Blood Money Review

The promos have pretty much established the storyline of 'Blood Money'. Kunal Khemu is a honest professional who gets sucked into the world of corporate crime as he joins hands with a bigwig (Manish Chaudhary). Expectedly his wife (Amrita Puri) is not too happy with the developments but the lure of 'bangla', 'gaadi' and 'ladki' (in this case, Mia Uyeda) is good enough to stray our leading man. In the middle of this all there is another evil man (Sandeep Sikand). Of course there is the middle act where Kunal lets go off his conscience, only to emerge as the one who would battle it all out in the third act.

The film is as 'template ready' as it gets and at times does remind one of 'Jannat'. The difference here though is that while Emraan Hashmi was carrying a negative streak to him for most part of the film, Kunal takes time to loose his righteous side, only to announce a return in a much faster time period.

However what one doesn't miss right through the film's narrative is a distinct Bhatt feel to it. One can well see that first time director Vishal Mahadkar has been clearly inspired by Vishesh Films school of movie making and is following the formula that has been consolidated by the likes of Vikram Bhatt and Mohit Suri.

What one does miss though is the punch in the affair that stays constant for the entire duration of the film. Let's admit it, 'Blood Money' starts off well and introduction scenes pretty much establish each of the characters well too. There isn't much time wasted by getting the hero and the heroine into a 'naach gaana' mode and the drama stays focused on the 'diamond' business and the nexus involved. Just when one felt that the film would show a massive escalation in the second half, 'Blood Money' gets into a predictable zone due to which one does feel a tad disappointed.

For starters, the entire Mia Uyeda and the adultery episode has been done to death in quite a few films, not to mention many films coming from Bhatts themselves. Even 'Crook' had one such episode where the leading lady (Neha Sharma) felt cheated after finding Emraan Hashmi in the arms of an Australian gori. Moreover, even though one did feel that the film was doing well in its realistic zone, the dramatic filmy twists and turns in the second half dilute the impact. Yes, the climax is decent but one still feels that if only more powerful sequences had preceded it, 'Blood Money' may well have turned out to be an even better film.

What works for 'Blood Money' though are it's performances. Kunal Khemu, despite being around for quite some time now, still has that raw and innocent charm to him that makes him believable. He fits in well into the part yet again and shows that he can play different characters with ease, case in point being other notable performances in '99', 'Superstar' and 'Kalyug'. Amrita is decent in her limited part and fits in as required. Manish Chaudhary may have started seeming predictable now but one must admit that in the context of 'Blood Money', he plays his part well. Mia is a good eye candy and should bring on 'moolah'.

A special mention for the film's music which is just in line with what the doctor (read Bhatts) had ordered. Jeet Ganguly makes a successful comeback into Bollywood arena and is well complimented by Sangeet-Siddharth Haldipur and Pranay.

'Blood Money' may not be an excellent film that would go down as one of those small underrated gems of the year. However this film about gems (and diamonds) isn't a bad watch either. Yes, there is deja vu for sure, especially those who have watched films right from the days of 'Naam' to 'The Firm' to 'The Devil's Advocate' to 'Jannat'. However if you are willing to see a film that is a rehash of all these films with some memorable scenes thrown in, chances are you won't mind catching up on 'Blood Money'.

Rating: **1/2