Review: BLACKMAIL

Derails Rather Quickly

2 stars

Mini Review:

A toilet paper salesman attempts to infuse some life into his

marriage and comes home early to find his wife in bed with

another man. Instead of confronting them, he chooses to

blackmail them. This sets off a series of what ifs and

what then scenes that seem super chaotic and funny, but

nothing makes you really care. If Irrfan Khan weren’t as

talented as he is, this film would have fallen apart within

fifteen minutes.

Main Review:

The trailer of the film promised a funny, black comedy. And Irrfan

Khan’s presence in small films has proven to be magical time

and time again. He has this ability to bring that extra something

to every character he plays. So we swallow the doubt that crops

up instantaneously in our heads: Toilet rolls in an India which

chooses water over paper? You settle down to watch because you

are anticipating fun promised in the trailer and cuckolded husbands

make for a great joke.

However, the fun does not last. The silly soundtrack of ‘Bhaag

Bhaag DK Bose’ from Delhi Belly keeps popping up in your head

and you realise no matter how many naked butts are knifed, or

penguin dustbins are appropriated, this film is not as funny as

watching Imran Khan run helter skelter in a burqa followed by

his besties in Delhi.

So Kirti Kulhari is cheating on Irrfan Khan with Arunoday Singh.

You wish their illicit relationship were a tad more flamboyant

than just an ordinary affair. Remember that exaggerated Aamir

Khan character in Delhi Belly? Arunoday Singh is just not cut out

for it. But his wife is. Divya Dutta plays the rich drunk wife rather

well. She’s another bright spot in this chaos, but has very little

to do. And her father squeezing Arunoday Singh’s cojones is

funny maybe for a ten year old…

You wish the Delhi Belly cast had reassembled for Blackmail.

They had so much better comic timing. A bunch of friends

egging Imran Khan to blackmail and helping him through the

ensuing madness would have certainly been so much more fun.

And Irrfan Khan stealing photographs to masturbate to in the age

of cell phone wallpaper is not remotely funny on screen as it may

have been on paper. Suddenly that hateful diarrhea scene in

Delhi Belly seems so much classier than watching Irrfan Khan

with Bhabi and girlfriend photos. What’s worse, is watching

Omi Vaidya again on screen, doing the same ole. Who thought

of casting him?

  

So the laugh track in your head goes, ‘Haha - thud! Hahaha -

thud!’

Things begin to fall flat and crash just as rapidly as bodies. You

cannot believe the dark comedy went from black to making you

feel so blue so quickly. They should change the contrived

flickering neon from the film to say ‘this film sucks’.    

(this review appears on nowrunning dot com)