Blind, the new suspense thriller starring Sonam Kapoor in the lead, is now available to stream on JioCinema. Originally slated for a theatrical release, the film was surprisingly listed among Jio Studios’ 2023 content slate, after presumably being shopped around for a while since wrapping production in early 2021. Marking Kapoor’s digital debut, the film’s overarching theme is aimed at shedding light on the life of a visually impaired individual, giving marginalised voices a platform. Shome Makhija, best known for his work on the Amitabh Bachchan-led Badla, has written and directed Blind — essentially setting his directorial debut.
Ahn Sang-hoon’s 2011 Korean thriller Blind has seen numerous regional reinterpretations, ranging from a Chinese (The Witness), a Japanese (Mienai Mokugeki-sha), and even a Tamil-language Indian remake (Netrikann). Makhija’s version is therefore the second Indian remake, which while being coincidentally produced around the same time period as the Tamil version, succumbed to numerous delays before settling for a digital release. The setting remains the same across all versions of Blind, which wraps around the mysterious disappearance and killings of numerous young women — presumably the works of a serial killer.
Blind puts you into the shoes of Giah (Kapoor), a former police officer whose career ended when she lost her eyesight in a tragic car accident. Years later, still unable to land a job in the force, she’s forced to accept a lift from a stranger in the middle of the night, only for the ride to get weirder when she hears an odd bump and a yelp from the car’s boot. Fearing that it must be one of the abducted victims she’d heard about on the news, she creates a ruckus to no avail, with the suspected killer letting her go because she’s blind. On a mission to help solve the case, Giah turns to the law, only to get ridiculed and rejected by the lead officer Prithvi Khanna (Vinay Pathak) due to her disability, which doesn’t make her a solid witness or ensure that her testament will hold up in court.
Regardless, through her years in the academy and an even acutely developed sense of smell and perception, Giah impresses him by accurately judging his height and build — in turn, forming an alliance to track down the killer. Amidst all this, she’s got a mysterious stalker (Purab Kohli) with a peculiar smell, whom she recognises as the serial killing driver, kickstarting a cat-and-mouse game where he isn’t afraid to call and challenge her to put an end to his crimes. Blind was largely shot in Glasgow, Scotland and also stars Shubham Saraf (Shantaram), Lillete Dubey (Kal Ho Naa Ho), Lucy Aarden (Ten Percent), and Javed Khan (A Murder at the End of the World).
As with most other Jio Studios releases, Blind is available to watch for free on JioCinema — no login or subscription required — with additional dubs in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Bengali. The film is part of Viacom18’s 62-title-long extensive content slate, which includes major theatrical releases such as Shah Rukh Khan-led Dunki, Amitabh Bachchan’s Section 84, and in June, played host to Shahid Kapoor starrer Bloody Daddy.
Any Bollywood theatrical release from Jio Studios should eventually make its way onto JioCinema as well. The streamer also comes with a Premium plan — costing Rs. 999 yearly — which grants access to a chunk of HBO and Warner Bros. content, alongside a collection of content from Peacock.
Blind is now available to watch for free on JioCinema.
