Abhinay Deo reveals his slate of future projects after release of dark comedy Blackmail starring Irrfan Khan

Abhinay Deo’s claim to fame was the black comedy Delhi Belly that got immense appreciation from the audience. Though his last film, Force 2, could not bring many to the theatres, the filmmaker is all set to enthrall the cinema lovers with another quirky comedy titled Blackmail, starring Irrfan, Kirti Kulhari, Arunoday Singh, Divya Dutta and Omi Vaidya. [caption id=“attachment_4337945” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  Abhinay Deo. Facebook[/caption] In an interview to Mumbai Mirror, the director shared that Blackmail’s story was the 48th script that he read and said yes immediately realising its potential. “I’ve always wanted to direct another quirky comedy since but not right away. Blackmail was the 48th script I read. Actually I read both Force 2 and this one sent by my friend Parvez Sheikh almost simultaneously and knew instantly that I had to make this film. Even Irrfan saw the potential in it and said yes immediately. It’s crazy, quirky stuff, with an instant connect with the new-age audience. Yet, Blackmail is not Delhi Belly. It’s a tad darker perhaps because of the subject,” he said. Deo also said that though he would have loved to make a sequel of Delhi Belly, the writer of the story could not come up with another promising story. But that hasn’t been a set back for the director as he is currently working on a number projects - from a romantic drama, a father-son story to a story around friendship - his future work table looks quite colourful. “My life is all about movies so some scripts are written, some are being written. I’m working on a crazy action-comedy and there’s also a heartwarming drama revolving around a man and a kid. Then there’s a buddy flick that will make you laugh and cry and a totally Indian, lavishly mounted period-drama. Our weakest area has always been our script. It’s time to stop aping the West, give the world a story that is homegrown and engaging,” he said. Produced by T-Series Motion Pictures and Ramesh Deo Production, Blackmail is the first collaboration of Abhinay Deo and Irrfan. The film is slated to release on 6 April.