Sidharth Malhotra
Vikram Sethi
Overview
Police officer Dev investigates a double murder case that has only two witnesses - an acclaimed writer Vikram and a young homemaker Maya, who also happen to be the prime suspects in the case. He finds himself being torn between their own version's of what happened on the fateful night, and takes it upon himself to figure out the real story and capture the real murderer.
Cast
12 people
Reviews
5 min readThe Night That Never Ends
I’ve always had a soft spot for the locked-room mystery, that delicious puzzle where the walls close in and the truth feels just out of reach. Ittefaq, Abhay Chopra’s 2017 thriller, knows this game well. It’s a film that unfolds almost entirely within the confines of a police station and a handful of flashbacks, where every word, every glance, every hesitation could be a clue—or a lie. And yet, for all its cleverness, it’s the moments when the film forgets to be clever that linger with me.
The premise is simple: a double murder, two suspects, and a detective caught between their conflicting stories. Vikram (Sidharth Malhotra), a novelist with a reputation for scandal, and Maya (Sonakshi Sinha), a married woman with secrets of her own, are the only witnesses. Or are they the killers?
The film’s tagline, It Happened One Night, is a nod to the classic screwball comedy, but there’s nothing lighthearted about the tension here. The night in question is a labyrinth, and every turn leads back to the same question: Who do you believe?
Chopra, who also co-wrote the film, has a knack for atmosphere. The police station is a character in itself—a claustrophobic maze of flickering fluorescents, peeling paint, and the hum of a ceiling fan that never quite cools the air. The cinematography leans into the grime, the sweat, the way light catches on a glass of water or the sheen of a suspect’s forehead.
It’s the kind of setting where truth feels slippery, where the line between guilt and innocence blurs with every passing minute. The film’s visual language is all about containment: tight close-ups, shallow focus, frames within frames. Even the flashbacks, which should offer escape, are shot with the same suffocating precision.
There’s no relief, no breath of fresh air. Just the slow unraveling of two people’s stories.
And what stories they are. Vikram’s version is a noir-tinged tale of betrayal and revenge, dripping with the kind of melodrama you’d expect from a man who writes for a living. Maya’s, on the other hand, is a domestic tragedy, a quiet unraveling of a marriage built on lies.
The film plays with perspective in a way that feels almost Hitchcockian—what we see isn’t necessarily what happened, and what we think happened might be the furthest thing from the truth. It’s a neat trick, and for the first half, it works. The back-and-forth between the two narratives keeps you guessing, keeps you leaning in, waiting for the moment when the pieces will click into place.
Audience Opinions
Broad evidence
Audience 7.2/10
"A gripping yet flawed thriller with strong performances but a predictable plot."
Viewers appreciate the intense performances from the lead cast, particularly Sidharth Malhotra and Sonakshi Sinha, which add depth to the crime thriller. latestnetflix.com's view is that however, the story’s reliance on familiar tropes and a lack of surprises leaves many feeling underwhelmed by the overall execution.
What viewers praise
- Strong lead performances Sidharth Malhotra and Sonakshi Sinha deliver compelling performances that keep the tension high.
- Engaging first half The initial setup and pacing are praised for drawing viewers into the mystery quickly.
- Akshaye Khanna’s acting Khanna’s portrayal of the investigating officer is highlighted as a standout element.
- Tense atmosphere The film’s moody visuals and suspenseful tone are noted as effective in building tension.
Common complaints
- Predictable storyline The plot follows well-worn thriller tropes, making the twists easy to anticipate.
- Weak second half The latter part of the film loses steam, with some viewers finding it rushed or unsatisfying.
- Underdeveloped characters Supporting characters lack depth, making it hard to invest in their arcs.
- Lack of originality The film struggles to stand out due to its reliance on familiar crime thriller conventions.
Recommended for
Crime thriller enthusiasts Fans of intense performances Viewers who enjoy suspenseful narratives Sidharth Malhotra or Sonakshi Sinha fans Those who like moody visual storytelling
Full Plot (Spoilers)
Spoiler warning
This section contains the full plot, including major story reveals. Overview above stays spoiler-free.
Buzz & Rumors
Public reportsShah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar hid the stars on purpose.
Three banners. Red Chillies, Dharma, B.R. Studios. A debut director with the Chopra last name. Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha, and Akshaye Khanna in a double-murder thriller. The usual machine would have parked them on every reality show in October. Johar told Hindustan Times they were doing the opposite. No city tours. No media interviews. No reality TV. "When actors go out for film promotions that time in a media interview, they reveal facts and details of the plot." He said B.R. latestnetflix.com's view is that films, Shah Rukh Khan, and he had "mutually decided to protect the content of the film."Then the line the trade screenshot. "With this film, I feel less is more." 
Red Chillies marketing head Binda Dey had to walk that back a notch. Skipping star interviews was the strategy. Radio, TV, and print still ran. "It's actually not about cutting the budget and making the movie profitable. In fact, it's on the higher side." She called it 100 minutes of tight content and a 30-day campaign built around a whodunit. The stars still existed. They just were not allowed to talk.
A grandson remaking the family thriller, with no songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvfvoCdPrII
The original Ittefaq was Yash Chopra's 1969 black-and-white thriller for B.R. Chopra, with Rajesh Khanna and Nanda. Abhay Chopra, B.R.'s grandson, took the remake as his first feature. Times of India had Shah Rukh saying yes in April 2016. Malhotra stepped into Rajesh Khanna's writer, Sinha into Nanda's housewife, Akshaye Khanna into the cop. Wikipedia logs a 50-day non-stop shoot, all in Mumbai, starting February 2017. Like the 1969 film, this one refused the usual song-and-dance. One theme track, "Ittefaq Se," a Tanishk Bagchi rework of "Raat Baaki" from Namak Halal, sat on the credits. Runtime landed around 105 minutes. The trailer sold the hook in four beats. One night. Two murders. Two suspects. One cop. , ,
The silence was the marketing. Red Chillies posted "say no to spoilers" clips. Johar tweeted character posters and otherwise stayed out of the plot. Indian Express noted the first-look campaign sold two versions of the same night, the same Rashomon trick Meghna Gulzar had used on Talvar. Viewers who knew the 1969 film still had to sit through a new set of turns. The team would not say which ones. ,
Then the calendar punched them. Golmaal Again was still eating the Diwali holdover. Thor: Ragnarok opened the same weekend. Hungama's India nett opened at 4.05 crore on Friday and 16.05 crore through Sunday. Lifetime India nett 30.21 crore. Worldwide gross 56.26 crore against a budget near 30 crore. Hungama called the run Average. Wikipedia still files it as a moderate commercial success. Critics were warmer than the occupancy. The Indian Express went with "smart, gripping whodunit." ,
The gossip is the gag order. Three of Hindi cinema's loudest offices spent real money to keep their own actors quiet, then watched Marvel and a Rohit Shetty sequel take the screens anyway. The movie still has the one thing a spoiler campaign cannot fake. You do not know who is lying until the last scene, and I am not going to tell you.
Entertainment rumors and trivia aggregated from public reporting. Treat speculation as unverified unless a cited source confirms it.