# Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (इस रात की सुबह नहीं)
**Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin** (इस रात की सुबह नहीं) is a 1996 Hindi-language thriller directed by [Sudhir Mishra](https://www.edgepedia.org/sudhir-mishra), in which an advertising executive and his wife spend a single night fleeing a Mumbai crime boss after a chance confrontation. Produced by [Mahesh Bhatt](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahesh-bhatt) and Amit Khanna for the Plus Films banner, it opened on 7 June 1996 and is now frequently cited as a forerunner of the Hindi mafia film that [Ram Gopal Varma](https://www.edgepedia.org/ram-gopal-varma)'s *Satya* popularized two years later.[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahi/cast/) • [2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/sudhir-mishra-on-25-years-of-is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-wish-i-could-do-directors-cut-of-the-film/articleshow/83331487.cms)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 7 June 1996, Hindi, Plus Films[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahi/cast/) |
| Director | Sudhir Mishra[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahi/cast/) |
| Producers | Mahesh Bhatt and Amit Khanna[1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahi/cast/) |
| Principal cast | Nirmal Pandey (Aditya), Ashish Vidyarthi (Ramanbhai), Saurabh Shukla (Vilas Pandey), Smriti Mishra, Tara Deshpande[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/is_raat_ki_subah_nahi/cast-and-crew) |
| Runtime | 131 minutes per Box Office India; other listings give 2h 11m to 2h 15m[4](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2794) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/is_raat_ki_subah_nahi) |
| Music | M.M. Kreem (composer), Nida Fazli (lyricist)[4](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2794) • [6](https://old.rrjournals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Arghya_June-2016.pdf) |
| Box office | Budget ₹9,000,000; total nett gross ₹5,000,000 on 12 screens, classified a disaster[4](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2794) |
| Streaming | Prime Video, JioHotstar, MX Player, among others[7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahin) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film follows Aditya ([Nirmal Pandey](https://www.edgepedia.org/nirmal-pandey)), an advertising executive with a wife, Pooja (Tara Deshpande), and a mistress, Malvika (Smriti Mishra).[8](https://www.gqindia.com/magazine-story/sudhir-mishras-forgotten-gem-the-film-that-sparked-satya/) Aditya gets into a scuffle with a group of gangsters led by Ramanbhai ([Ashish Vidyarthi](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashish-vidyarthi)), the criminal don of Bombay, without knowing who he is.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahin) Ramanbhai, who is already under pressure from his rival Vilas Pandey ([Saurabh Shukla](https://www.edgepedia.org/saurabh-shukla)), a lieutenant furious about his share of the gang's earnings, pursues Aditya through the night, and Aditya, Pooja, and their companions run for their lives.[9](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/is-raat-ki-subah-nahin/cast/2030116614/)
Mishra structured the opening as three interwoven threads in the first 20 minutes: Aditya and his affair, Pooja at their office party in a hotel, and Ramanbhai arriving at the same hotel with his henchmen to kill Vilas, a mole in his gang.[8](https://www.gqindia.com/magazine-story/sudhir-mishras-forgotten-gem-the-film-that-sparked-satya/) The whole story then plays out over one night.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/sudhir-mishra-on-25-years-of-is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-wish-i-could-do-directors-cut-of-the-film/articleshow/83331487.cms)
## Origin
The story came from an incident involving Mishra's younger brother Sudhanshu, then a student at the [Film and Television Institute of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/film-and-television-institute-of-india) in Pune. Local goons misbehaved with a fellow student, Sudhanshu slapped one of them without realizing he was a local ganglord's brother, and the institute was then surrounded by goons demanding he be brought out. The standoff lasted two harrowing days before local authorities intervened.[10](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/sudhir-mishra-29-years-raat-ki-subah-nahin-time-mumbai-wild-every-second-guy-shouting-bhai-ka-aadmi/) Sudhanshu turned the episode into a short story and wrote a script version called *Bhaag Vijay* with Pankaj Advani; he died in January 1995, and Sudhir Mishra took up the project to complete his brother's last work.[10](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/sudhir-mishra-29-years-raat-ki-subah-nahin-time-mumbai-wild-every-second-guy-shouting-bhai-ka-aadmi/) • [11](https://m.rediff.com/movies/report/advani/20031125.htm) Mishra said he rewrote most of the film during the shoot and that the personal story carried an autobiographical element, written while he was going through a divorce.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/sudhir-mishra-on-25-years-of-is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-wish-i-could-do-directors-cut-of-the-film/articleshow/83331487.cms) • [10](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/sudhir-mishra-29-years-raat-ki-subah-nahin-time-mumbai-wild-every-second-guy-shouting-bhai-ka-aadmi/)
