Blackmail writer Parveez Shaikh says script of his twisted Irrfan Khan-starrer is based on real-life incidents
Irrfan Khan
The recently launched trailer of Irrfan Khan's Blackmail garnered attention for its quirky storyline. Social media was abuzz, praising Khan for his portrayal of the "perfect middle-class married man" who loses his sanity to get back at his cheating wife. Interestingly, the plot, writer Parveez Shaikh tells mid-day, is inspired by a real-life couple, known to him.
"The story is based on a couple I know. They live outside Mumbai. I decided to place these characters in a city I know best and see how the story progresses from there," says Shaikh, stating that a keen eye can take note of several interesting stories in this "stranger-than-fiction life". "It took me three months to finish the first draft of the story. I had written it six years ago."
The film sees a man blackmail his wife's lover, only to eventually find himself paying for the ransom. He, in turn, gets blackmailed for extorting money. Says a source from the creative team, "Parveez and director Abhinay Deo have worked on the script. Permissions from the couple that inspired the film were procured well in advance. The man, however, requested that his name be kept under wraps." The filmmakers have taken the liberty to dramatise events for the cinematic outing.
The venture marks the first-ever collaboration of Deo and the award-winning team of Hindi Medium — Khan and producer. It also features Kirti Kulhari, Divya Dutta, Arunoday Singh, Omi Vaidya, Anuja Sathe, Pradhuman Singh Mall and Gajraj Rao, among many others.
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