Blurr(Zee5)
Starring Taapsee Pannu, Abhilash Thapliyal, Gulshan Devaiah
Directed by Ajay Bahl
What is this suspense thriller with strikingly rich visuals doing on an OTT platform? The handsomely shot , beautifully composed frames which convey a sense of brooding melancholy must be seen on the large screen.
I did just that. I felt sorry for those who have to home-watch Nilesh Wagh’s meticulous production design and Sudhir K Chaudhary’s magical cinematography with every frame whispering, what’s the name of the game?
In this admirable adaptation of the Spanish thriller Julia’s Eyes, Taapsee Pannu plays twins named …no, not Sita and Geeta but Gayatri and Gautami. Gautami’s sudden death sends Gayatri with her supportive husband(Gulshan Devaiah) scurrying for answers to Nainital where Gautami lived.
There is a killer out there. We know it. Mysteriously even after his identity is revealed we don’t see his face for a good half an hour. While on paper this extended suspense makes no sense, on screen just hearing a faceless man moving around with his torso and limbs visible to us is creepy.
There are many jumpscare moments in Blurr. Director Ajai Bahl supervises the eerie material with care and a gripping understanding of the suspense genre. The suspense is set up elaborately so that when the denouement comes, it is not like a bolt from the blue.
While the supporting cast specially Sumit Nijhawan (as a stubbornly unhelpful cop) and especially Abhilash Thapliyal are excellent, the narrative is navigated largely by Tapsee Pannu who is in most of the frames, if not all. And though it is welcome to have Krutika Desai and S.M Zaheer back on screen, one overacts the other is hardly there.
Taapsee is strong and propulsive, well tuned to the need of the hour. The theme of an identity crisis(the killer feels only the blind can give him attention as they can’t see anything else) is burrowed deep in this dark mysterious killer of a thriller well worth a watch.
