Blood Money - Priya Bhavani Shankar's show all the way

Director Sarjun has made a name for himself by directing the much talked about short films 'Maa' and 'Lakshmi'.  He has come up with "Blood Money" which is set to stream on Zee 5 OTT from December 24th.  Will the film that deals with a painful subject touch the audiences remains to be seen.

Rachel (Priya Bhavani Shankar) is a new joinee to a private news channel who is perceived as egoistic by her colleagues including Sirish whom she will be replacing by the end of the day.  Rachel sees a video in which a tearful mother is asking for help to save her two sons who have been accused of killing a woman and sentenced to death in Kuwait.   The fiery journalist convinces the channel head Johnson (Subbu Panchu) to carry the news which misfires as it is revealed that the brothers have committed murder.  Rachel however takes it upon herself to free them due to compassion for the  school going daughter of one of the accused and also a legal provision in the Kuwait law.   With just 30 hours left for the execution, whether she can do it from several thousand kilometers away in Chennai is what 'Blood Money' is all about.

Priya Bhavani Shankar, herself a former television newscaster, plays Rachel effortlessly.   She is quite convincing when going to such lengths for people she does not even know due to her own backstory.  Sirish plays the supporting character of a rival turned ally of the heroine with very little fuss.  Kishore as the wrongly accused man displays a ray of emotions including pining for the daughter he has never seen and the love for his sibling played by Vinod Sagar.  Subbu Panchu has also done a neat job as the channel head.  Srilekha Rajendran as the aged mother of the accused has rendered a melodramatic performance that is off putting.

What works best in 'Blood Money' is the climax sequence where Priya Bhavani travels to Sri Lanka to save the two men and especially the manner in which the impoverished daughters of the murdered woman deal with the pardon.  The newsroom politics also grabs the attention.

On the downside, even though the film deals with a painful subject, the lackluster screenplay and characterizations prevent the audience from empathizing with it.   The dialogues are functional and the emotions are forced.

Shankar Das is credited with the screenplay and while his core idea is pretty good it has not been fleshed out well.  Balamurugan's camera work captures the functioning of the news channel, the desolation of the Kuwait jail and the brief glimpse of Sri Lanka admirably.  Sathish Raghunandhan's music is a major plus in the story telling.  Director Sarjun's touch is visible only at the fag end of the film.

Verdict : Go for it if you fancy offbeat films