The title itself arrived late. According to a retrospective account, the film was originally called *Nishachar*; when the filmmaker [Ashutosh Gowariker](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashutosh-gowariker) mentioned he had just recorded a song titled "Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin", Mishra immediately adopted the phrase as his film's title.[12](https://www.amarujala.com/photo-gallery/entertainment/movie-review/is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-this-day-that-year-series-by-pankaj-shukla-7-june-1996-bioscope-sudhir-mishra)
## Production
Mishra shot the film over more than 60 nights in Mumbai, a city he knew well from *Dharavi* and *Main Zinda Hoon*. Most of the cast were new to the screen: it was Tara Deshpande's first film, Smriti Mishra's first released film, Nirmal Pandey's second after *Bandit Queen*, and Ashish Vidyarthi's second after *Droh Kaal*. Saurabh Shukla played his first full-fledged gangster role, two years before his better-known Kallu Mama part; Sandeep Kulkarni, Kishore Kadam, and Ganesh Yadav, Marathi theater actors, were in their earliest films.[10](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/sudhir-mishra-29-years-raat-ki-subah-nahin-time-mumbai-wild-every-second-guy-shouting-bhai-ka-aadmi/)
The screenplay is credited to Shivkumar Subramaniam, Sudhir Mishra, and [Nikkhil Advani](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikkhil-advani), with dialogue by Imtiaz Hussain; [Renu Saluja](https://www.edgepedia.org/renu-saluja) edited the film.[4](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2794) • [1](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahi/cast/) Advani, later a director in his own right, worked as an assistant on the film and has described its 70 nights of continuous shooting, and his apprenticeship under Saluja, as the foundation of his film education.[11](https://m.rediff.com/movies/report/advani/20031125.htm)
When Mishra narrated the script, Bhatt and Khanna had one suggestion: add songs. M.M. Kreem composed the music, with lyrics by [Nida Fazli](https://www.edgepedia.org/nida-fazli), whose songs include "Chup Tum Raho", "Jeevan Kya Hai", and "Tere Mere Naam".[10](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/sudhir-mishra-29-years-raat-ki-subah-nahin-time-mumbai-wild-every-second-guy-shouting-bhai-ka-aadmi/) • [4](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2794) Fazli's celebrated lyrics were also used in other films, and the journal literature on the Urdu poet records his contribution to this film's songs.[6](https://old.rrjournals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Arghya_June-2016.pdf)
## Reception and box office
The film opened on 7 June 1996 on 12 screens. Box Office India records a first day of ₹1,00,000, a first week of ₹8,50,000, and a total nett gross of ₹5,000,000 against a budget of ₹90,00,000, with about 395,000 footfalls; the site classifies the result as a disaster.[4](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2794) A contemporary *India Today* review by [Anupama Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/anupama-chopra), the film critic and author, was titled "Sparkling thriller" and said Mishra "sets the pace for post-parallel cinema".[13](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/19960531-movie-review-of-sudhir-mishra-is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-832966-1996-05-30) On IMDb the film holds a rating of 6.9/10 from 424 user votes.[14](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308417/)
## Legacy
Although it earned little in theaters, the film's reputation has grown. Mishra recalled that Ram Gopal Varma called him from [Hyderabad](https://www.edgepedia.org/hyderabad) and raved about the film for an hour, and that *Satya* and [Guy Ritchie](https://www.edgepedia.org/guy-ritchie)'s *Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels* both arrived two years later; he has said the film "seems to have sparked a whole genre of filmmaking".[10](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/sudhir-mishra-29-years-raat-ki-subah-nahin-time-mumbai-wild-every-second-guy-shouting-bhai-ka-aadmi/) Writing on the film's 25th anniversary, the Times of India noted it is often considered one of the first films of the 1990s to kickstart the mafia genre, two years before *Satya* reinvented the space.[2](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/sudhir-mishra-on-25-years-of-is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-wish-i-could-do-directors-cut-of-the-film/articleshow/83331487.cms) GQ India has called it the film that most influenced *Satya*, within the Mumbai noir tradition that runs from *Parinda* (1989) through *Company* and *Johnny Gaddaar*.[8](https://www.gqindia.com/magazine-story/sudhir-mishras-forgotten-gem-the-film-that-sparked-satya/) Nikkhil Advani has described it as an iconic film that "hasn't been seen enough".[15](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/sudhir-mishra-the-rebel-with-many-causes)
