FILM
REVIEW: BLACKMAIL (2005)
Director: Anil Devgan
Producer: Shyam Bajaj
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Priyanka Chopra, Suniel Shetty, Dia Mirza, Suniel Shetty
Radio
Sargam Rating: 5/10
BACKGROUND:
Four years after Raju Chacha (2000), director Anil Devgan, more famously known as Ajay Devgan’s cousin, resurfaces with Blackmail, a rehash of Hollywood thrillers, Phone Booth and Ransom. Incidentally, the biggest novelty factor for Blackmail is the re-teaming of real-life buddies – Shetty and Devgan – as leads, perhaps a decade after Dilwale (Harry Baweja’s Qayamat didn’t have the two stars in the lead, since the cinematic frame was equally dominated by other actors – prominently Arbaaz Khan, Sanjay Kapoor and Ashish Chaudhary).
Moreover, like Qayamat, Blackmail too has some highly stylized action sequences, touted to be the high spot of this thriller.
SYNOPSIS:
Not much is actually there in the script. In fact, the story wanders aimlessly as a vagabond along the sheer flow of the screenplay. Anyways, here’s a brief storyline - Life’s bed of roses for ACP Abhay Rathod (Suniel Shetty, and his family – wife Sana (Priyanka Chopra) and son Chirag (Parth Dave). But the ably built Mukesh Rishi (ironically referred to as Chhota) is out to ruin the cop’s life. Resultantly, to give shape to his evil plans, he hires old-time criminal Shekhar (Ajay Devgan), who has lost his wife (Dia Mirza) in an accident, to wreak havoc in Rathod’s life. Next, Shekhar kidnaps Chirag. His demand is unbelievable, something which Rathod cannot fulfill…
CRITIQUE:
Honestly, Blackmail has nothing substantially fresh to offer. It’s woven around the same old premise of kidnapping, revenge and redemption. Some of the scenes are shamelessly borrowed from Colin Farrell starrer Phone Booth. But then you can’t really blame second-time director Anil Devgan, for Bollywood has always looked at the West for inspiration. And why only foreign movies, Devgan even gets inspired by the recent Dhoom, what with cars racing down your neck and Qayamat itself in terms of the action.
However, having said that, it is action itself that sustains the sluggish flow of narrative. Choreographed by Allan Amin, some of the action sequences are neatly pulled off. Wish only the film had been as spunky.
Also count amongst the high points the clashing sequences between Ajay Devgan and Suniel Shetty. Clearly, their off-screen camaraderie has worked well on celluloid. Histrionically, Ajay Devgan is restrained, but overplays his trump card – emotion-choked voice, intense eyes, and of course a bit of action. Haven’t we seen (and appreciated) them already?
Suniel Shetty didn’t have a role to tom-tom about, yet he manages to leave an impact. The women-brigade (Priyanka Chopra and Dia Mirza) merely adorn the frame, rather than actually getting down to acting.
Thrillers normally have no scope for the music, but they definitely warrant an able-quality background score. Unfortunately, Blackmail fails on the musical front. On top of it all, there are some brain-dead numbers, when there is actually need of none.
Blackmail is at best a mediocre attempt. It neither thrills, nor gives you an emotional punch. It is essentially for the frontbenchers who get a kick out of high-on-style action, but for those critical of masala potboilers, Blackmail is… well well…
CONCLUSION:
For Ajay Devgan fans, the film is nothing short of blackmail. If they want to see Ajay Devgan on screen, they have to watch the film.
Reviewed
by: Tony
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