Blind Movie Review: Sonam Kapoor’s Blind Act Is Lost in This Serviceable Thriller That Lacks Chill Factor of the Original (LatestLY Exclusive)

Blind Movie Review: The 2011 South Korean film Blind has been remade twice in India. The first remake, Netrikann, starring Nayanthara and Ajmal Ameer, was released in 2021 to a decent reception. The second remake, Blind, starring Sonam Kapoor, was unceremoniously dumped on JioCinema without much pomp. The thriller, directed by Shome Makhija, had completed filming two years ago, but it is only now that the film has reached our screens. It is likely to be overlooked, as the platform it is sent to churns out films every week. For example, did you know that a Randeep Hooda-starrer called Sergeant came out on JioCinema last week? Sonam Kapoor Opens Up on Details About Upcoming Film ‘Blind’ and Returning to Acting.

Blind, the Hindi remake that also retains the same name, stars Sonam Kapoor as Gia, a former cop in Glasgow who lost her eyesight and her surrogate brother Adrian in an accident. Months later, she has adjusted to her new life of blindness with the help of her guide dog Elsa, but Gia is still suffering from the guilt of being responsible for Adrian's death.

It is around this time that she crosses paths with a psychopath (Purab Kohli), who kidnaps girls, keeps them captive in his secret chamber at his house, and tortures them. While Gia barely manages to make an escape from his clutches, the psychopath keeps her in his crosshairs, ready for another opportunity to strike. Gia teams up with Prithvi Khanna (Vinay Pathak), a police detective responsible for finding a missing girl, to hunt down the killer before he harms anyone else.

Watch the Trailer of Blind:

If I am being fair, Blind's Bollywood remake is a serviceable, frill-free adaptation that might work for those who have not seen the original. There are a couple of tense moments, such as when the killer chases after the sole eyewitness Nikhil (Shubham Saraf) or when he accosts Gia on a lonely road, leading to a scuffle that ends in the death of a certain character.

That said, if you have seen the original, then the remake is nothing more than a pale replica. Even though it has a couple of tense scenes, the remake overall lacks a palpable sense of danger needed for the thriller to work. The blood and gore are dialed down to rob the film of the chill factor, and the blind protagonist is never put in a place of pure concern for the viewer to feel apprehensive about her situation (a problem also with the Tamil remake, but Nayanthara was there to salvage the situ). Even the mind games between the killer and Gia should have been written better, so as to justify Gia's claim that this is a battle only between her and him.

Purab Kohli is chilling as the unnamed killer, but his character deserved to be shown more vicious to leave a better impact. Sonam Kapoor is okay, but she does not take complete control of the role as Nayanthara did in the Tamil remake. Her body language is fine, but the actress stumbles big time when it comes to portraying her mental turmoil and cascading fear. Vinay Pathak is good to watch as the friendly detective, and his confrontation with the killer is also a highlight. Netrikann Movie Review: Once Again, Nayanthara Saves a Predictable Thriller With Her Commanding Performance.

PS: Doesn't Scotland have CCTV cameras anywhere on their roads? Half their problems could have been solved if they had bothered to check those.

Final Thoughts

The Bollywood remake of Blind comes across as a passable thriller that could work for those who haven't watched the original. Sadly, it lacks the temerity to create a space for itself and stand out on its own, and Sonam Kapoor's just-about serviceable act does do much to improve the remake. Blind is streaming on JioCinema.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 07, 2023 04:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).