Highlights
Vikrant Massey-starrer Blackout is chaotic, loud, sans logic and has very limited dosage of humour even as it’s touted to be a comedy-drama. Though expectations were very high from this film co-starring Jisshu Sengupta, Sunil Grover and Mouni Roy, overall, it turned out to be an exhausting watch. The film, however, starts on a promising note and considering the main protagonist is the powerhouse of talent — Massey — who has made a mark in some critically acclaimed films, our eyes were glued to the screen but soon the film fell flat with our interest level dipping with the passing of each scene.
The film begins on an intriguing note. Set in Pune, at 7: 52 pm, a group of robbers plan a heist. The armed robbers first head to the Electricity Board of the city, they switch off the mains and then loot a jewellery shop. Around the same time, crime reporter Lenny D’Souza (played by Massey) reaches home after completing a sting operation. There is not much information about his past that how and why he became a sting operation journalist. There is no electricity and he is sent out by his wife to get some food for dinner.
Mr & Mrs Mahi Review: Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor pairing hits a sixerThere is pitch dark across the city and on his way back his car intersects with the (stationary) van consisting of jewellery and cash looted from the jewellery shop. Lenny discovers that all the robbers are dead and makes the most of this golden opportunity by transferring one big suitcase with jewellery and cash from the van to his car. But his happiness is short-lived as he accidentally hits a man on the street (Kelly Dorji) and is accused by bystanders of murder. Soon after enters the character Bevda (Sunil Grover) aka Asghar Bhai who blackmails Lenny and tells him that he will keep this incident as secret provided he is given some money and liquor.
When Lenny and Bevda reach the graveyard to bury the body, enter two ‘social media influencers’ with funny names Thik and Thak (Karan Sonawane and Saurabh Ghadge) who become part of the crime. As the film progresses, there are many more characters — a ‘damsel-in-distress’ (Mouni Roy), a Byomkesh Bakshi-styled detective (Jisshu Sengupta), an ex-MLA wanting revenge, etc., and you wonder what’s happening.
There is a lot of confusion and it becomes difficult to understand and digest so many characters, incidents, twists, plots and sub plots essentially due to poor writing and screenplay. It feels as if it is not just Lenny whose life is thrown out of gear with so many characters and events happening in his life but it is also the audience who can’t bear so much confusion and chaos happening on screen. If complete blackout in the city was not enough, Lenny’s life goes topsy-turvy with a dead body to dispose of, a drunkard and two goons forced upon him, betrayal from loved ones, an ex-MLA up for revenge and much more ..
It is definitely an interesting plot and it could have been a fun-filled caper with characters like a sting operation journalist, a drunkard, corrupt cops and politicians, two jokers/so-called social media influencers, an unfaithful wife and an unfaithful childhood friend, a good-looking woman .. on a night when the lights go out but the problem is there is no logic to all of it. Also, with good actors like Massey, Grover, Sengupta, Chhaya Kadam, Anant Joshi, director Devang Shashin Bhavsar could have pulled out an edge-of-the-seat drama but he fails.
Also Read: Desh Ke Gaddar: Dharmendra’s Macho Comeback with RajRishi FilmsEven the narrative is unfunny and it rarely manages to tickle the funny bone. To add to that the non-linear editing may turn out to be a bit confusing for some audiences. Massey, who has been hailed for many of his performances, fails to make an impact. He also tends to overact in some places and there’s nothing special to talk about Grover. Sonawane and Ghadge, who play Thik Thak, however, manage to add some humour and impress with their banters.
Cast:
Vikrant Massey, Anant Vijay Joshi, Sunil Grover, Mouni Roy, Chhaya Kadam, Jisshu Sengupta, Ruhani Singh
