Dev Kaushik (Irrfan Khan), in the movie Blackmail, makes a profound statement quite early on: Shaadi toh gaaon mein chalti hai, shehar mein toh band bajta hai. That, precisely, is the leitmotif of the Abhinay Deo film—two urban marriages, both with their own sets of issues, and an extra-marital affair.
No wonder then the film—a dark comedy like Deo’s 2011 Delhi Belly (there were films like Game and Force 2 by the director in between that were tiring)—is peppered with adult humour, twisted situations and weird ideas as a solution to them. For instance, instead of confronting the wife or his lover when caught in a compromising position, the husband resorts to blackmail to come out of his financial crisis.
Dev, an employee in a company manufacturing and selling toilet paper, is in a loveless, lifeless marriage with Reena (Kirti Kulhari). Instead of spending his evenings at home (the EMI of which is an additional pressure for him) with his wife, he stays at office—masturbating to the photos of his colleagues’ wives and playing Pac-Man.
However, egged on by his colleague-cum-friend, Anand (Pradhuman Singh Mall), he returns home early (with flowers) to change things in his marriage; only to discover Reena with another man, Ranjit (Arunoday Singh). The blackmail begins soon with the help of an unidentified number.
Ranjit, unemployed and married to an alcoholic Dolly (Divya Dutta)—the daughter of a rich businessman, has his own set of problems. He is reduced to the stature of a dog in the house, living on Rs 10,000 rupees per month he gets as 'pocket money'. To fulfil the blackmailer’s demand, he turns into one too when he starts blackmailing Reena.
It’s only a matter of time that Dev’s immature handling of the situation, that should have better remained a secret, would lead to a quagmire of sorts. Soon, everyone is blackmailing everyone, leading to hilarious face-offs. Anuja Sathe as Prabha Ghatpandey, Dev’s colleague, in a small role is not only convincing but strong and funny.
The story and screenplay by Parveez Sheikh is the heart of this edge-of-the-seat comedy and the dialogues by Pradhuman are bang on. It is a tightly weaved tale that is not as crude as Delhi Belly, thanks to the reduced toilet humour mostly confined to Dev’s boss—Boss DK (perhaps, the filmmaker’s nostalgia associated to the song Bhaag DK Bose led to the name) played by Omi Vaidya. The boss is so obsessed with his new line of toilet paper that he is hell-bent that all his employees feel its softness.
However, like Delhi Belly, graphic language and sexual candor runs through the film. Another strength of the film is its cinematography by N.V. Srinivas that captures regular objects and situations with an approach that adds a lot of intrigue.
So does Irrfan, with a character that has fewer dialogues and more action. He carries the film with his distinctive performance that not just stands out, but adds a lot of drama. One of the best parts has been played by Dutta. She does complete justice to the role of an alcoholic. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that in one part of the film, she reminds us of Satish Shah from Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. While Arunoday Singh is good, he sometimes takes his character too seriously and overacts. Kulhari’s character, very close to being a bimbette, is surprising, especially after some of the strong female characters (Pink, Indu Sarkar) we have seen her in. However, there’s hardly enough riding on her part.
One of the strongest features of the film is Amit Trivedi’s music, especially the catchy song Badla that captures the pulse of the film. It adds a punch to the movie when it’s going slow or when there’s little to engage. However, for all the talk of Urmila Matondkar’s return through Bewafa Beauty, the song falls flat. You wonder why the actress would decide to perform a song that hardly adds to the story or even take up the entertainment quotient.
Film: Blackmail
Director: Abhinay Deo
Cast: Irrfan Khan, Kirti Kulhari, Divya Dutta, Arunoday Singh
Rating: 3.5/5