When I watched the trailer for The Night Manager‘s Hindi version, I had a lot of questions about how the story would be treated. Now that I have watched the show, I am glad we have a Hindi version of it too. The Night Manager Part 1 has 4 episodes and stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Anil Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala, Saswata Chatterjee, Tillotama Shome, and Ravi Behl. The show streams on Disney Plus Hotstar and is created by Sandeep Modi. In all honesty, while watching the show there are wow moments, but there are some dull ones too, however, the performances are pretty impressive. Even the layered story is what will make you hit on to the next episode button as soon as you finish the first one…
Watch the trailer of The Night Manager here:
Things that I liked about the show…
1. Aditya Roy Kapur as Shaan Sengupta
Aditya who plays an ex-Navy officer turned into a night manager seems very effortless in his performance. In fact, the baggage that his character carries from one of his previous jobs and how that triggers him to be a part of something bigger is what will keep you hooked on the show. He looks suave, charming, and whatnot, but most importantly he carries the part so well throughout that it makes for an enjoyable performance.
2. Anil Kapoor as Shelly Rungta
Over these decades in the industry Anil Kapoor surely has mastered his craft. Well, his performance in The Night Manager is something I was in awe of. Seeing him in a negative space and ace it was interesting. Anil who plays a businessman, but an undercover arms dealer brings in the perfect daunt that a character like this should have. He is nice, but also dangerous and the way that is portrayed is too good.
3. Tillotama Shome and Saswata Chatterjee
Two very interesting performances are from Tillotama and Saswata. In fact, they are like the silver lining in the thriller who spice things up. Tillotama who plays RAW agent Lipika Sahai has her quirky ways of working and that’s what makes her character very interesting. Saswata on the other hand plays Brij he is the right hand to Shelly. Brij is fond of men and keeps making a pass at anyone he finds attractive. Shaan is also on that list. What I liked about Saswata was that he played this role with great ease, there is a sense of comfort and coolness that he brings to the character. In the series, so far, Brij has been my favorite.
Things that could have been better…
1. Sobhita Dhulipala
Performance wise Sobhita has done quite a fabulous job, but sadly her character has been quite underutilized. I am sure there is much more scope for Kaveri in the next part, but in this one, I was looking for some substance. Though we learned that Sobhita has some backstory, I wished we could have seen her more than just being Shelly’s girlfriend.
2. Storytelling
The place where The Night Manager’s Hindi version takes a hit is in its storytelling. Even though the tale is gripping there are places where it runs dry. Especially, episodes 2 and 3 looked dragged in places. Another issue I had was Hotstar’s decision to break the story into two parts. Yes, we don’t learn the complete story here, in fact, it is left mid-way and this interval is way too long. The next part of The Night Manager comes in June, now with this huge gap between the story, there can be a disconnect between what we saw in part one and also the characters.
Check Out: The Night Manager Part 2 Review
I would totally ask you to watch The Night Manager for the performances it has. And I only wish the makers release the second part sooner than expected because not seeing a closure for Shaan and Shelly’s story is making me quite restless.
MM Verdict: 3 stars out of 5
Also Read: Anil Kapoor Looks in Night Manager