Blackमेल review: This quirky and twisted tale WINS US OVER!

Movie: Blackमेल

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

Director: Abhinay Deo

Producer(s): T-Series and RDP Motion Pictures

Rating: 4/5 Stars

History is proof that making dark comedies is no joke. You need to come up unimaginably fitting dialogues. You need to get the tension build up right. You need to get the right kind of over-the-top expressions for places. And believe it or not, you also need to get the filth right. But, when you see the likes of Irrfan Khan making a choice like that, you have to give it a try. And we did not regret it!

So, let’s give you all our take on this unexpectedly brilliant comedy.

The opening sequence of Blackमेल is set in a dimly lit office, where we are introduced to Dev, a regular married guy who would represent a majority of people who are living in the city. He is a person who is under the load of instalments, pending bills and lives in a serviceable house in the city, but in this case, there’s also a wife a who is still very much attached to her ex-boyfriend, who keeps visiting her while Dev is away. But one fine day, Dev returns home early in an attempt to surprise his wife but ends up getting surprised himself after catching the love of his life sharing a bed with another man via a hole in the wall. But, instead of taking vengeance in a way that you’d expect him to, Dev ends up seeing a gain in this, and as the title might have given you all a hint already, he ends up blackmailing the lover of his wife. But, as you might expect, things don’t end there at all. What follows in this nearly two-and-a-half-hour-long feature presentation is a series of really unexpected twists, betrayals, genuinely funny moments in places where you’d least expect it. But, at the end of it all, you will be left with a lot of questions that you would want answers to and that indeed is a good thing, because that’s how this Abhinay Deo directorial manages to stay with you.

Obviously, at the centre of it all, there’s Irrfan, who powers this film with his brilliant act and this time around as well, he leaves you feeling almost all of the emotions that he would go through. But his character is sincerely helped by brilliant writing and an impressive ensemble of more-than-capable actors such as the likes of the charming Kirti Kulhari, Arunoday Singh, Divya Dutta and Omi Vaidya, who have put up performances and given us characters that are perhaps as memorable as the leading man here.

Talking about direction and screenplay, it is as watertight as it possibly could be, because the has so many mysteries, shocks and Oh My God moments that could keep you at the edge of your seat all the time. The film also comes across as a winner because of it’s situationally appropriate (or even inappropriate) dialogues, the ironies of which are just too obvious to ignore. Additionally, the inappropriateness of it all is what contributes to the uncontrollable chuckles. We are consciously not giving away too much (or rather, none) of the plot as that you really ruin the joy of watching this quirky comedy.

If you have an appetite for dark comedies and twisted humour, blackmail is going to be a feast for sure. Mind you. This feature presentation is not for those who can’t handle Delhi Belly like films, for it’s very director will put you through a ride like that one all over again.

If at the end of it all, if you’re left with questions and too many pieces to make sense of while being thoroughly entertained, then consider that Irrfan Khan, Kirti Kulhari, Abhinay Deo and the rest of team Blackmail has done their job beautifully!

A must watch!