Blurr Is A Riveting Thriller With A Killer Climax

Blurr (Zee5)

Starring Taapsee Pannu, Abhilash Thapliyal, Gulshan Devaiah

Directed  by  Ajay Bahl

Rating: *** ½

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.