One can relax while watching certain films, because the intent with which they are made is to purely entertain. Those films are not intense with their storylines or the fate of their characters, and the viewers can simply enjoy the flow of events. But what happens when a film sets the bar for itself as a serious film, and fails to retain its story above that bar? Expectations are not fulfilled, and the audience are put off. Blackmail is an example of a film that sets the bar for itself but delivers a story that is filled with errors.

Director: Mu Maran

Cast: GV Prakash Kumar, Srikanth, Ramesh Thilak, Bindhu Madhavi, Teju Ashwini

The good thing about the film is that it delivers on its title, with the entire story being focused on a family being held hostage through blackmail. But unfortunately, the film overdoes the blackmail to the point of exhaustion. At the centre of it all is not the lead actor GV Prakash Kumar's character, Mani, but rather Ashok, played by Srikanth. Ashok is a rich man whose daughter Anu is repeatedly kidnapped, for the kidnappers to demand money from Ashok. Right from the get-go, the kidnapping doesn't happen due to extraordinary planning, it happens due to a mixture of neglect and luck. In the first scene of the movie, Ashok is driving a car up the hill, with Anu in the backseat. After a planned accident is executed, the kidnappers are left dumbfounded after the child runs away from the car, to chase a balloon. The parents also leave the place without checking if Anu is in the backseat. Due to this, Anu is then kidnapped by another set of people. And that is just two of the ten kidnappings that follow.

But the reason the writing justifies the kidnapping is only by convenience. Mani kidnaps Ashok's child, but Ashok later joins hands with Mani, only because he sympathises with Mani, as Mani's girlfriend, Reka, was kidnapped by some thugs. But the reason convenience reigns high here is that Reka was also held hostage by Ashok. At some point in time Mani's boss gets hold of Anu, only because another kidnapper, who meticulously kidnaps Anu, is careless enough to leave Anu at a public spot, who is then captured by a henchmen for Mani's boss. Laying out the plot of the film as an infographic can result in the entire film being logically picturised. Still, it only justifies the lack of layers within the film, as the writing is convenient.

The convenience in the writing also results in some regressive ideologies. In the beginning, Reka, who is revealed to be pregnant, wants to get an abortion. But what results in two intertwined conversations, in which Reka is told that being pregnant is a gift, and that Reka should be happy with that. Now, one can only speculate that if Reka's pregnancy is added to increase the stakes for the story, or if it was added to reflect the director's views. But in the end, the film reflects a world where women have limited agency. In another scene, a couple of trans people are being pursued by Mani, who suspects they have kidnapped Anu. Now, the trans people stand up for themselves, through dialogues which are written to clear the prejudices they face. But this particular scene is preceded by an "item number", which fully shows those transpeople in the same negative manner, it tries to change.

Blackmail tries to be a serious film with a layered story. It has enough characters with distinct personalities, for us to remember them. But the writing pulls the rug from underneath every ambition it has. The only grace that the film offers can be its inadvertant humour caused as a result of the scenes, and a very distracting fake beard on Ramesh Thilak. But there is a clear distinction between laughing at something and laughing along with something.