Mishra twice tried to return to its territory. In 2006 he announced an English-language remake, to be produced by [Shekhar Kapur](https://www.edgepedia.org/shekhar-kapur) and set in England, with a cosmopolitan cast in mind.[16](https://santabanta.com/cinema/bollywood/titbits/i-am-remaking-my-own-film-11609/) In 2009 he announced a quasi-sequel, *2 Days, 2 Nights & a Morning*, with Irrfan Khan and Chitrangda Singh, moving the setting from Mumbai to Delhi and Haryana; neither project reached release in the record covered here.[17](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Sudhir-Mishra-back-in-Raat-race/articleshow/4923998.cms) His 2023 film *Afwaah* revisits the same one-night structure, replacing the slap that triggers the original's chain of events with a rumor.[18](https://www.mansworldindia.com/lifestyle/entertainment/directors-interview-sudhir-mishra) The film is now available on streaming platforms including Prime Video, JioHotstar, and MX Player.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahin)
## References
1. [Is Raat Ki Subah Nahi Cast & Crew, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahi/cast/)
2. [Sudhir Mishra on 25 years of 'Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin', Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/sudhir-mishra-on-25-years-of-is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-wish-i-could-do-directors-cut-of-the-film/articleshow/83331487.cms)
3. [Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin: Full Cast & Crew, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/is_raat_ki_subah_nahi/cast-and-crew)
4. [Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Box Office India](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=2794)
5. [Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/is_raat_ki_subah_nahi)
6. [Nida Fazli: life and lyrics, Research Review International Journal of Multidisciplinary (2016)](https://old.rrjournals.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Arghya_June-2016.pdf)
7. [Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/is-raat-ki-subah-nahin)
8. [Sudhir Mishra's film noir Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, GQ India](https://www.gqindia.com/magazine-story/sudhir-mishras-forgotten-gem-the-film-that-sparked-satya/)
9. [Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin – Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/is-raat-ki-subah-nahin/cast/2030116614/)
10. [Sudhir Mishra on 29 years of Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin, Bollywood Hungama (2025)](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/sudhir-mishra-29-years-raat-ki-subah-nahin-time-mumbai-wild-every-second-guy-shouting-bhai-ka-aadmi/)
11. [Presenting Nikhil Advani, Rediff.com (2003)](https://m.rediff.com/movies/report/advani/20031125.htm)
12. [Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin This Day That Year, Amar Ujala](https://www.amarujala.com/photo-gallery/entertainment/movie-review/is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-this-day-that-year-series-by-pankaj-shukla-7-june-1996-bioscope-sudhir-mishra)
13. [Sparkling thriller, India Today (31 May 1996)](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/your-week/story/19960531-movie-review-of-sudhir-mishra-is-raat-ki-subah-nahin-832966-1996-05-30)
14. [Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0308417/)
15. [Sudhir Mishra: The Rebel With Many Causes, Open Magazine](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/sudhir-mishra-the-rebel-with-many-causes)
16. [I am remaking my own film, SantaBanta (2006)](https://santabanta.com/cinema/bollywood/titbits/i-am-remaking-my-own-film-11609/)
17. [Sudhir Mishra back in Raat race, Times of India (2009)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-interviews/Sudhir-Mishra-back-in-Raat-race/articleshow/4923998.cms)
18. [Director's Interview: Sudhir Mishra, Man's World India (2023)](https://www.mansworldindia.com/lifestyle/entertainment/directors-interview-sudhir-mishra)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 1990s › Action and thriller films › Released 1996 to 1999*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license