Blood Money movie review: Priya Bhavani Shankar, Kishore save this mediocre emotional drama

2.5/5

Story: A journalist takes up the case of two Indian men who are awaiting death sentence in Kuwait prison for her cover story when she joins a news channel. When the issue becomes sensational, she decides to rescue them after realizing that the two of them are innocent. Despite difference of opinion among her colleagues, she sets out to save them sacrificing her life. Will she be able to succeed in her mission?  

Review: Director Sarjun's story lines are ambitious and far-fetched, but the effort he takes in presenting them before the audience in a convincing manner deserves praise. His last outing, Thunintha Pin from the anthology Navarasa, dealt with the emotional struggles between a police officer and a Maoist. 

In an unexpected turn of events, the former takes huge risks to save the latter's life. The filmmaker had put in an effort to present an unexplored world. In Blood Money, the unbelievability factor in the story is even higher considering the fact that its plot involves politics of three countries.

Kaliyappan (Kishore) and his brother (played by Aravind Sundar) have been serving imprisonment at Kuwait for five years after they were found guilty in accidentally killing a woman. Despite their family providing a huge sum as blood money, the Government of Kuwait announce death sentence for them.

Their shocked family, which involves their parents and Kaliyappan's daughter who live in a village in Tamil Nadu, seek the help of district collector and request him to do the needy. An official at the collector's office records a video in which Kaliyappan's mother and daughter express their plight and starts spreading it through WhatsApp.

Meanwhile, Rachel Victor (Priya Bhavani Shankar), who joins as the sub-editor in a television channel, comes across the video and starts working on the issue as a cover story. Her boss Johnson (Subbu Panchu) and colleague (Shirish) encourage her to go ahead with the story though they had initially rejected her idea. She also vows to save the brothers from death.

However, a wrong information put out by Rachel lands the channel in trouble. After getting earful from Johnson, she decides to investigate the case thoroughly. At one point, she even expresses interest to go to Sri Lanka to get an official letter from the relative of the deceased woman to save the lives of brothers who are expected to be hanged in a few hours.

Though the story has adequate scope for creating an emotional roller-coaster ride, the filmmaker chose to handle the film in a generic manner. With a duration of 90 minutes, some of the crucial moments appear rushed because of which the viewers aren't able to empathize with the plight of the brothers and their family.

The protagonist going all the way to Sri Lanka via Dhanushkodi in a boat in search of the family members of the deceased despite threat from the island nation's coastal guard is a far-fetched idea, to say the least. Though a journalist taking the aforementioned risks braving all the odds sound quite ambitious and dramatic on paper, the execution falters, as a result of which, the further proceedings appear unreal.

The background score enhances a few emotional sequences despite the screenplay struggling to present some unconvincing ideas. The performance of Priya and Kishore as a determined journalist and a helpless father who is on the verge of getting hanged respectively stand out. However, these aren't enough to hold the attention of the viewers.

The mother-son relationship and father-daughter relationship aren't explored in spite of having a proper scope in the story. However, Kishore and Aravind as the unfortunate brothers succeed in conveying their emotions to the viewers. A better screenplay with more detailing on the emotions of the characters would have worked wonders for the film.

Verdict: Despite having a solid story, the film falls flat, thanks to the unconvincing execution and lack of detailing.

Blood Money is streaming on Zee5.