Blackout (2024) Review!!

Synopsis – A single night of darkness engulfs the city in mystery. As crime reporter Lenny gets entangled in a web of greed and misfortune.

My Take – With woke culture in full swing, gone are the times when laugh-out-loud comedies used to dominate both cinema and TV screens, particularly the ones directed by legendary filmmaker Priyadarshan.

But while this year’s earlier release, the Kunal Khemu directorial Madgaon Express, found appreciation from all corners, in the end, it also didn’t churn out enough box office numbers to guarantee a resurgence of the sub-genre. Something which we could have expected from this latest JioCinema release.

On paper, this directorial debut from Devang Bhavsar, who co-wrote the film with Abbas Dalal (Jawaani Jaaneman) and Hussain Dalal (Fighter), sounded like a fun-filled caper capturing the chaos, hilarity, and unexpected heartwarming moments of a single night gone wild. And though the makers struck gold with the casting, unfortunately, its contrived treatment does it no favors.

Filled with hit and miss gags, one-liners, and whatnot, the film is so all over the place with its multiple characters and subplots, that it never settles down to run smoothly, making it an exhausting watch.

Yes, the basic theme had potential, but the screenplay does a shoddy job of picking up the right narrative tone and making the plot engaging. This one could have been sharp and entertaining had it constantly called itself out, something which the similar styled Lootcase (2020) did, but this one is so dead set on barraging so-called entertainment at the viewers that it ends up mistaking its intent for a well-thought-out venture.

Sure, a few scattered laughs and an engaging cast can make it somewhat worthwhile for someone with no expectations, but for others, sadly, nothing works in the film’s favor.

Set in a single night when the streets of Pune are engulfed in darkness due to a blackout caused by a couple of robbers who carry out a massive bloody heist on a fancy jewelry spot, the story follows Lenny D’Souza (Vikrant Massey), a crime reporter and sting operation expert, who ventures out of his house to bring food for himself and his wife, Roshni (Ruhani Sharma), only to find himself in a series of bizarre encounters.

Beginning with ramming into a van full of cash, gold and dead men, from which he ends up stealing a box, hoping to better his life. However, his bad luck continues to have a major stake in his life, as along the way he runs into a homeless alcoholic, Bewdya (Sunil Grover), two pick-pocket influencers Thik (Karan Sudhakar Sonawane) and Thak (Saurabh Ghadge), and a damsel-in-distress Shruti Mehra (Mouni Roy), who all get into his car, as the navigate through one misadventure after the other.

The film is simply all over the place. A city-wide blackout, an accident, an unguarded treasure, a dead body to dispose of, a drunkard and two pickpockets as aides, a bitchy boss, a conniving detective, a damsel in distress, betrayal from two loved ones, an ex-MLA up for revenge, a corrupt police officer, gang wars and a lot of confusion.

Everything that Lenny encounters goes wrong, pulling him further into a murkier mess. A dull screenplay and a meandering story-line are just the icing on top.

It all actually starts off well, with Anil Kapoor’s witty introduction, writer-director Devang Bhavsar teases an entertainer, but the narrative has little progress during the first hour, and dips further in the second. The various tracks end up being contrived as they don’t create the desired impact.

One such track is that of Mugil Anna (Sooraj Pops). The non-linear narrative fails to keep you invested. Instead, they could have given more screen time to Detective Arvind (Jisshu Sengupta), who brings the most unexpected twist of the plot. Despite the potential, the film is mostly chaotic, loud, and humorless. Though the use of ‘Chaiyya Chaiyya’ in a scene where bullets are pumped into the sky makes for the film’s best gag.

Performance wise, Vikrant Massey who has mostly played severe characters on screen, seems to be having a ball onscreen. Sunil Grover is his awesome self. Karan Sonawane and Saurabh Ghadge impress with their impeccable timing. Mouni Roy is decent.

However, Jisshu Sengupta, Ruhani Sharma, Chhaya Raghunath Kadam, Sooraj Pops, Prasad Oak, Kelly Dorji and Anant Vijay Joshi are wasted in minuscule roles. On the whole, ‘Blackout’ is an exhausting crime caper starring an engaging cast and a few scattered laughs.