstory or anything. The story lies in between the lines.”
Novelty, however, seems to be lacking in OTT storytelling. Everytime, a sequel or a part three of an established franchise comes, there are criticisms that the platforms are merely milking a cash cow. “I don’t think OTT is running out of ideas,” retorts Honey. “The problem, I feel, is more with the theatricals. There nobody knows what is working. I recently met this studio head who was willing to green-lit even a half-written action film if I had one. That’s the world we are living in. It’s true that both OTT and theatricals are banking on big stars because they bring the viewership,” he adds. “It’s a business by the end of it, like selling soap. You just have to convince people that yours can generate most bubbles.”