Smita Singh clarified that Raat Akeli Hai was written and registered in 2013, years before Knives Out was released.
She acknowledged that comparisons with Knives Out arose because both films draw from familiar murder mystery conventions.
The writer has confirmed that she plans to step away from the murder mystery genre after completing the upcoming sequel.
Raat Akeli Hai writer Smita Singh has revisited the comparisons between her Netflix film and Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, reiterating that the similarities were purely coincidental. In an interview with India Today, Singh explained that the core idea for the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer existed long before the Hollywood hit entered public conversation.
Smita Singh on why Raat Akeli Hai drew Knives Out comparisons
When Raat Akeli Hai premiered in 2020, viewers quickly pointed out familiar elements associated with classic whodunits: a wealthy family, a grand house, a murdered patriarch and an investigating outsider. Singh noted that while the parallels were understandable, they ignored the timeline of her work. According to her, the script was written and registered as early as 2013 and was acquired in 2015, years before Knives Out released in 2019.
Writing Raat Akeli Hai before Knives Out
Speaking candidly, Singh admitted the timing was frustrating. She shared that earlier drafts of Raat Akeli Hai had even more overlaps with the Western template, including plot devices that were later removed to avoid predictability. For Singh, what mattered was knowing the origin of her story and the creative process behind it, regardless of public perception.
She also emphasised that her approach to Indian murder mystery storytelling has always focused less on shock reveals and more on social context. Rather than asking only who committed the crime, Singh believes the genre works best when it interrogates why crimes occur and what social structures enable them.
Why Smita Singh is stepping away from whodunits
Singh described the genre as creatively demanding and emotionally exhausting. While Raat Akeli Hai brought her recognition, it also made her question repeating the same narrative patterns. She acknowledged that portraying perpetrators as complex individuals shaped by circumstance has become a recurring theme in her writing.
According to Singh, cinematic murder mysteries cannot survive on formula alone. They need moral weight and relevance beyond puzzle-solving. This realisation has led her to decide that Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders will be her final whodunit, marking a conscious shift in her creative journey.
