There are very few movies that create a universal talking point. In the recent past we have seen this happen with Baahubali when everyone was curious about ‘Katappa ne Bahubali ko kyu mara’, which was the cliff-hanger of the first part. On the same lines Drishyam had so much of impact on the audience that its key plot became almost synonym with the date 2nd October!
Drishyam was made by the master storyteller late Nishikant Kamat on the story by Jeethu Joseph. Post the sad demise of Nishikant Kamat the director’s baton was passed on to Abhishek Pathak. One would understand the uphill task that he would have gone through with a benchmark already set in terms of Drishyam and not just that, but Drishyam 2 already released in various south languages and already available on OTT platforms. From that standpoint, we must applaud the efforts put by Abhishek in delivering a story that the audience had been waiting for a long time.
It has been a long time that the unfortunate event shook the Salgaonkars and the people of Pondolem, but there have been murmurs that point fingers at Vijay (Ajay Devgn). Anju (Ishita Dutta), Vijay’s elder daughter still gets panic attacks, so is his wife Nandini (Shriya Saran), who fears that the danger is still looming large and can strike any time. Vijay, Salgaonkar, though cautious, has progressed and now owns a cinema hall and an aspiration to produce a film.
Meera and Mahesh Deshmukh (Tabu & Rajat Kapoor) have moved to London but are on a visit to perform their son’s death anniversary rites. Tarun (Akshaye Khanna) is the new IG in town, who is also friends with Tabu and is hell bent on nabbing the culprit. Tarun deliberately brings in SI Gaitonde (Kamlesh Sawant) who is suspended since the incidence but lives through the case with the same fierce attitude and conviction.
It seems that everyone knows who the culprit is but are helpless for lack of evidence. Somehow Tarun gets close to cracking the case with a stroke of luck in an unexpected witness and evidence. The Salgaonkars (spoiler) are back to square one and Vijay confesses! Tarun, Meera and ofcourse Gaitonde are confident that Vijay Salgaonkar and his family would be convicted and sent behind bars this time. The rest of the movie is smart writing and smarter story telling about what happens with the Salgaonkars. Will both the concerned parties along with the police get a closure this time around!
Most of the actors and characters continue from Drishyam with a major addition of Akshaye Khanna as the new IG. His is the weakest character amongst the pivotal ones with the director trying to create an aura around him but falling short. Tabu as IG Meera was a much stronger character, well written and one that brought moral authority, steely fortitude and swelling helplessness as a stern head of police as also a desperate mother (in Drishyam), Akshaye Khanna’s Tarun is all snarky lines, glowering eyes and exaggerated mannerisms, trying to figure out his position in the entire setup. IG Tarun is presented as a genius cop who plays the ‘mind games’ with the chess board, without making a single move!
Ajay Devgn sleepwalks as Vijay. However, the part looks mellowed down and offers less excitement than the previous one. Shriya Saran as Nandini looks as this ever-worried wife and mother who keeps on talking about that haunting fateful night at the drop of hat, not just within the family but with neighbours too.
Saurabh Shukla as screenwriter Murad Ali, who is hired by Vijay to write for his film suits the character. In his small but significant role, Saurabh Shukla’s restrained performance and punches add to the curiosity and excitement.
Vijay’s strategic moves in the sequel are not in the same league in terms of the level of sly intelligence as the ones that he resorted to in Drishyam as he went about creating a web of effective alibis to evade legal punishment. In Drishyam 2, the audience is aware that Vijay will go scot-free yet again and that the plans of the police aimed at convicting the Salgaonkars are sure failure, there isn’t much to keep us hooked. Drishyam 2 begins low key in the first half, which is mostly consumed in creating an environment for the inevitable to happen. It is the post interval session that picks up some steam revealing layer after layer of twists and turns in a supposedly cat and mouse chase, each trying to outsmart the other.
There are very few true sequels Bollywood have produced that have proved itself worthy of its making, keeping the excitement and entertainment level for the movie buffs. Drishyam 2 could well fall under that category. All in all, for all Drishyam and Ajay Devgn fans, this is unmissable.
Movie: Drishyam 2
Director: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Akshaye Khanna, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav, Rajat Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Neha Joshi, Kamlesh Sawant, Yogesh Soman, Rajiv Kumar Aneja, Sharad Butadiya
Duration: 142 Mins
