Blackmail

Blackmail

Year: 2018

Runtime: 138 mins

Language: Hindi

Director: Abhinay Deo

ThrillerComedyCrude humor and satireGags jokes and slapstick humorCatchy songs and hilarious musical comedy

When Dev finds about his wife’s affair, he starts blackmailing her and her lover but the blackmail game backfires on him.

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen Blackmail yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – Blackmail (2018)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Blackmail (2018). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Present-day India

The events take place in a contemporary urban environment, with a seven-year flashback hinted at by a wedding scene. It reflects modern life, where corporate pressures, mediaed fame, and everyday relationships intersect. A mid-credits sequence implies long-term consequences of actions, showing the persistence of deceit across years. The narrative blends current-day stakes with a retrospective glance at past choices.

Location

India

The story unfolds in a bustling Indian city where office life, apartments, and the municipal water system form the backdrop. It uses the threat of a city-wide water shutoff as a catalyst for personal vendettas and corporate greed. The setting highlights how power in urban India can tilt between public utility and private gain, driving the characters into a web of deceit. The city itself acts as a stage for moral ambiguity, where small crimes escalate into larger consequences.

🏙️ Urban 💼 Corporate intrigue 💧 Water politics

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:56

Main Characters – Blackmail (2018)

Meet the key characters of Blackmail (2018), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Dev Kaushal

A dispirited toilet paper sales executive who strategically manipulates people to claw back control over his life. He weaves a web of blackmail, using others’ secrets to extract money and leverage. His calculated, cold approach reveals a willingness to sacrifice ethics for personal relief. As the scheme grows, Dev’s moral vacuum becomes increasingly evident.

💼 Calculating 🧠 Cold 🗣️ Manipulative

Reena Kaushal

Dev’s wife, drawn into the money-driven chaos as she cites her father’s medical needs. She negotiates and survives within the tense dynamic created by Dev’s schemes, occasionally exploiting the situation for benefit. Her loyalties are tested as money and affection collide, revealing a morally grey stance.

💬 Complex 💸 Materialistic 🕵️‍♀️ Guarded

Ranjit Arora

Married to Dolly Verma’s world of wealth, he is bold, unscrupulous, and driven by money. He orchestrates blackmail with ruthless efficiency and escalates to violence when cornered. His actions pull other characters into a spiral of fear, greed, and increasingly dangerous choices.

💰 Manipulative 🕴️ Scheming 🔪 Violent

Dolly Verma

A wealthy socialite whose resources fuel the schemes around her. She becomes entangled in the blackmail network and ultimately meets a tragic end at the hands of circumstances and betrayal. Her status and resources both complicate and intensify the plot’s moral questions.

💵 Wealthy 🔎 Suspicious 🕊️ Tragic

Chawla

A detective who is hired to uncover the blackmailer and simultaneously uses Dev’s fear to his advantage. He embodies the grey area between law and opportunism, threatening both sides to extract information and money. His role drives key twists as the truth becomes murky.

🕵️ Detecting 🗡️ Blackmailer

Anand

Dev’s colleague who harbors a crush on Prabha. He becomes entangled in the web of deception, initially as an ally but ultimately a pawn in the larger scheme. His fate shifts dramatically as the truth comes to light and violence enters the narrative.

💡 Hopeful 💔 Betrayed

Prabha Ghatpande

A colleague whose personal dynamics with Dev intensify the plot. Her confrontation with Dev leads to a fatal accident, heightening the sense of danger and inevitability in the story.

🎯 Target 💔 Tragic

Pramod Rawle

A police inspector who interrogates the main players and probes the web of deceit. He embodies the law’s attempt to bring order to a chaotic situation, providing a counterpoint to the blackmail and manipulation.

👮 Authority 🧭 Investigative

Prabha’s Mother

Anjali, the mother of Prabha, who embodies the family’s perspective and concern in the wake of the escalating conflict. Her presence underscores the collateral damage of the characters’ actions on loved ones.

👵 Family 😠 Grief

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:56

Major Themes – Blackmail (2018)

Explore the central themes of Blackmail (2018), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

💰 Greed & Blackmail

Greed is the engine driving Dev’s manipulation of colleagues and lovers. Money becomes a weapon that allows him to control others and bend situations to his will. The plot shows how small acts of coercion can snowball into dangerous schemes. The pursuit of wealth blinds characters to moral boundaries, unleashing a chain of consequences.

💔 Infidelity & Betrayal

The film probes trust within marriage as Dev discovers his wife’s affair and retaliates through manipulation. Betrayal fuels the tension, pushing characters to protect their own interests. Loyalties fracture under pressure, revealing the fragility of intimate bonds. The emotional fallout intensifies the thriller aspect and deepens moral ambiguity.

💧 Water & Power

A planned shutdown of the city’s water supply becomes a weapon in a battle between corporate interests and public welfare. The plot critiques how essential resources can be weaponized for profit and leverage. It also raises questions about accountability when those with power manipulate infrastructure. The water crisis serves as a mirror for the characters’ ethical deterioration.

🎭 Deception & Mask

Deception permeates every interaction, with characters masking their true motives behind friendly façades. Dev’s use of disguises and calculated lies keeps others off balance and heightens suspense. The narrative emphasizes how appearances can mislead and how truth is often buried beneath layers of manipulation. The masquerade culminates in a dramatic confrontation.

🔄 Crime & Consequence

Plot twists drive a cycle where schemes beget more schemes, and lies eventually collide with reality. The plan’s unintended outcomes—murder, blackmail, and police involvement—demonstrate that wrongdoing breeds further harm. A mid-credits reveal emphasizes that actions ripple beyond the moment and shape future relationships. The story suggests a grim continuity: crime begets more crime.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 07:56

Mobile App Preview

Coming soon on iOS and Android

The Plot Explained Mobile App

From blockbusters to hidden gems — dive into movie stories anytime, anywhere. Save your favorites, discover plots faster, and never miss a twist again.

Sign up to be the first to know when we launch. Your email stays private — always.

Unlock the Full Story of Blackmail

Don't stop at just watching — explore Blackmail in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Blackmail is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Blackmail Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Blackmail, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Blackmail Summary

Blackmail Timeline

Track the full timeline of Blackmail with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Blackmail Timeline

Blackmail Spoiler-Free Summary

Get a quick, spoiler-free overview of Blackmail that covers the main plot points and key details without revealing any major twists or spoilers. Perfect for those who want to know what to expect before diving in.

Blackmail Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Blackmail

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Blackmail: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Blackmail

Similar Movies to Blackmail

Discover movies like Blackmail that share similar genres, themes, and storytelling elements. Whether you’re drawn to the atmosphere, character arcs, or plot structure, these curated recommendations will help you explore more films you’ll love.