Gajab Raat Review: Manoj Bajpayee Holds Together an Average Thriller
A corrupt cop, an injured journalist and a political conspiracy. Gajab Raat has the ingredients of a gripping thriller, but does Manoj Bajpayee's performance make up for its weak script?
By NIRENDRA DEV
Neeraj Pandey-backed Netflix thriller delivers a story of corruption, political intrigue and journalistic courage, but a weak script and an unconvincing moral transformation leave much to be desired.
New Delhi, October 25, 2026 — Gajab Raat is a thriller, a familiar offering in the age of Netflix and other streaming platforms. It has its share of entertainment, but its most interesting element is the unusual conflict between conscience and greed.
When the film ends after midnight, one thought lingers: it could have been much better.
Sub-inspector Ajay Nirvit (Manoj Bajpayee) is a corrupt, bribe-loving Delhi policeman. His immediate senior colleague, played by Rajiv Gupta, shares his dream of owning a posh bungalow with a swimming pool where the two can take a leisurely dip.
During a routine night patrol, an unidentified, severely injured young woman is thrown out of a moving vehicle in Delhi’s Connaught Place. It eventually emerges that she is a journalist. What initially appears to be a straightforward case pulls Ajay into a high-level conspiracy involving a powerful woman politician and an international network of crime.
The alleged racket centres on vaccine imports, crores of rupees changing hands and offshore deposits arranged during the minister’s visit to Poland. The journalist has gathered evidence of the scandal, including a list of politicians, bureaucrats, NGOs and 320 others allegedly linked to the network.
Produced by Neeraj Pandey’s Friday Filmworks and directed by Ritesh Shah, the film unfolds over a single night, with one decision setting off a chain of events. For Pandey, it continues his creative association with Netflix following Khakee, Sikandar Ka Muqaddar and Taskaree. It also reunites him with Bajpayee after nearly a decade.
Several powerful people want to reach the injured journalist, but saving her is hardly their priority. Many want her eliminated.
Social worker Neha (Shraddha Das), CBI officer Madhok (Akshay Oberoi) and NIA officer Karan (Saqib Saleem) enter the picture. At the hospital, they encounter resistance from Ajay, who also receives occasional instructions from the minister, played by Divya Dutta. Yet Ajay himself remains vulnerable to greed, and his actions are not always driven by selflessness.
Bajpayee holds the film together despite significant weaknesses in the writing. A stronger script could have made this a compelling thriller. Ajay’s sudden moral transformation is particularly unconvincing given his established corruption. The film does not adequately explain what prompts him to change sides.
Nor does Gajab Raat examine the corrupt nexus involving the police, politicians, CBI and NIA officials in sufficient depth. Its dialogue occasionally strains credibility, even by Bollywood standards. The minister’s casual instruction to eliminate the journalist after taking a few more crores lacks the menace the scene demands.
In another exchange, Ajay pleads for an alternative to killing the woman. The minister dismisses his concerns, effectively reminding him that he remains on the street while she has climbed much higher up the ladder of power. The exchange conveys the film’s underlying theme, but the writing could have made it sharper and more convincing.
The film’s strongest message is its tribute to the hundreds of honest people working amid a much larger crowd of greedy and corrupt power brokers. Ajay argues that this smaller group of honest individuals is what keeps society and the country in balance. In a telling metaphor, he asks the minister how corrupt people would survive if honest people disappeared: “Hum dhanda kaise karenge?”
For journalists, the story also offers a recognisable glimpse of the profession’s difficult realities. The editor, Sarkar, is portrayed as someone who betrays the young reporter, adding another layer of cynicism to a story already crowded with compromised institutions.
Ajay’s predicament provides the ingredients for an engaging drama, a genre in which Bajpayee has excelled. Here, however, even he appears underutilised.
The shortcomings are numerous: a below-average script, weak emotional connections and half-hearted attempts at comedy. The film’s central conflict deserved more careful development.
Nevertheless, Gajab Raat is worth a single viewing. Bajpayee’s fans may even be willing to give it another chance. But the film leaves the viewer wishing that its promising premise had received the stronger screenplay it deserved.
Verdict: An average thriller elevated by Manoj Bajpayee’s performance, with an important message about honesty undermined by weak writing.
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