By Ayesha Khan 
Mumbai, December 19: Sequels usually arrive with expectations strapped to them. Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders arrives with something heavier. Memory. The first film never announced itself as a franchise-starter. It drifted into the Netflix catalogue in 2020 and stayed there, slowly gathering an audience that appreciated its refusal to explain itself. That long afterlife is the real reason this sequel exists, and it shows in how little interest the film has in reintroductions or reassurance.
Now streaming on Netflix, the second chapter is quieter in places where viewers might expect noise, and blunter where subtlety once did the work. That trade-off defines the experience.
A Cop Who Knows How This Ends
Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Inspector Jatil Yadav has changed, though not in obvious ways. He is still observant. Still dry. But there is no sense now that he believes the system will bend, even slightly, toward fairness.
The case involving the deaths tied to the influential Bansal family unfolds without urgency. Leads surface, stall, and circle back. Doors open only when someone powerful allows them to. The investigation feels less like a hunt and more like a negotiation with reality.
Outlook India called the film “deliciously paced and politically resolute, which is accurate, though “delicious” may depend on appetite. The pacing asks for patience. It assumes viewers will notice silences, the pauses between questions, the way answers are framed to sound cooperative while offering nothing. There are moments when the film seems to test how much stillness an audience will tolerate. Some will lean in. Others will drift.
Siddiqui Does Not Push, He Waits
There is nothing demonstrative about Siddiqui’s performance, and that is the point. He does not underline Jatil’s fatigue. He lets it sit.
According to MensXP, the actor is “outstanding” here, and the praise is earned less through scenes of confrontation than through scenes of listening. Siddiqui’s Jatil absorbs information with the look of someone already aware of the ending. Justice, if it arrives, will be partial. Compromised. Negotiated. This version of the character does not chase truth with optimism. He documents its limits.
Chitrangada Singh, playing a key role within this ecosystem of influence, brings control and restraint. Her presence sharpens the emotional stakes, though the film resists exploring her character beyond what the plot requires. It feels intentional, but it leaves behind an unfinished edge.
Where Momentum Slips
The film’s restraint does not always serve it. The Times of India, which rated the film at around 3 out of 5, notes stretches where tension fades. That observation is difficult to argue with. The narrative occasionally lingers too long on its own seriousness, mistaking gravity for depth. Some scenes feel designed to signal significance rather than generate it. The social intent is clear. The dramatic payoff is less consistent.
Still, the criticism stops short of dismissal. Even when the film falters, it does so with purpose.
A Crime Story That Looks Outward
Unlike many recent OTT thrillers that flirt with social themes before returning safely to plot, The Bansal Murders keeps its gaze fixed on structure. Who is protected? Who waits. Who learns to stop asking.
As Outlook India points out, issues of caste privilege and institutional shielding are not background texture here. They are the mechanism. Violence is not sensationalised. It is processed, diluted, and absorbed by the system. At times, the film states this too plainly. The ambiguity that once gave the franchise its texture is replaced with clarity. That may frustrate viewers who valued the original’s restraint. Others may see it as an honest shift.
Release And Early Reaction
The film went live on Netflix on Friday, December 19. The Indian Express placed it among the day’s notable OTT recommendations, while Gadgets 360 included it in its weekly release roundup. As per FilmiBeat, the film appeared on Netflix India around 1:30 PM IST, following the platform’s standard release window.
By evening, audience reaction had split predictably. Some praised the mood and performances. Others questioned the pacing and emotional release. Neither side is wrong.
Living With What Came Before
The original Raat Akeli Hai grew slowly. It benefited from time, from repeat viewing, from conversations that happened well after release week. The sequel does not offer that same sense of discovery. It assumes familiarity. It withholds satisfaction. It does not seem concerned with being liked.
That confidence may limit its reach, but it also defines its integrity.
No Urgency For What Comes Next
There has been no word from Netflix about another instalment. The ending leaves room, not demand. Nothing here insists on continuation. For now, Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders exists as a film comfortable with discomfort. A crime story less interested in answers than in the systems that make answers irrelevant.
Whether audiences stay with it long enough to appreciate that choice is an open question.
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- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ayesha/
- Ayesha Khanhttps://hindustanherald.in/authors/ayesha/
