Director: Abhinay Deo
Cast: Irrfan, Kirti Kulhari, Divya Dutta, Arunoday Singh, Pradhuman Singh, Anuja Sathe Gokhale, and Omi Vaidya.
How far one can go to promote any product especially when it is about selling a toilet paper roll? It seems director Abhinay Deo knows it all especially when he is a film director and not a marketer. He forayed into Hindi films with Delhi Belly (2011) which was a laugh riot and easily an Aamir Khan’s brain child. With films like Game (2011) and Force 2 (2016) post that, Abhinay clearly misses out on making quality cinema. Known for choosing his film scripts wisely, Irrfan has no clue how the film will turn out be as ‘Blackmail’ is a big goof up on screen.
Dev (Irrfan) blackmails his wife Reena (Kirti Kulhari) and her lover Ranjit (Arunoday Singh) after he catches them red handed in his bedroom. It becomes bad to worse when Dev tells his plan to his office colleague and the blackmailing goes haywire. In the meantime, Ranjit fools his wife Dolly (Divya Dutta), a rich, brash daughter of a local goon to pay the ransom amount to Dev. Will Reena and Ranjit be able to prove themselves innocent?
Considering the trailer that was funny enough to tickle your funny bone, the movie is not even near to it. With all the unnecessary fillers in the film, endorsing a toilet paper is a no-brainer either. The male protagonist indulging into a masturbation act after every ten minute that has no relevance except for a full proof of his miserable sex life with his wife but film is about the blackmailing and not his sexual desires. Stealing photos of smiling women (even from the boss’s cabin) from colleagues’ desks isn’t a great deal! Hire a woman for this; it’s a legal act after all.
A lousy boss played by Omi Vaidya overpowered the main premise and there is hardly any scope for the plot. In the name of intelligent comic drama influenced by western cinema, Abhinay Deo brings out his worst as a director. The pace of the film is slower than a tortoise, damn!
The film promises no surprises except for the cringe worthy presentation of five odd people dealing with their own mess. Keeping the sensibilities of Indian masses in mind, Blackmail doesn’t even fit into that category too. ‘Humpty Dumpty had a great fall’!!! Thank god, they have a ‘Judwaa 2’ or a ‘Golmaal Again’ to fall back. However, the film zips through its constant compelling engaging story but it leaves you cheated in the end. You look for a clever twist but there is none! And yes, Bewafa Beauty does bewafaai too; wonder it is Urmila Matondkar’s come back after 10 long years. However, her item song forces the story to move forward but then where are her latkas and jhatkas that could have been the saving grace of this exceptionally boring film.
Generally, Irrfan is the obvious asset in any film he does but Blackmail is too far from it. No matter, he is the master of his craft but in this one he is futile and not true to his character of a helpless husband. Blame it all on the fussy screenplay. Even a good actor like him couldn’t save the film. Kirti Kulhari is mildly good but her less screen time does enough damage. Seems like, Omi Vaidya is still in ‘3 Idiots’ hangover. His expressions and dialogue deliveries are replica of his previous performances including ‘Dil To Baccha Hai Ji’. Divya Dutta is lousy and has nothing much to do in the film except for spying her gold digger husband. Arunoday Singh is a ‘large’ actor with a ‘small’ acting. Pradhuman Singh and Anuja Sathe Gokhale are passable.
Blackmail is an epic fail and a complete mismatch of what served in the trailer. ‘Trailer ne blackmail kar diya’!
