Haiwaan REVIEW: Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar’s Thriller Will Have You On The Edge Of Your Seat Cheering For The Hero

Film:
Haiwaan

Director: Priyadarshan

Writer: Priyadarshan, Abilash Nair, Rohan Shankar

Cast: Akshay Kumar Saif Ali Khan Late. Asrani Ji Boman Irani Saiyami Kher Shriya Pilgaonkar Rajpal Yadav Sharib Hashmi Rajesh Sharma Pahal Ashok Choudhary

Runtime: 164 minutes (2 Hour, 44 Minutes)

Platform: In Theatres

Haiwaan Review

A remake of Priyadarshan’s Malayalam neo-noir crime thriller Oppam, Haiwaan follows the trials of a visually impaired martial artist and music teacher, Shyam Rane (Saif Ali Khan) as he struggles to support his family financially and even save himself after being accused of killing his employer. While he navigates these issues, he also finds himself caught in a dangerous cat-and-mouse chase involving a young girl – Nandini (Pahal Chaudhary) and a ruthless killer hellbent on revenge.

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The ruthless killer is recently released ‘criminal’ Parshuram Gokhale (Akshay Kumar). After being released from jail after around 7 years, he’s set on taking down all those involved in getting him jailed for alleged raping a women despite him being innocent. Now, after killing the prosecutor and inspector in charged of imprisoning him with their family, he has now set his eyes on the man who passed the judgement, Judge Pradhan (Boman Irani).

Will Shyam be able to prove his innocence and Nandini or will Parshuram overpower our blind superhero with his Haiwaaniyaat? To know the answer one needs to watch Priyadarshan’s 98th film in theatre. Read our Haiwaan review before you book you tickets for a show this weekend.

What Works

Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan deliver brilliant performances under Priyadarshan’s masterful direction. The background score adds to the suspense and thrill of the narrative.

What Doesn’t Work

The pacing is over the place. Even if wasn’t a sequel, the narrative is quite predictable, with sloppy and lazy writing.

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Technical Analysis

Direction

Priyadarshan – who many love for his comedy films, manages to make you laugh even while delivering a serious film about revenge, loyalty and commitment. While there is no issue in what Priyadarshan delivered, we wish it had something more – especially as it’s a remake of his own work.

Story & Screenplay

While the story impresses, the screenplay is blotched and filled with several loopholes. Written by Priyadarshan, Abilash Nair and Rohan Shankar, Haiwaan will keep you engrosses with it narrative, however, the pace at which the characters age will leave you scratching your head. Also, it’s 2026, maybe 10 years back you could have used certain props in Oppam, however, in Haiwaan they are out of place.

The dialogues are also there, they aren’t something you will remember after the end credits roll.

Music

Pritam’s music is highlight of the film. His music songs, weave seamlessly into the narrative, adding to the drama without over doing it. The film’s background score – provided by Ronnie Raphael, makes the tension between the hero and haiwaan palatable.

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Editing

Aiyappan Nair M S’s editing could have been better. The film could have been cut closer to the 2-hour mark instead of 3 hours. It feels too lengthy and stretched at interval.

Star Cast

When it comes to acting, Haiwaan’s ensemble cast doesn’t disappoint. Akshay Kumar delivers a spine-chilling performance as Parshuram. Despite this character being one of the darkest role he’s ever performed to date, he still manages to impress the audience when he sheds his heroic persona and becomes a ‘hero’. Akshay skillfully bring to light Parshuram’s unpredictability and menace, proving why he’s called the Khilladi of Bollywood.

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Saif Ali Khan is brilliant. The actor has once more proved his acting range as he portrays a characters who sees more than those with eyes. His performance as a blind individual is impeccable – one of the best in Bollywood, no doubt. His performance is remarkable restraint yet full of grit, sharp intelligence and some killer action.

The film’s ensemble cast also delivers. Be it Boman Irani as Judge Pradhan – a retired Chief Justice of India, Saiyami Kher as Inspector Varsha or Shriya Pilgaonkar as Naina – the help who has some secrets of her own, each actor delivers. Pahal Ashok Choudhary also impresses as the naive but trusting Nandini. Veteran actor Asrani Ji as security guard Hussein bring some comic relief to an otherwise narrative.

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Rajpal Yadav as auto driver Chandu manages to make you feel for his despite limited screen time. Sharib Hashmi as Senior Inspector Ashok Shinde and Rajesh Sharma as SP Rohit Vardhan also deliver impeccable performances.

Conclusion

Priyadarshan’s crime thriller with Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar is worth a watch in theatres if you love suspense films. Despite being a remake of the directors much-loved Malayalam film, it still manages to keep the viewers glued to their seat and rooting for Shyam as he clashes with Parshuram. Do watch the film in theatres this weekend.

Watch the trailer of Haiwaan here:

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