Blackmail: How Irrfan Khan Turned a Twisted Tale into a Cult Classic
A forgotten dark comedy from 2018, Blackmail reveals Irrfan Khan at his most quietly brilliant — in a film where betrayal gets messy, and revenge gets weirder.
You don’t expect a film about blackmail, cheating, and accidental death to be funny. But then again, you don’t expect Irrfan Khan to play it the way he did — with eyes that said more than most actors manage with monologues.
Blackmail, which came out in 2018 and kind of slipped under the radar, is one of those movies that grows on you later. Maybe because it wasn’t loud. Maybe because it was too real in a weird, wonky way. Or maybe because it came just as the man at the centre of it all — Irrfan — was dealing with something far heavier in real life.
Flowers, a Door, and Then Silence
It all starts simple. A man — Dev Kaushal, played by Irrfan — buys flowers, maybe out of guilt, maybe out of routine. He gets home early, which turns out to be a terrible idea. His wife, Reena (Kirti Kulhari), is in bed. With another man. Dev doesn’t lose his mind. He doesn’t throw the flowers. He just… stands there. Looks. Walks out.
Now here’s where any other movie might’ve gone for vengeance or drama. This one? He starts blackmailing the guy — anonymously, of course.
Everyone’s Blackmailing Everyone
The man Reena’s sleeping with is Ranjit (Arunoday Singh), who’s married to Dolly (Divya Dutta), who you really don’t want to get on the wrong side of. So Ranjit, unable to cough up the money, blackmails his wife. Meanwhile, Dev’s office colleague, Prabha, gets wind of what he’s up to and starts demanding her cut.
At some point, someone dies. Not dramatically. Just one of those “what now?” moments that make you sit up.
It’s a domino of small, desperate decisions. Every character is chasing control, some dignity, or at the very least — an escape. And as it all falls apart, it’s hard not to laugh — not because it’s ridiculous, but because it feels a little too close to how real people behave when they’re in way over their heads.
Irrfan Was the Still Centre
This wasn’t Irrfan at his loudest. This was him at his most restrained — shoulders slouched, voice low, gaze tired. He didn’t need lines to explain Dev’s disappointment. It was all there. In how he blinked. In how he stood too long before speaking.
Around the time the movie came out, Irrfan revealed he was battling a neuroendocrine tumour. He wasn’t doing promotions. He wasn’t making it about himself. But the weight of that reality sits behind every frame of Blackmail. It’s impossible not to see it now.
It Wasn’t a Big Fat Hit
The movie had a modest budget — around ₹18 crore, as reported — and made about ₹39 crore worldwide. Not a blockbuster. Not a disaster. It did fine.
Shot mostly in Mumbai, the film leaned into the city’s cramped, fluorescent-lit energy. There were no massive sets, no dramatic crane shots. Just rooms. Hallways. Offices that smelled of boredom and stale food. It all fit.
The music? Quirky. “Happy Happy” by Badshah made a bit of noise. The rest sat comfortably in the background, letting the story do its thing.
Critics Didn’t Agree on Much — Except Irrfan
The reviews? All over the place.
Times of India liked it — 4 stars. Called it clever. Hindustan Times found it entertaining. NDTV, on the other hand, thought it was a mess. 1.5 stars. Said it tried too hard.
Audiences were just as split. Some Reddit threads praised its originality and dark humour. Others said it lost steam midway. But no one argued with this: Irrfan’s performance carried it.
Streaming Helped People Catch Up
The film didn’t explode in theatres, but later — on Amazon Prime Video and Airtel Xstream Play — people started catching on. Maybe because it’s the kind of film you appreciate more when you’re alone. Late at night. Wondering how bad decisions unravel.
The Final Shot Says More Than the Plot
In the end, Dev watches his own wedding video. A grainy, happy memory. The kind that stings more than the betrayal. Because what hurts isn’t what happened — it’s remembering how things used to be.
That’s where Blackmail hits hardest. Not with its blackmail or murder, but with that quiet ache of something broken long before anyone noticed.
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