The Night Manager REVIEW: Hindi remake is a slow burner with power-packed performances by Aditya, Anil, Tillotama

Series: The Night Manager

Director: Sandeep Modi

Star Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Anil Kapoor, Tillotama Shome, Saswata Chatterjee, Sobhita Dhulipala

Platform: Disney+ Hotstar

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 2.5/5 stars

The Night Manager REVIEW: 

The Night Manager is the official Hindi remake of the British television serial starring Tom Hiddleston and Hugh Laurie. Season 1 of the show has been divided into two parts where the first part consists of 4 episodes. The series is of four episodes of 40 minutes each which is slow yet interesting. Aditya Roy Kapur plays Tom’s role whereas Anil Kapoor essays the role of Hugh in the Hindi version and the two have tried to play a convincing role. Speaking about The Night Manager Hindi version in this review, the show is a slow burner but will leave you impressed with the star cast’s powerful performances. Even though the series boasts good stars, that’s not enough as the content doesn’t seem eye-grabbing or intriguing.

Given the fact the series is going to have a second part, the first part has ended on a cliffhanger note which is not as anticipating as it should be. By the time you reach the fourth episode, it is quite evident what will happen next but at the same time, it will compel you to make some interesting theories in your head. The first part of The Night Manager only establishes the characters; however, the character cards are yet to be put on display which we might get to see in the second part. A lot of things demand answers in the first half like why Shaan decided to become a hotelier from a soldier. The backstory of Shelly, his empire and many other things and guess that would be the only reason that will drive you to watch the second part, otherwise, I don’t see any driving point.

The story is about a night manager named Shaan Sengupta who finds himself in a difficult situation when he gets to know that Shailendra Rungta is an arms dealer and has murdered several innocent people. Due to several incidents, he always finds himself near Shailendra. Since he is an ex-officer, he teams up with the RAW agent to take down Shelly and his criminal empire. With the help of RAW, he then enters the life of Shelly to know him better and his mission. The first part is about Shaan looking for leads and intentions of Shelly.

Drawbacks:

The pace of the film is definitely one of the drawbacks of The Night Manager. However, I really don’t want to be too critical as what I have seen is just half of the series and I’m yet to see the entire thing which can be a little more engaging.

Story:

It is a story about The Night Manager named Shaan Sengupta, an ex-soldier, who goes on a mission to infiltrate an arms dealer’s inner circle.

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Star Performances: 

First and foremost, Aditya Roy Kapur is a visual treat for sure. I can assure you that you’d be sweating throughout the series as he looks that hot. The actor is absolutely drool-worthy in every way, be it in a three-piece suit or shirtless. He plays the role of an ex-soldier who becomes the night manager at a five-star hotel. He encounters an arms dealer and realises that he makes blood money.

Aditya looks absolutely convincing as a soldier as well as a night manager. His sharp gaze and intense expressions demanded attention. Though in some places it feels like Aditya tries hard to act like the British actor, he still manages to bring out a classy act like him. He even stood his ground from getting overshadowed by stalwarts like Anil Kapoor and Saswata Chatterjee.

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Anil Kapoor is a top-notch actor. The actor essays the role of the antagonist Shailendra Rungta aka Shelly in the series. He plays the role of a businessman who is shown as the messiah of people and helps needy people but in reality, he is an arms dealer who is minting money at the cost of other people’s life. In fact, he can be the worst man in the world. However, his life takes a huge turn when he meets Shaan in the most unconventional way and that leads to drama and problems.

Anil as Shailendra is terrific. He knows his part way too well and plays it with perfection. He has played a grey character in movies like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Malang and I feel, Anil Kapoor does a fab job playing negative characters. He is surely the showstopper in the series.

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Even though Anil Kapoor and Aditya Roy Kapur are the faces of the show, Tillotama Shome is definitely the heartbeat of the series. Her sassy comments, one-liners, and feisty nature are so relatable and hilarious. She is the only source of some humour in the series and hence, she is one of my favourite characters. I thoroughly enjoyed her onscreen, she seems absolutely perfect for this role. It seems like Tillotama brings a different freshness to her character Lipika. The series is slow-paced but Tillotama’s face-paced dialogues are just hysterical.

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On the other hand, Saswata Chatterjee looks quite promising as Brij Pal, the right-hand man of Shelly. He essays the role of a homophobic and oh boy, this man is a gem. He is such an effortless actor I feel who can switch characters like buttons. Be it playing a serial killer in Kahani to playing an innocent father in Jagga Jasoos or playing a homophobic, hands down, Saswata is a phenomenal actor. I’m glad he is getting all the right attention in Bollywood as well.

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Whereas Sobhita Dhulipala is a stunner. She essays the role of Shelly’s girlfriend Kaveri. Sobhita is mostly seen exhibiting her sexy looks onscreen; however, there’s more than meets the eye. Her characters are not fully on display and that makes her character quite mysterious. Since the first season is divided into two parts, I’m expecting more details on her character in the second part.

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Conclusion: 

In totality, Aditya Roy Kapur and Anil Kapoor starrer The Night Manager has an interesting concept however, the execution seems to be done poorly whereas the pace of the series can be a letdown. Nevertheless, the power-packed performances by the cast are the saving grace but again I would say, that’s not enough. Since it’s the first part of the series, the makers have only introduced the characters and have given us an idea of what to expect in the second part.

Watch The Night Manager trailer after the review:

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