namashi_1
Abhinay Deo's 'Blackmail' has an interesting premise, that sadly never turns into an entirely interesting, wholesome noir-comedy, that only works in bits & pieces. Despite complete support from its cast, the film remains untapped in its potential.'Blackmail' Synopsis: When Dev finds out his wife is cheating on him, he secretly blackmails his wife and her lover as a form of revenge.'Blackmail' is the same old story of a husband's wrath on his wife after he finds out she's cheating on him. The twist here is the blackmail angle & how the protagonist literally turns things up, side, down for his wife & lover. 'Blackmail' is twisty tale of dark characters, who have very few redeeming qualities & will go to any length to their share of money. All of this appeals in the beginning, but as the film progresses & the blackmailing doesn't remain only one person hands, the story begins to fizzle out. Too much happens & very little actually works. Though the dark humor does get laugh out of you, its continuous act one blackmail after the other, wear you off. In short, 'Blackmail' engages in parts, not entirely! Parveez Shaikh's Screenplay is alright. Abhinay Deo's Direction is fine. Cinematography & Editing are standard. Performance-Wise: Irrfan, as always, is highly commendable. As the husband out for sadistic revenge, Irrfan doesn't miss a single beat. Arunoday Singh springs a pleasant surprise. The actor shines as the calculative yet dumb lover, who also flexes his gift for comic-timing here. Kirti Kulhari as the wife in trouble, is perfectly cast. She looks beautiful as well. Divya Dutta is deliciously wicked as Arunoday's wife, delivering a delightful turn, despite limited screen-time. Pradhuman Singh Mall overdoes it in his part. Omi Vaidya is fair. Anuja Sathe is fantastic.On the whole, 'Blackmail' is only partly engaging.
anshul-anz
A ,ovie which breaks every mold.. Superb writing, amazing comic timings, great cast, well suited roles and stellar performances... MUST MUST Watch.. One of the best recent comedies... in league with Vicky Donor sans the romance and the social msg...
bigmoviebuff-98923
What would you do if you return home one day to find your wife in bed with her lover? Well as the title of this Abhinay Deo directed quirky comedy suggests, the husband(Dev) decides to blackmail him. He purchases a new mobile and sim and texts him demanding I lakh rupees otherwise he would expose the affair. Now the lover(Ranjit) himself is in an unhappy marriage and is forced to cajole his bossy wife(Dolly) to lend him the money under the pretext of starting his own canine import export business.
This is how the first blackmail takes place. Through the course of the film there are several blackmails which occur with Dev being the center of all of them. He is either the one who is demanding the money or the one who ends up paying it.
The premise is unique and Abhinay smartly exploits it to give the audience several laughs. The side plot involving Dev's obsession with pictures of other men's wives is one that's extremely hilarious and the way Irrfan Khan goes about carrying about this obsession just adds on to the humour quotient.
The script is easy flowing and the characterization is excellently done.
Every character has a unique personality which gives them depth and relatability. There is never the sense of something being out of place or someone behaving in an over the top manner.
This shows quality actors can pull off good comedic roles without stepping into slapstick territory.
The first half is slow but the second half more than makes up for it with it's faster pace and unpredictability. If you're tired of watching Sajid Khan inspired comedies loaded with forced humour and overacting watch this movie to restore your faith in the comedy genre.
