It’s the film’s unique brand of humor – some of it pitch black and Coen-esque – that makes Blackmail worth your time, despite its shortcomings. Be warned that it’s too long by at least 20 minutes, and requires patience. But give it a chance. A lot of it flies.

Fun filled and realistic story-telling made interesting with engaging and hilarious performances of Irrfan Khan and Divya Dutta.

Blackmail’s settings are grim, dark, comic and capricious, but one misses the directorial chutzpah that Deo showcased in his 2011 film Delhi Belly.

But these are just silly pinpricks one must find out in a film that never runs short of bite and sting.

The plot of Blackmail is its hero and it manages to strike a good balance between dark and funny. Characters are bumped off, sometimes in most gory detail and strange events unfold, but the film never loses its vein of easy, black humour. This is one of the most wickedly funny films that we’ve seen in a long time.

Blackmail is a thoroughly enjoyable ‘black’ comedy that will have you laughing aloud on a lot of occasions.

Blackmail is dark, it’s entertaining and never for a second it has a dull moment. Hope it joins the list of this year’s well-earning movies like Padmaavat, Raid, Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety, PadMan & Baaghi 2. Irrfan Khan, we already miss you – please get well soon!

BLACKMAIL is quite an unconventional entertainer and a good black comedy. It may not have a pan India appeal but the target multiplex audience are sure to enjoy this flick. The costs of this film are reasonable and as a result, it’ll turn out to be a profitable venture for its producers.

It’s a bit exhausting to narrate the multiple entanglements, but the trying situations retain pace and keep one interested, curious and concerned about the events to follow.

Blackmail is a virgin territory in the comedy genre. It is heady and hedonistic, cocky and compelling in the way the comedies of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee used to be.

Irrfan Khan is far from being essentially the same. His intentionally blank expressions and deadpan kind of tone is suitably changed here in keeping with his generally harangued character. Arunoday Singh and Divya Dutta steal the show with their effortless work, Singh dwarfing Dutta in the final analysis. Kulhari has nothing much to do, while Pradhuman Singh and Omi Vaidya overdo their bit, especially Vaidya who keeps showing his limitations. Anuja Anil Sathe is a delight, and Gajraj Rao and Vibha Chibber are fun too as the slimy detective and the gun dealer.