Blackmail Movie Review: Irrfan Khan's Black Comedy Delights But Only In Parts

Director: Abhinay Deo

Cast: Irrfan Khan, Kirti Kulhari, Arunoday Singh, Omi Vaidya, Divya Dutta and Anuja Sathe

He may be India's favourite export to Hollywood, but back home, too, Irrfan Khan is a name respected and loved. The actor delivers yet another of his subtle yet strong performances in his new release, Blackmail . In the midst of undergoing treatment for brain cancer in the UK, Irrfan Khan and family will be happy to know that his act has been appreciated.

Having said that, Irrfan Khan's last outing Hindi Medium is still fresh in the minds of audiences, and so, Blackmail may be a rather different role for family audiences to watch. It is certainly not a family film, but a decent black comedy - the kind not seen in Bollywood for a while.

Director Abhinay Deo, who directed the cult Delhi Belly, continues with his 'toilet humour' in Blackail , too. This time, it is about selling toilet rolls. That forms a major part of the film. However, the main premise is the boring married life of the protagonist.

The film opens with a Pacman-like video game that Dev (Irrfan Khan) is playing on his office computer. He does that every day, staying back really late, to go home to a disinterested wife Reena (Kirti Kulhari) who is asleep by the time he reaches home. It is a typical stressful work-life of Mumbai, where travel takes time and often there is no time for family or specifically the spouse. Dev is stuck in such a loveless marriage but he is still in love with his wife. She, however, is cheating on him with Ranjeet (Arunoday Singh), her lover from her single days. One day when Dev comes home early, on the suggestion of his colleague Anand (Pradhuman Singh), he finds his wife with Ranjeet. But Dev does not catch them red-handed. He decides to blackmail the man instead, as he needs money to pay his equated monthly instalments or EMIs!

As the trailer of the movie showed, one Blackmail leads to another and before you know it, Dev is in a mess that he cannot seem to untangle. But eventually he does, with the precision of a seasoned criminal and that is something hard to explain to viewers. How can a simple, average, boring man be so shrewd? Does love or rather a cheating spouse make him so? Can the need to pay one's EMIs make one a criminal? (That may be the subject of yet another film! Like Sanjay Dutt's EMI.)

Blackmail the film is full of hilarious situations involving Dev, Anand, Anand's wife Dolly (Divya Dutta), Dev's boss (Omi Vaidya) and the streetsmart Marathi mulgi in office played by Anuja Sathe Gokhale. The film manages to showcase the office quirks well. It has also been shot in real locations in Navi Mumbai, lending it authenticity.

The performances are all on par and the characters grow on you. However, you need patience to sit through this film, especially as the end nears. Like our cinema of the yesteryears. For today's generation, Blackmail could have been shorter by at least a half hour. It would've worked wonderfully then.

But even though it is a dark comedy, the main theme could've been how a life of even petty crime can land you in trouble. But then this is not a preachy film. It is about life as it happens and the decisions one takes, which could include crime. Blackmail is a good one-time watch but not funny enough for even satire.

Verdict: A bit messy and slow, Blackmail delights you only in parts. The tragic humour in everyday situations is not something you and me have not experienced in life, and so one does offer smirks and small laughs where the jokes or punches flow in the movie. But overall, Blackmail is a slow burning movie that may not have cooked into something great. Think Delhi Belly or Yeh Saali Zindagi, or else you may not enjoy it.

Rating: 3/5