'The Night Manager' Review: An Otherwise Gripping Thriller Lacks in Screenplay

Directed by Sandeep Modi, The Night Manager is a four-hour-long series that doesn't feel four hours long, in a good way. Following the story of a night manager whose life is upturned after a young girl asks him for help, the series is mostly gripping from premise to execution.

The show is the official Hindi remake of the British series of the same name which again gets its name from the John le Carre novel it's an adaptation of.

The British series boasts of an exemplary ensemble cast including Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman, and Tom Hiddleston. The Indian remake is not far behind with talent with the likes of Anil Kapoor, Tillotama Shome, and Aditya Roy Kapur.

Kapur plays the role of Shantanu 'Shaan' Sengupta, a former Naval officer, who has assimilated into the hospitality industry and has worked his way up to becoming a night manager. He is haunted by nightmares and visions of lives he couldn't save.

This lands him right in the path of Shome's Lipika Saikia, who has been trying to find irrefutable evidence against the big bad guy Shelly Rungta (Anil Kapoor) , an arms dealer she refers to as a "merchant of death".

When it comes to performances, this is Aditya Roy Kapur's best. He captures all of Shaan's inner and external conflicts brilliantly. He is believable as a former defense personnel who is torn between bravery and self-preservation.

Tillotama Shome, here playing Colman's role, is a gifted actor, no doubt, and has the rare skill of being able to enter the skin of every role she's given. Lipika is no different.

Anil Kapoor plays Shelly Rungta with an almost muted malice. He's not an exaggerated archetype of a villain and yet it's tough to believe that he wouldn't be capable of the crimes he's accused of. It's not something we haven't seen from Kapoor before but it gets the job done.

Perhaps the most underutilised in the show is Sobhita Dhulipala as Kaveri. An actor with potential, she is reduced to being Shelly's attractive partner who has an affinity for swimming. There are hints of a deeper exploration of her character but till that's executed, this critique stands.

Saswata Chatterjee plays the one queer character on the show whose name is Brij, but his nickname is BJ (let that sink in). While Saswata plays the role without resorting the stereotypes, the character's writing as a philanderer who says phrases like "I love spooning" for no reason is problematic.

The Night Manager primarily faults on the screenplay. For instance, Lipika, a RAW agent who covers the Bangladesh desk would very easily have more common sense than the character is allowed.

As for the thriller and action, it's a good show but beyond that, there's not much to look at.

To their credit, there's a rather mature exploration of how most of the adults' decisions are driven by children (theirs and otherwise) but there's a feeling that more could've been done that's not easy to shake off.

Rating: 3 Quints out of 5