There was plenty riding on Haiwaan. Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan return together after 17 years, with Akshay playing a ruthless psychopath (Parshuram Gokhale) and Saif a visually impaired martial artist (Shyam Rane). Then there is Priyadarshan, returning to the thriller space with a Hindi remake of his own 2016 Malayalam film Oppam. On paper, the combination is hard to ignore.
The idea at the heart of Haiwaan is equally intriguing, a man who cannot see must outsmart a killer who appears to see everything. Unfortunately, the film has a good premise but a screenplay that rarely matches it.
The opening reels are visually pleasing, particularly the countryside setting. There is an effort to establish an atmosphere, but the film takes too long to get moving. It is nearly an hour before the actual thriller begins to take shape. Three songs before the interval add to the feeling that the first half has been stretched. Rangiyara and Mere Hero Hai Woh are pleasant, but the pauses hurt a film that should be building tension.
Once the chase begins, Haiwaan finds some purpose, largely through Shyam (Saif). His character is easily the more interesting of the two leads. His blindness is integrated into the action, and Saif brings enough restraint to avoid making the role mannered. There is vulnerability to the performance, even when the writing is less convincing.
The bigger disappointment is Akshay playing Parshuram, a psychopath should have been the film’s trump card. Instead, Parshuram never develops the menace the role demands. His first major scene with Boman Irani (as Judge Pradhan) feels staged rather than intimidating, and the problem continues. For large stretches, Akshay is simply standing, staring and waiting for the screenplay to move him. Removing the familiar hero image could have worked brilliantly against his star persona. Here, it mostly leaves him looking underused.
The screenplay is also unable to sustain the cat-and-mouse game. Supporting characters (Saiyami Kher as Inspector Varsha, Shriya Pilgaonkar as Naina, Rajpal Yadav as Auto Driver Chandu, Sharib Hashmi as SI Ashok Shinde, Rajesh Sharma as SP Rohit Vardhan, etc.) and subplots often feel like they have been added to fill space rather than build suspense. The police investigation should have increased the pressure. Instead, several interrogation scenes are played for comedy.
That is where Priyadarshan’s instincts become a problem. There is nothing wrong with humour in a thriller, but Haiwaan repeatedly inserts jokes into scenes that should be tightening the tension. The result is not tonal variety. It is a film that seems unsure whether it wants to be a serious thriller or a typical Priyadarshan entertainer.
The biggest weakness remains the writing. The film keeps telling us how good Shyam is, how sharp his senses are and how dangerous his blindness can become, rather than consistently making those qualities work dramatically. A proper cat-and-mouse thriller should keep shifting the advantage between its hunter and hunted. Haiwaan too often moves simply because the plot needs the next development.
That is especially disappointing given the source material. Oppam already had the unusual premise of a visually impaired protagonist caught in a murder mystery. The Hindi adaptation needed to bring fresh energy or sharper commercial storytelling to it. Instead, it often feels expanded rather than improved.
And despite the Akshay-Saif reunion being the film’s biggest selling point, Haiwaan ultimately belongs more to Saif. He gets the stronger character and considerably more to play. Akshay, ironically, is the man the film calls Haiwaan, but it is Saif who gives the film most of its life.
Haiwaan brings together three unusual ideas: Akshay as a villain, Saif as a visually impaired action protagonist and Priyadarshan directing a serious thriller. The casting is interesting. The film built around it isn’t.
By the way what is the final scene with Mohanlal and Saif Ali Khan about, which simply trys to connect two character names as (Jayaraman) Ram and Shyam!!!
Movie: Haiwaan
Directed by: Priyadarshan
Based on Oppam (Malayalam) by: Priyadarshan
Featuring: Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Saiyami Kher, Rajpal Yadav, Sharib Hashmi
Theatrical Release Date: 11 September 2026
Run Time: 2hrs 44mins
Haiwaan
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