The Night Manager Part 2 review: Hotstar's spy adaptation returns for a third season with three new episodes. Once again, it's the key cast's performances – Aditya Roy Kapur, Anil Kapoor, Tillotama Shome, and Sobhita Dhulipala – that help lift it above the average content we see on Indian streaming.
 |
| The Night Manager |
Perhaps it's time to replace the'mahurat shot' with a new Bollywood tradition (which doesn't appear to be working anymore, does it?). Instead of gathering everybody together for a small ‘pooja’ before projects, maybe every Bollywood producer should consider hiring Anil Kapoor to individually address each member of the cast on day one, and have him say just six words to them in that trademark AK drawl: “You’re my lead actorrr, my starrr.” This is precisely what he accomplishes in a scene with Aditya Roy Kapur in The Night Manager, and the magnetism on display is convincing enough for even ARK to forget that his most recent film was Gumraah.
Part 2 of Hotstar's Hindi version of the blockbuster British drama follows Roy Kapur's Shaan Sengupta after he has successfully penetrated the inner circle of arms dealer Shelly Rungta. According to a helpful synopsis, Shaan was hired by Lipika Saikia, the Srikant Tiwari-esque spy played by series star Tillotama Shome, to gather dirt on Shelly, who finally lives up to her 'worst person in the world' moniker in these new episodes. What Shaan and Lipika uncover is that Shelly's organisation is far larger than they anticipated, and they may be in over their heads.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer Serious Men to release on Netflix
Part 2 moves quickly to get Shelly's son Taha out of the way. This is disappointing, given that his interactions with Shaan were the highlight of the first installment, but departure allows Shaan to form a new friendship inside Shelly's tight-knit cult. We'd seen the first traces of a relationship between Shaan and Shelly's girlfriend in Part 1, but the thread, like everything else concerning Kaveri, was basically left hanging. Part 2 delves deeper into this storyline, ultimately offering Sobhita Dhulipala situations worthy of her skill. It's fascinating to watch her execute a largely organic performance against Kapoor, who chews the scenery (in a nice way) here.
He's a joy to see on television, and thank goodness Danny Boyle discovered his shady side in Slumdog Millionaire. In Part 2, Kapoor has numerous opportunities to expose Shelly for the monster that he is, such as when he chews on a cigar and talks about the beauty of bombs like he's Wordsworth reciting daffodil verses, or when he stabs a former associate to death with what appears to be a Reynolds ballpoint pen.
However, without Taha in the picture, it's hard to feel pity for Shelly in Part 2. There is no outlet for the sliver of humanity that is within him. Shelly becomes a crueller man when he is separated from his kid, whom he adores. He is manipulative and petty, and his actions and thinking are aggressive. But this isn't a one-note performance; Kapoor manages to delve into Shelly's insecurities in various sequences, bringing another depth to an otherwise irredeemable character. It's so nice to see him consumed by his own arrogance.
Aside from Shelly, no other character undergoes a shift worthy of mention. Shaan is still the suave secret spy, however his elevation to Shelly's 'CEO' seems a little strange given that they've just recently met. Lipika retains her endearing liveliness, while Kaveri remains fairly passive, but she has more screen time. To be honest, none of these characters were aware that Hotstar would unilaterally decide to split the programme into two half, much like a PVR projectionist who can detect when the audience needs a pee break midway through a movie without a defined interval break. It's not their fault if this all feels like... more of the same.
Sandeep Modi, who co-directs with Priyanka Ghose, may not have a distinct visual style, but he compensates with a fine sense of rhythm and intensity. Scenes have specific stakes, and the way dialogues are edited has a rhythm. This is obvious, yet not many prominent Indian filmmakers appreciate the importance of inserts and quiet reactions. So, for once, it's worth applauding a filmmaker for not utterly ruining the vocabulary of filmmaking. However, Modi might have avoided using Moby's popular music cue from the Jason Bourne films in one sequence. People aren't stupid, you know, and they can detect these things. At least Pritam had the courtesy to look for inspiration in Indonesia.
Aside from that, there isn't much to complain about in The Night Manager. In this day and age of inept Indian film, it's delightfully refreshing to witness something that's practically the cinematic equivalent of a back-bencher who barely passes the examinations.
The Night Manager
Creator – Sandeep Modi
Cast – Aditya Roy Kapur, Anil Kapoor, Tillotama Shome, Sobhita Dhulipala, Saswata Chatterjee
Rating – 3/5
0 comments:
Post a Comment