Blackmail

SPOILER: Saw this in a theatre. Was highly anticipating it because i loved the director's earlier effort Delhi Belly which was outrageously funny. Of course the other reason is Irrfan Khan. The film follows the life of Dev (Irrfan) and his sometimes odd, sexual preferences. The missing photographs scenes were hilarious. The face cover scenes were hilarious too. Dev who is most attracted to his wife when she's sleeping, has a habit of peeping through a hole into his own bedroom. One night Dev comes early as advised by his colleague, finds his wife sleeping with another man. Surprisingly, given this dark subject matter, hilarity does in fact ensues. The film is filled with wacky complications, it takes a turn into darker territory with blackmailing, murder, conspiracy n accidents. One of the best part is that ther r no bloody songs except for one item song which was necessary for the colleague getting drunk n opening his mouth. There is some cleverly intelligent comedy here, but thats what I come to expect from Irrfan n Abhinay Deo. This film is really Irrfan's. He imbues his character with a sweetness that makes him more human and we as audiences wants him to win in his Pac-man game as well as in his revenge.

This is a film with outstanding writing/screenplay - PERIOD! There are many kinds of films...some are acting centric, some are direction centric and some are visual centric, this is a writing centric film, which means it's screenplay, is outstanding compared to it's other aspects, and comes out as it's primary selling point and attraction.

It's been some time since the era of screenplay centric films in Bollywood began. I think, now it is flourishing.

Humor is good, subtle, novel, and is well written into the script. Some new, refreshing and skilled cast is also a plus point.

I have only one major complaint with the movie and that is it's abrupt ending. The ending is unexpected and surprising in the sense that at that point, it seems that the film will go on for atleast 15-20 minutes more. There is an improper closure, and viewers would have to use their imagination a bit to conclude things; I would have preferred a more proper closure to the investigation. But taking this aspect of the ending out, the ending seems well written with a good touch of irony.

Director Abhinay Deo can safely call himself the king of black comedies as Blackmail by all means surpasses his previous best, Delhi Belly (2011). Irrfan, the king of the neighbouring kingdom - subtle acting - plays Dev, a cuckold to his wife (Kirti Kulhari) and leads the show. How an ordinary office-going man with shades of grey turns into a hostile creature with inflated vile human characteristics is what is the basic setting, and why Blackmail works compared to its past contemporaries is because Dev is not the only monster here. Every single character in the film is a vile creature with sinister intentions. From Dev's wife to his colleagues to the adulterer (Arunoday Singh) - everyone is a culprit in this drama that is written with full conviction and imagination. Writer Parveez Sheikh, known for Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) and Queen (2013), weaves a story that is so well-connected and polished, it is both delightful and funny to see the events unfold. Irrfan is at his usual best who acts like he his living the character; Singh, Divya Dutta, and Omi Vaidya are other members of the cast who support Deo in creating a near modern masterpiece in storytelling. With narrative frequently taking potshots at the human nature and also sampling current affairs and trends, there is never a dull moment that will bore a discerning viewer. There is enough going on in this drama that you will want to pay close attention as there is brilliance even in the niceties. Supported by a hard-pumping soundtrack, an unnecessary Urmila Matondkar cameo, and one of the best screenplays I have seen for a Bollywood film in 2018 so far, Blackmail is like that student who gets 80+ on all the subjects. How a noxious affair leads to another nasty thought to several more beastly events is what Blackmail situates itself in, and at the end reveals the hard truth about life that it is not people who actually do the crime that always suffer for it. It's a sincere and quirky take on life and gets full points for the efforts. The ambiguous climax makes it much more of a new wave, unmissable film. Go watch it! TN.

Direction:

Delhi Belly fame Abhinav Deo is back to black comedy genre after failure of Suspense and Action saga Game and Force2. As many scenes will recall you Delhi Belly's funny incidents. As Black comedy is new harvest for Bollywood and quite refreshing with compare to silly and WhatsApp's joke based comedy movies.

Performance:

Irrfan proved his mettle again in this black adult comedy drama. Nowadays Irrfan is little bit choosy regading script and he always come up with something new and refreshing one e.g. Piku, Hindi Medium and Qarib Qarib Singlle. Aronoday Singh has done great job in the role of unlucky husband of rich wife. Pink fame Kirti Kulhari looks good in supporting role. Divya Dutta and Omi Vaidya have done justice with their roles.

Script:

As script is quite good as Delhi Belly in terms of treatment. Some scene used as symbolic e.g. Water tap where you will be laugh based on your imagination. This means that script has great connect with the audience. As Bluffmaster movie has bluff as infection, same thing about this script because every one is blackmailing every one. Bajrangi Bhaijaan fame Parveez Sheikh has done brilliant job in great writing.

Music:

Amit Trivedi's music is with in frequency with script and situation. Two other music directors Badshah and Guru Randhawa have great contribution in form of "Happy Happy" and "Patola" where "Patola" is already party anthem.

Dialogue:

Any comedy genre, Dialogue is the soul of the movie. Dialogue was witty and funny at the same time.

Box-office:

As this black comedy earn 2.8 crores only which less than expected amount on day 1. Word of mouth is really good for this movie so we can expect good footfall on Saturday and Sunday.

Last Words: Wish speedy recovery of Irrfan who are fighting with Neuroendocrine Tumour so that he can enjoy the success of his work in this movie.

This was unexpected. I went in the hall with low expectations, having literally no idea of what the film was going to be about. I had no idea of what I was in for. Boy, did I enjoy every bit of the roller-coaster ride! On the surface, it looks to be simple - a man finds his wife is cheating on him, he plans to blackmail on his wife's boyfriend to pay off his bills. That's where it gets complicated. What follows is an impressive accounts lesson, money changing hands as frequently as nymphomaniacs changing clothes, and shades of grey revealed in every character. Friendship, love, jobs, loyalty - everything bows their head to the almighty rupee (or dollar, depending on where you are from). The music is impressive. The soundtrack is among Amit Trivedi's top five, easily. The acting is, for lack of a better word, amazing. Irrfan Khan steals the show. Smaller actors could have easily collapsed under the weight that the film demanded from the lead role, but boy, he does not disappoint. Other actors (Arunoday Singh, Kirti Kulhari, Divya Dutta, Omi Vaidya, et al.) also make handle their roles with grace, but your eyes will never stray from Irrfan. One word of caution, though - this is full of dark humor, not dark comedy - don't go into the film expecting laughs and giggles.