Raat Gayi Baat Gayi

There is something about ‘wordy’ ‘conversational’ movies which makes you feel all intelligent – even with not-so- intellectual dialogues. With a cast comprising of Vinay Pathak, Rajat Kapoor & Ranvir Shorey (cameo), you know you are going to get an intelligent movie – even though occasionally the same crowd does produce a Via Darjeeling too. So atleast for a few people, this star-cast is enough to make the movie a must-watch. For most other people, they need a little more convincing.

Unfortunately, in the case of Raat Gayi Baat Gayi, I wont try to convince you that this is a movie you have to watch. Because even though it takes a refreshing look at marriage in our modern lives, it doesn’t give you any new insight or break any new paths in filmmaking. The end is a bit predictable and unlike the promos, the movie is non-frivolous for the most part. It’s a fresh story with great acting all around, but the story falters just enough in the second half to make it miss the recommended tag. However, if you enjoy your ‘intelligent’ movies, you should probably catch this movie

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi starts off in the morning with a hungover Rahul (Rajat Kapoor) trying desperately to remember what happened at a party the previous night after he was flirting with the mysterious & sexy Sophia (Neha Dhupia). To make matters first, his wife Mitali (Iravati Harshe) seems in a foul mood. Fearing the worst, he calls on his friend Amit (Vinay Pathak), only to find him having his own issues with his wife Nandita (Anu Menon). They seek the help of their third friend Saxena (Dilip Tahil), host of the party, to find out what happened to Rahul the previous night.

If the outline seems like the plot of the movie Hangover, you are mistaken. Because the short memory-lapse is the only common thing between the two movies. As Rahul and Amit desperately try to figure out who Sophia was and what happened last night, we are introduced to all the three wives and we go back and see the party from the view point of all the 6 people. The individual flashbacks introduce new facets of the story, like layers of a cake – in a manner similar to the Ayesha Takia-starrer Sunday or Via Darjeeling.

The first half of the movie is more enjoyable as Rahul and Amit talk about their respective problems and the previous night’s party. Vinay Pathak really shines in these kind of conversational scenes – stealing a laugh with a straight face - while the director keeps the proceedings as realistic as possible. The only fly in the ointment is the slow pace of the narrative as conversations in the party introduce us to the main characters. The story moves quickly in the second half, but after Sophia’s discovery, it loses its sense of mystery.

Acting is laudable by all the 6 major characters – especially Anu Menon (or Lola Kutty) turning in a surprising non-caricaturish performance and Iravati Harshe reminding us what a sublime performer she is. Neha Dhupia makes a very alluring Sophia, without any needless sleaze - the backless party dress being a masterchoice. Makrand Deshpande, Sudhir Mishra, Ranvir Shorey all have cameos – and their performances leaves nothing to complain about.

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi suffers in the closure of the story – where the makers try to become conventional after building an entire movie on errant behaviour. Funnily, my last thought while walking out of the movie hall was whether I would have been able to tolerate a Jolly Saxena in real life. I am just a pompous ass sometimes :)