Blind
Introduction
Onto the next release of the weekend and I finished watching the new Hindi film Blind which is now streaming on Jio Cinema. An official adaptation of the 2011 Korean film that did go by the same name, I had no reference of the original source material. Unfortunately for the Hindi adaptation, I had watched its Tamil adaptation titled Netrikann starring Nayanthara in the lead. I had thoroughly enjoyed that film that had set the tone right for its mystery and thrill which were prevalent in equal measures. Having said that, I did not have much hopes from the Hindi adaptation given how this was a delayed film with no real novelty in it. I still was curious to ‘see’ how Sonam Kapoor would cope with this character which was author backed in many ways. So then does Blind manage to impress, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
An official adapation of the Korean film by the same name, Blind follows the story of a blind ex-cop who is on the lookout for a serial killer who has traumatized the streets of London. Does she manage to nab him? The story here is enthralling and the fans of the original film would highly endorse it. But it is the screenplay standing at just over 2 hours that is so bland and devoid of any excitement that it made for such a big slog!
The drama does falter from its opening sequence itself. I had watched Netrikann and that opening sequence had me on the edge with the whole accident which is executed. But here I was blindly sitting through the sequence knowing fully well that this drama is in for some chin music when I sit to write its review. It was so poorly executed that it made me facepalm myself within the first 5 minutes of its runtime. Another major ingredient for the film was the setting which needed to evoke a sense of fear in the minds of the viewers. South Korea is known for some amazing serial killer movies because the setting is often on point. But the by lanes of London aren’t terrifying at all and it further depletes the subject here.
The proceedings are an absolute slog in what was a mess of an adaptation(even when I compare it with Netrikann). Another key aspect was to etch out some well written characters which would keep the viewers on their toes. But the characters here are so one-dimensional and absolutely cardboard cutouts that I found myself laughing at them uncontrollably. It was ridiculously bad writing on full display that made me want to literally sleep through the torture. During its start credits, I came across the name of Sujoy Ghosh who was the creative producer, a proven performer as far as the thriller genre is concerned. And then I wondered to myself, why would he approve this absolute d*gsh*t of a screenplay which was devoid of any excitement.
The final act had all the ingredients of an enthralling finale – a mansion with the blind protagonist and her acquaintance pitted against the killer. But the execution was so off and so ridiculous that it made me go ‘Matlab Kuch Bhi’. Were the writers unaware of the atrocities that their writing was causing? Were there too many Yes men around them? Was this even a film? Why wasn’t I blind while watching the film? All these questions were circling in my head as I noticed my brain cells dying a slow death. Overall, the screenplay was horrible, I’ll just put that in a nice way.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are just not upto the mark and in certain scenes very cheesy and childish(or was it because the lead actor was mouthing them?). The music is bad and doesn’t leave a mark. The BGM doesn’t go at all with the mood of the drama. To give you a perspective, a chase sequence had a fast paced BGM when in tonality it had to be that of fear. The cinematography and editing are a mess too. Only the lighting in certain scenes did leave some sort of an impact! Director Shome Makhija misses the mark and how. There wasn’t a single scene wherein I could have said that yes there was some thought given to it. It was an absolute hot mess!
Performances
The performances are a mixed bag. Shubham Saraf as Nikhil was decent. Vinay Pathak as Prithvi was the pick of the actors for me and he was the one actor that was actually trying to save this sinking ship. Purab Kohli as The Driver was decent but needed to be more intimidating. The lesser said about Sonam Kapoor the better. This would be her 16th year in the film industry but she still cannot act(apart from her stellar performance in Neerja). She needed to be authoitative and assertive in her act but all she managed to do was portray a very casual cut out of her character. Her dialogue deliver wasn’t great either and her performance wasn’t upto the mark. Perhaps a more qualified actor would have done a far superior job(remember Nayanthara?).
Conclusion
Blind is a poor drama devoid of any excitement whatsoever and marred by below average performances that made me wish I was ‘Blind’ while watching the film. Available on Jio Cinema.
