BLACKOUT rests on an interesting idea.

Blackout Review 2.5/5 & Review Rating

Director: Devang Shashin Bhavsar

Blackout Movie Synopsis:
BLACKOUT is the story of a bunch of madcap characters. Lenny Dsouza (Vikrant Massey) works in Pune as a crime journalist and is known for his explosive sting operations. He arrives home to his wife Roshni (Ruhani Sharma), who’s cooking. The dal gets burnt and electricity gets cut. Roshni asks him to buy anda pao. On the way, he bumps into his friend Ravi (Anantvijay Joshi) and he goes to drop him at his residence, situated on the outskirts of Pune. Meanwhile, a criminal gang loots a jewellery shop. Lenny bangs into the gang’s van while they are on the run. The vehicle turns upside down and Lenny runs to check the condition. He realizes the occupants of the van are dead. He also sees a lot of booty in the van. He takes one box, full of jewellery, and escapes. He then runs his car over a mysterious man (Kelly Dorji). From here on, his life turns hell as he meets bizarre characters like Thik (Karan Sudhakar Sonawane), Thak (Saurabh Dilip Ghadge), Shruti Mehra (Mouni Roy) and a drunkard poet (Sunil Grover). What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Blackout Movie Story Review:
Devang Shashin Bhavsar’s story is promising. Devang Shashin Bhavsar’s screenplay has its charm. There have been some films in this zone – where the story unfolds in one night amid a lot of crime and madness – but this film stands out. However, in the second half, the script becomes messy. Abbas Dalal and Hussain Dalal’s dialogues are funny and keep the interest going.

Devang Shashin Bhavsar’s direction is neat. There are several tracks and characters and yet, the film never gets confusing even for a second. The funny moments are aplenty while the intermission point is dramatic.

On the flipside, the second half is weak. The gang war scene seems unnecessary and doesn’t gel with the overall narrative of the film. The mid-credit scene neither leaves the audience in awe nor gives them a surprise. It could have been easily done away with. A few developments are also bewildering. It’s silly that the gang cut off the electricity out of an entire city to loot a store! No one taught them, it seems, that they could have simply switched off the electricity in the area of the store or just the building where the jewellery store was located. This important track is forgotten, and the director doesn’t go back to it until a certain point in the second half. The climax, lastly, doesn’t give a feeling of high.

Blackout Trailer | Streaming On JioCinema Premium | 7th Jun | Vikrant Massey, Mouni Roy, Sunil Grover

Blackout Movie Performances:
Vikrant Massey delivers a fine performance, as expected. This time, he plays to the gallery and seems convincing. Sunil Grover is the biggest surprise of the film. He has been depicted in a massy avatar and it adds to the fun. Mouni Roy has a late entry and is dependable. Jisshu Sengupta gets to play an interesting character, but he’s let down by the writing. Karan Sudhakar Sonawane and Saurabh Dilip Ghadge are highly entertaining and make confident debuts. Ruhani Sharma and Anantvijay Joshi lend able support. Prasad Oak (Inspector Patil) and Chhaya Kadam (MLA Anita Naik) are decent. Sooraj Pops (Mugli Anna) fails to impress while Kelly Dorji is wasted.

Blackout music and other technical aspects:
The songs by Vishal Mishra’s music don’t register, be it ‘Chitralekha’ or ‘Kya Hua’. John Stewart Eduri’s background score vibes with the quirky theme of the film.

Anubhav Bansal’s cinematography is satisfactory. Priya Suhass’ production design is functional. Sheetal Iqbal Sharma’s costumes are realistic. Manohar Verma’s action works. Famous Studios’ VFX is top-class. Unnikrishnan P P’s editing could have been slicker, especially in the second half.

Blackout Movie Conclusion:
On the whole, BLACKOUT rests on an interesting idea and is laced with funny and thrilling moments. But due to a weak second half, it turns out to be an average flick.