Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?

After a long gap, comes an impressive and entertaining offbeat flick talking about the extra marital affairs in a comical manner. An intelligent satire on the ever changing relationships of 3 married couples and their reunion; it is not a usual cup of tea for every lover of Hindi Cinema. In fact the movie is strictly for adults and the multiplex viewers who can easily understand the overdose of English conversations included in its narration. And though it revolves around the memory loss of a particular night and its happenings, still it is not a remake or an inspired version of the English Hit "Hangover" as expected.

It's a comeback movie of writer-actor-director Saurabh Shukla, which excels with its impressive performances, funny dialogues and realistic take on the High Society culture and its famous parties. The story revolves around a weekend party where all the characters are there interacting with each other. Rajat Kapoor arrives there to attend the party along with his wife Irawati and their kid girl. After a few drinks he gets attracted towards Neha Dhupia, who is also there in the party with her boyfriend. They both start with some casual talks and end up being in a room all alone. Now the next morning when Rajat wakes up, he cannot exactly remember what had happened last night and he is still confused that whether they both did 'it' or not. From here, starts the actual mix-up where everyone starts blaming the other for his undisclosed and awkward position.

In actual terms, "Raat Gayi Baat Gayi" is not a loud comedy with over the top sexual sequences as seen in some recent lousy comedies. On the contrary it's a smart and intellectual kind of movie which more or less depends upon the entertaining verbal conversations between its characters. It's indeed a treat to watch the husbands & wives talking bitterly about their spouses and then later repenting upon their own remarks and feeling sorry for it. In simple words, the movie entertains in its first half where everyone is lovingly teasing each other in the party and then remarkably enlightens its viewers in the second half when the characters move on to the path of their self-realisation.

The most entertaining scenes include the ones where Rajat Kapoor & Vinay Pathak are discussing the one night stand with each other. Later Dilip Tahil joins in, making it even more hilarious and absorbing. Besides that, Saurabh also softly points out towards many famous social superstitions like Feng- Shui and Tarot Reading through some intelligently written scenes in his script. And the last half an hour of the movie, when all the confusions are being cleared about that particular night, proves as a perfect ending for a well directed movie based on the uncontrolled human relationships.

If you loved the artistic kind of movies made in the 70s & 80s, then you will readily appreciate the efforts put in "Raat Gayi Baat Gayi" accompanied by many superlative performances to enjoy. The best act comes from Rajat Kapoor and Vinay Pathak, which gets equally supported by the sizzling beauty, Neha Dhupia who looks too hot in her revealing outfits. Rest of the cast includes, Dalip Tahil, Irawati Harshe, Anu Menon, Navnit Nisshan and Aamir Bashir, who also provide many funny and amusing moments for the viewers. To complete the team lead by Rajat Kapoor there are few special cameos too made by the well known, Ranvir Shorey, Marakand Deshpande and the renowned director Sudhir Mishra.

Interestingly both Ranvir and Marakand have the two most hilarious scenes in the script where Ranvir is talking about his innovative "Kukkad" dish and Marakand is showing his palmistry skills to a lady. Musically the film has nothing exceptional to offer with Ankur Tewari's musical score mainly working only as a fine filler. Cinematography is captivating with expressive close-ups, soothing lighting and innovative colour schemes used in the backgrounds.

Incidentally, "Raat Gayi Baat Gayi" reminded me of another realistic gem called "Party" (1984), which also revolved around a similar get-together sequence involving several characters from the richer section of the society. The 80s masterpiece was directed by Govind Nihalani and it seems that the movie was somehow there in Saurabh's mind while writing the script of his current venture. The climax was also pretty close to Rajat's own movie on wife swapping with the title "Mixed Doubles" released in 2006.

Summing up, 'Raat Gayi Baat Gayi" is a well directed and superbly acted movie which will mostly appeal to the thinking viewers who love the realistic, offbeat and artistic kind of cinema. Go for it if you are a fan of this particular genre.

This movie begins at a party with a married man named "Rahul Kapoor" (Rajat Kapoor) flirting with a beautiful woman named "Sophia" (Neha Dhupia) and then waking up the next day with his wife "Mitali Kapoor" (Iravati Harshe) being extremely upset with him and subsequently taking their daughter and leaving. To make matters even more complicated, Rahul drank too much that night and doesn't remember whether he slept with Sophia or not. So to sort everything out and get some idea why his wife is angry he decides to ask his friends who were at the party about what exactly happened. Unfortunately, the first person he asks is his friend "Amit" (Vinay Pathak) who is also having domestic problems with his own wife due to certain issues at that same party and he is equally bewildered and confused. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I was slightly disappointed in this film because it had a certain amount of potential which was never fully realized. To be sure, the actors were competent enough but the humor wasn't nearly as keen as it could have been. Even so, this certainly wasn't a bad movie by any means and because of that I have rated it accordingly. Average.

The team that gave us some amazing movies like 'Mixed Doubles', 'Mithiya' and 'Dasvidaniya' are now back with a new movie about urban marital relationships. Saurabh Shukla now occupies the director's seat and tells the story of three married couples. What really captured me about Shukla's direction is how he subtly portrays each couple struggling in their marriage. While it is clear that their marriages aren't working, Shukla cleverly peels the layers as he gradually reveals the reason. The subtle comedy is a plus even though the pace is a little slow in the beginning. The film also manages to capture the urban feel. The twist in the end, even though I saw it coming, is well handled.

The overall performances are good. However, Rajat Kapoor doesn't exactly nail the part. Vinay Pathak is brilliant, even though this kind of character isn't anything new for him and writing required more depth. Dalip Tahil makes a welcome comeback and so does Navneet Nishan as the irritating chatterbox housewife. Aamir Bashir is adequate. Neha Dhupia is sensational and finally it is Iravati Harshe who delivers the best performance.

The execution is pretty good and the soundtrack is terrific. Even if 'Raat Gayi Baat Gayi' isn't among the best of what the team has delivered, it is a nice effort on Shukla's part. He ought to direct more and I'll be looking forward to such ventures.

I had somewhat mediocre expectations from the film. But I was utterly disappointed as to my expectations from this film was particularly high after the lot like Mithya and Dasvidania both by Vinay Pathak.

Much of its storyline line has a very strong resemblance with the hangover.

Though if u r a regular movie goer,u can enjoy this one as an adaptation of Hollywood's flicks!

This is a well directed and superbly acted movie which will mostly appeal to the thinking viewers who love the realistic, offbeat and artistic kind of cinema.

Go for it if you are a fan of this particular genre.

One of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, Saurabh Shukla Directs 'Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?'. And luckily, Shukla has made a fairly entertaining rom-com, that doesn't fail to impress.

'Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?' Synopsis: Following a wild party, a married man meets with his friends in order to try and remember his indiscretions.

What makes 'Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?' work is its simplistic story & the characters it has. While the protagonist is good, the supporting characters appeal as much or even more. Especially the character played by Neha Dhupia. Its a well-written character!

Shukla who also Wrote The Story & Screenplay along-with Rajat Kapoor, makes sure there is movement in the narrative. Though slow-paced & dull in parts, the film works otherwise due to the interesting sequences it offers. Shukla has Directed the film well. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are okay.

Performance-Wise: Neha Dhupia excels in a meaty role. She delivers her best performance to date. Rajat Kapoor is perfect as the protagonist. Vinay Pathak is remarkably credible, as always. Dalip Tahil is in top form. Iravati is effective. Anu Menon is equally good. Navneet Nishan is adequate. In cameos, Ranvir Shorey & Aamir Bashir leave a mark.

On the whole, 'Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?' has genuine merits.