Picture Credit: Netflix
It’s been a rocky road for Gajab Raat. Filmed in 2025, the Hindi crime flick was officially announced at the February 3, 2026 Next on Netflix India event under the title Ghooskhor Pandat. The title — a nickname for the main character — translates to “Bribe-taking Priest.”
Within days, a group representing members of the Brahmin community filed a formal complaint with police stating that the film’s title “intended to target and insult a particular caste or community.” Others expressed their frustration online, and the central government ordered Netflix to remove the teaser and all related promotional content. The movie’s writer and producer Neeraj Pandey responded: “We understand that the title of the film has caused hurt to some viewers, and we genuinely acknowledge those feelings.” Netflix pulled the film from its catalogue and took down all of its promotional materials.
The legal fallout played out in two courts. On February 11, Netflix informed the Delhi High Court that it would change the film’s title. A week later, on February 19, the Supreme Court dismissed a separate plea seeking a stay on the film’s release after Pandey filed an affidavit confirming the title and its promotional assets had been withdrawn.
That wasn’t the end of the controversy. In June, the film’s star Manoj Bajpayee said that he and his family had been subjected to threats, including online abuse directed at his wife and their 15-year-old daughter. He told NDTV:
But tell me, how is it right to send me death threats? How is it right to drag my family into the whole picture and use all kinds of obscene language? What is my family’s fault? My family has female members whom you are talking about. How far do you think it is right to demean a woman who has no responsibility in naming the film? How far is it right that you are sending death threats to me, who is part of it as an actor? Death threats? For the name? I mean, just for the name.
In early September, Bajpayee told Variety India that the producers were close to finalizing a title. Netflix revealed the new name, Gajab Raat (“Extraordinary Night”), on October 14, alongside the trailer and the October 23 release date.
Gajab Raat is produced by Pandey’s Friday Filmworks, the studio behind Netflix Original film Sikandar Ka Muqaddar and both seasons of Khakee. It marks the directorial debut of screenwriter Ritesh Shah (Faraaz, Tehran).
What is the plot of Gajab Raat?
Here’s how Netflix describes this Hindi thriller:
[Gajab Raat] is a one-night thriller that follows the corrupt and morally bankrupt police officer Ajay Dikshit, as an unexpected encounter disrupts his plans and draws him into a chain of events far larger than anticipated. Set in Delhi and unfolding over the course of a single night, the film is driven by a situation wherein a girl is thrown out of a moving car, and the cop accompanies the injured girl to the hospital, leading to the unfolding of multiple situations.
Who is cast in Gajab Raat?
Manoj Bajpayee (Killer Soup, Inspector Zende) plays Ajay Dikshit, a corrupt police officer. Bajpayee says of his latest Netflix Original :
My association with Netflix has been an exciting journey, and Gajab Raat is another project I’m delighted to be a part of. I have always been drawn to characters who are not easy to define, and this film gave me the opportunity to inhabit a world filled with suspense, moral dilemmas and questions of accountability. What makes the story particularly compelling is how the characters’ motivations gradually reveal themselves as the night unfolds.
Other cast members include:
- Divya Dutta (Music Teacher)
- Akshay Oberoi (Selection Day)
- Saqib Saleem (Race 3)
- Rajiv Gupta (Fukrey Returns)
- Shraddha Das (Khakee: The Bihar Chapter)
- Nushrratt Bharuccha (Hurdang)
- Kiku Sharda (The Great Indian Kapil Show)
Gajab Raat has a runtime of 2 hours 3 minutes and a TV-MA rating in the US for violence, language, and smoking. It is streaming now on Netflix globally with Hindi audio and English subtitles.
You can see more of Netflix’s upcoming TV and movie slate from India scheduled to arrive in 2026 in the link provided.
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