Blackmail is a black comedy about a blackmail saga that’s so insipid and bland that I would actually remember the day when I watched the film as, black Friday.
Dev Kaushal (Irrfan) is coping up with a boring middle class life, boring sales job, lots of financial pressures and a lacklustre marriage with Reena (Kirti Kulhari). He discovers that she’s having an affair with Ranjeet (Arunoday Singh) and decides to get even by blackmailing him. Ranjeet is a good-for-nothing married to Dolly (Divya Dutta) a Corporator’s daughter. Ranjeet, with no means to keep up with the blackmailer’s demand in turn starts blackmailing his girlfriend, Reena.
Also Read: This ‘Missing’ is totally worth missing!
And this is just the beginning of a series of blackmails. Anyone who comes to know about the blackmail begins getting blackmailed and the blackmailed in turn blackmails someone else to arrange for the finances. In this whole rigmarole its the audience who gets blackmailed by the makers of this film – Watch or else you’ll never know how the chain of blackmails end.
There was absolutely no zing to the whole narrative as was in the case of Delhi Belly. Of course, that one had a novelty value – toilet humour and dark comedy – seven years back. Blackmail has its own novelty value with some different kind of toilet humour that was the only thing interesting in the mundane life of Dev (pun intended). But, that was the only thing humorous about the movie. I found absolutely no other opportunity to laugh otherwise.
Also Read: Salman’s bail may get delayed as judge transferred
The screenplay was a big culprit that offered no highs, no lows and sadly, no humour, not even giggles. Just a never-ending series of jumbled up blackmails that seemed to go on like an endless dark tunnel.
I am so numbed by the experience that I need exert copious amount of effort to pick out some good points in the movie.
Irrfan tried his level best with his sincere performance of a lethargic but, good-at-heart helpless blackmailer.
Kirti was good. She brought certain vulnerability to her character despite being an adultratous wife. Arunoday and Divya were good too.
Also Read: Priety Zinta meets Salman in jail “Chori Chori Chupke Chupke”
But, performances are only as good as the story allows. These hapless actors unintentionally were party to a crime that was perpetrated by the movie makers.
Omi Vaidya played Dev’s boss and bored us to death with his (zillionth time) firang-accented character.
In fact that whole side track around him should have been blown away with a canon had I been the editor and the movie would have been 30 min lesser of the torture it was.
Speaking of music, sataasat with its quirky lyrics and music by Amit Trivedi was the sole flag bearer of what you could call humour in this movie.
Bewafa Beauty, by the same duo, featuring a cameo by Urmila was hummable.
The rest of the movie was nothing but, torture. I would have to take back my words in my earlier review in the day that Blackmail could be a better option this weekend.
I think Missing, despite of its misgivings, was a much better movie than this one.
Some days are just bad!
Score: 4 on 10.