Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?

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.

So, I love the cast & they perform well. Saurabh Shukla has tested his hands in directing & I feel he has achieved what he yearned with a fine adult comedy which sometimes, gasps for fresh breath.

The plot revolves around two 3 families & how a party they spend the other night together in, turns out to play havoc in their lives. Rajat Kapoor is suave as always as the husband who has experiences a short- span memory lapse. It advances as he goes on to find out what happened that night to finally end up in a comedic situation with his friends. Certain surprise elements barge in to give a humorous effect. Lots of vulgar references which did lack punch but give you a light-hearted time.

Mostly, it talks about adultery & how one should see it/handle it.

BOTTOM LINE: Overall, a fine drama which does stick to the emotional side towards the end. Recommended for a one-time watch due to the wits, slapstick & real-life relations.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO

Profanity/Sex: No | Mouth-Kiss/Vulgarity/Nudity: Mediocre | Violence/Gore: No | Smoking/Alcohol: Strong | Drugs: No | Porn: Very Mild

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.

Loved this movie and thought it would get more viewings with a better name. Guess the promoters/producers thought this cheap name would bring in more front benchers. Rajat why the beard??? Neha stop going over the top in slutty roles! Ranvir what were you doing in this movie?? Makrand- wanted to see more of you? Sudhir Mishra- nice look. Naveen - thank you for playing your age and not over-acting. Dalip - got more footage than you should have. anu/ Iravat - well played. Music was nicely complimenting the movie

Overall an excellent growing up for Bollywood. Keep it up Rajat, nice follow-up to Bheja Fry. Do not succumb to mainstream cinema please...

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.