The Night Manager Pt 2 Review: Anil Kapoor-Aditya Roy Kapur Thriller Gets Darker

After approximately four months, the second part of the Disney+ Hotstar thriller series The Night Manager is up for viewing, taking us back to where we last left off. Shailendra ‘Shelly’ Rungta (Anil Kapoor), an illegal arms dealer is unaware that there is a mole in his midst, a former soldier-turned-hotelier (now spy, I guess) Shantanu ‘Shaan’ Sengupta (Aditya Roy Kapur).

Thanks to Indian intelligence agency operative Lipika Saikia Rao’s (Tillotama Shome) undying need to bring Shelly to justice, Shaan is seated comfortably at the big bad table.

Despite its glacial pace, the first bit of the show created a brilliant setup infusing an already successful show with a South Asian touch by creator Sandeep Modi. 

Considering that Shelly is in the profession that he is, there were no qualms about the fact that he is an evil man but any shades of grey that the first part afforded him and gone this time around. He quickly shifts from evil to plain sinister as his suspicions and ambitions grow. As a performer, Anil Kapoor has a tight grip on the role he needs to play; the actor infuses Shelly with an unforgettable menace and charm. 

Matching his skill almost to a T is Tillotama Shome, taking Lipika Saika beyond even what the script could imagine. The actor is clearly one of the best performers in Indian cinema right now and it’s this perfection that is glaringly visible here as well. And it’s especially more entertaining to watch her now after just having watched her in Lust Stories 2. 

One issue I had with the first part of The Night Manager is that Sobhita Dhulipala as Shelly’s partner with secrets Kaveri did not get her due. This time around, she gets considerably more screen time and does the best with what she is given.

Hers is a character that you can’t help but empathise with but one wonders if they could’ve elevated her beyond that as well. 

To note, the cracking chemistry between Shaan and Kaveri deserved to be explored more. Not only would it have given the actors a chance to explore more than they are now, it would’ve added something serviceable to an otherwise middle-of-the-road story. 

Saswata Chatterjee as Shelly’s longtime confidante plays BJ with even more aplomb this time around. He is watching as his friend puts his faith in people he can’t trust and that takes a toll on him. Despite still being shortchanged by the script, he brings immensely watchable shades to a troubled character. 

The Night Manager 2, if I can call it that, is brisk and tighter than the earlier offering and that helps bolster the rapidly rising stakes. The way showrunner Modi and co-director Priyanka Ghosh have paced this section of the show is also commendable. There is nothing extraordinary about The Night Manager but it rests so comfortably in the middle that the efforts can’t be discounted. 

DOP Benjamin Jasper and Additional DOP Anik R Verma have captured varying terrains with the eye necessary for them. Shifting between arid deserts and lavish hotels, they keep the audience hooked to the action on screen. Akshat Ghildial and Shantanu Shrivastav’s dialogues are inconsistent in their effectiveness but I believe that the ones that are effective and because they are spoken by such a brilliant cast.

Some of the dialogues seem out of place but at the same time, others manage to evoke the reaction necessary and this switch is rather jarring to deal with. 

Naturally, a show like this demands a certain level of suspension of disbelief but if that’s something you’re willing to do, you will leave at least partly satisfied.