Focus on Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders

Published by A Megha on December 21, 2025December 21, 2025

Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders (2025) Hindi Movie from India depicts a suspenseful murder mystery set in Uttar Pradesh (UP), India. Actually, it is not a simple case of the murder of Bansal.

FYI: This 2025 Movie is the 2nd and latest film of the Netflix original "Raat Akeli Hai" (2020) Movie, hence the extended title.

Spoiler-Free Review of the Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders (2025) Hindi Movie

Exposes the deepening chasm between the Powerful Rich & the Powerless Poor in New India

Synopsis

A seasoned investigator, Inspector Jatil Yadav (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), is summoned to a mighty Bansal family’s farmhouse to unravel the puzzling crime case. The affluent Bansal family owns the Prabhat Group.

When the 5 family members of Bansal are massacred in cold blood, Inspector Jatil tries to solve the murder mystery in a right and honest way. Thereafter, while carrying out the police investigation of the brutal homicide cases in the Bansal family, Inspector Jatil uncovers a web of deceit, greed, entangled loyalties, lethal conspiracy and quite a few secrets buried deep within.

FYI: The name of the protagonist, Jatil (जटिल in Hindi), means complicated, difficult, or intricate, or not easily understood or solved.

Storyline

At the onset, let us get this fact clear: this crime drama movie ‘Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders’ set in the Hindi belt does not deal with a simple case of murder. In fact, it is about murders. The killer carries out a massacre of the entire Bansal family, well, almost. And, at the first instance, looking at the crime scene, one could easily assess that the murders were carried out by a super-angry killer and/or vengeful killers.

But what could be the motive behind the bloodbath? Was it a case of deceit and opportunity? And what about the greed for wealth and property of the Bansal family? Maybe someone has conspired to frame the adversary. Or perhaps, the secret is very well hidden in plain sight for all of us to see. Moreover, this Hindi movie encourages the viewers to guess the identity of the ferocious slayers.

Prime Suspects

The writer, Smita Singh, of this Hindi murder mystery film explicitly tells us about the prime suspects and the possible reasons behind the heinous crime for the benefit of the viewers.

• [#1] Rajesh Chandra Bansal (Sanjay Kapoor ) of Newrise TV wants to buy the Prabhat Manthan newspaper owned by the Mahinder Bansal family, and there are ongoing asset disputes.

• [#2] Aarav Bansal, a young and guilt-ridden drug addict in the Bansal family. Perhaps, he could not handle the fact that his family owned newspapers that print lies and spread fabrications.

• [#3] Meera Bansal (Chitrangada Singh), a grieving mother who is dealing with a personal tragedy. So, she has found and embraced the religion and her Guru Geeta Maa.

• [#4] Guru Geeta Maa (Deepti Naval), a member of the Bansal family, strongly believes that she is the one who has planned and executed the bloodbath. As she wants to usurp the Bansal’s properties.

But it is not the complete list of the prime suspects that the lead investigator, Jatil Yadav, is looking at. As he continues to investigate this complex case, he finds new suspects as well as fresh reasons. Like in any good murder mystery, the film manages to keep the suspense going right till the end. Moreover, this Hindi movie is deeply rooted in the harsh social and political realities of contemporary India.

Primarily, this crime story is set in the present-day Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) in the New India.

Social & Political Realities

Maybe because the writer traces her roots to Lucknow, U.P., she gets most things right in the reasonable depiction of the present-day socio-political realities in the Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders movie.

• At the onset, we meet the wealthy and influential Bansal Family, who own and run a leading Hindi newspaper. They are a deeply religious and superstitious family. In fact, some of them are devout and blind followers (andh-bhakt) of the Guru Maa. However, that does not stop them from publishing misinformation and disinformation in their newspaper.

• While taking the tour inside the palatial estate, along with the Jatil, we (viewers) could clearly see the vast socio-economic divide that exists between the rich Bansal family and lowly paid servants [Om Prakash, Umesh Yadav, Bhola, Kajal (& her mother), Kishor, etc.]. Later, when Jatin visits the nearby slum area (Basti) built near the cremation ground, it highlights the rich-poor divide vividly. If one takes a close look, one will even find Baba Saheb’s poster on the walls of the said slum.

• Then there is a LOL scene between Jatin and his mother, where she takes a massive swipe at the Godi media Hindi news channels. So, she asks, why are they always barking like dogs?

• Not to be left behind, a senior Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) official is shown to be using the illegal 3rd degree (custodial) torture during the police investigation. Which is not only a case of a human rights violation but also an illegal act. In the film, one of the lady advocates asks, as to why the U.P. police are making someone blind, razing the houses and taking law and order into their own hands.

Conclusion

Well, ‘Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders’ movie depicts an intriguing crime mystery tale. Lest we forget, let us talk about the performances. Once again, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has given a good performance. In this suspenseful murder mystery, we also liked the smaller but significant acts of Radhika Apte, Ila Arun, Shreedhar Dubey, Chitrangada Singh, Deepti Naval, Rajat Kapoor, Revathi, and others.

All in all, they all made this tight, twisted, thrilling and thought-provoking crime mystery drama worth watching. Hopefully, we will see more of Jatil and such gripping tales in the future, too.

Rating

Poster

Key Details

Trailer

Bonus YouTube Video Clip Link of the Netflix original "Raat Akeli Hai" (2020) Movie.

Lastly, read the Spoiler-Free Review of the Mirage (2025/India) Movie in our Focus Magazine, too.

Poster & Featured Image of Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders (2025) Movie | Pictures Credit: Netflix.