294. Blackia; movie review

BLACKIA
Cert 15
141 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, drugs misuse

Oh, that melodramatic music will not get out of my head.
At every turn of Blackia, the trumpets blared and Dev Kharoud gives a smouldering look which I took to denote him as an enigma.
His character, Gamma, certainly is the latter. A young man who turns his back on his smuggler father's invitation to join the family 'business' but is, nevertheless, locked up for a crime he did not commit.
Sukhminder Dhanjal's movie is set in the 70s and has the clothes, cars and coiffeurs spot on.
I couldn't be sure but I will give it the benefit of the doubt by believing that it was imitating the exaggerating expressions of actors of the day.
Therefore, Blackia is brimming with dramatic pauses and frosty stares as well as the formidable slaps of hard men and even women.
Ihana Dhillon is Kharoud's love interest and, in the beginning, she is his life's central focus even though she appears out of reach.
His hope for love turns sour after his prison stretch so he tries to find his way in the world and seek revenge on those who stitched him up.
The movie then heads off in a completely different and rather violent direction.
And that sums up Blackia's central problem - it moves so quickly that it is, in parts, quite difficult to follow.
In common with many movie heroes, I found his inexplicable super-strength rather off-putting.
But that was less head-scratching than the about-turn in Gamma's moral compass.
Easier to define are the arch-villains (Aashish Duggal and Arsh Hundal) and the slippery father (Rana Jung Bahadur) of Gamma's love.
Blackia certainly does engender the 70s and the feel of the movies of the day but it jolts around too much to give me an unreserved endorsement.
Mind you, its box office figures have been good, so what do I know?

Reasons to watch: Layered Punjabi romantic drama
Reasons to avoid: Too many movie cliches

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? According to a report of the Auditor-General in 2016, gold smuggling from Pakistan to India had caused a loss of 2.706 trillion rupees to the Pakistani exchequer.

The final word. Ihana Dhillon: "It is based on true incidents which happened near Pakistan border in the 1970s. It talks about border transactions, smuggling of drugs and gold. It showcased me in a retro look. It showed both the shades, rich and poor during those times and how they used to dress up. Blackia has a really good message to people. Hyderabad Local

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