Blurr Review: A blurry spooky fare

Blurr Story: A blind musician, Gautami, dies by suicide, but her twin sister, Gayatri, is certain it’s murder. Unable to persuade her husband and the local cop, she follows clues to investigate the death and unearths discomforting secrets, some linked to her life. Gayatri gradually loses her eyesight, just like her sister, and finds her life in danger. Will she solve the mystery and survive?

Blurr Review: The psychological thriller opens on a dreadful night with Gautami (Taapsee Pannu) arguing with someone. Spook sets in instantaneously when you realise she is alone in the room. What follows is the blind woman attempting to hang herself when a sinister presence knocks off the stool under her feet. Thus begins a suspenseful tale of mystery, dark secrets, freakish characters, and Gautami’s twin sister, Gayatri (also Taapsee), trying to solve the murder, as her husband Neal (Gulshan Devaiah) and the investigating police officer, Mahendra Chandel (Sumit Nijhawan) are convinced it’s a figment of her imagination.

Director Ajay Bahl and cinematographer Sudhir Chaudhary have skilfully given the film an atmospheric horror treatment. Misty mountains and fog make for a perfect milieu. The viewer will keep guessing if the perpetrator is human or an ominous being. The art direction, with Victorian villas and dark alleyways, adds to the haunting look. The movie’s first half is extremely taut and will scare you stiff on many occasions. For instance, there’s a petrifying scene at a wellness centre where Gayatri has a run-in with a group of blind women who are unaware of her presence but sense stranger danger and catch her. Gayatri’s experience after discovering an uncomfortable truth about Gautami or the scene in an empty parking lot when she gets a crucial clue will also send a chill down your spine. Ketan Soda’s background score deserves mention for making things eerier.

The sequences when Gayatri loses her vision due to progressive blindness are well-done, and Taapsee pulls those off adroitly. Gulshan Devaiah, Krutika Desai Khan as Gautami’s neighbour, Radha Solanki, support her ably. There’s a recurring theme of abandonment. Neal feels neglected due to the anthropologist Gayatri’s long spells of absence, Radha’s husband and son abandon her, and she and the blind women are upset with Gautami for turning her back on them.

The film’s second half runs out of steam, and the fare loses its horror tenor frequently. Nevertheless, the movie is thrilling, suspenseful and blood-curdling and will keep you piqued throughout.