Haiwaan

If the original was a slow-burn mystery, the adaptation, which ironically lasts about 15 minutes longer, tastes like an overcooked recipe, eventually standing as a betrayal of Priyadarshan's virasat in Hindi cinema.

On the whole, HAIWAAN rests on Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar's performances, a few engaging face-offs and strong technical values. However, the disjointed screenplay, excessive subplots, weak songs and an underwhelming climax limit its impact.

Haiwaan may not reinvent Oppam, but it remains an engaging thriller because its central character and cast keep it interesting. Priyadarshan understands that the best way to remake his own film is not to merely reproduce it.

Priyadarshan has a command over comedies. Sadly, this talent is unintentionally on display in Haiwaan, a cat-n-mouse chase thriller featuring a visually-impaired saviour and a psychopathic serial killer. You laugh where you should be scared and are confused where you should be engaged.

The thrill of seeing the sightless Shyam in action – he's nothing less than a Rustom-e-Hind with a white cane – is cancelled out by the sluggish pacing and mostly poor acting.

Overall, Haiwaan is a thriller that promises more than it delivers. The premise is strong, and the climax finally brings the tension that the film has been searching for. But getting there is a long journey.

When Priyadarshan is on top of his game, all his madly-disparate moving parts somehow come together and give us a rumbustious climax. Sadly, Haiwaan is more miss than hit, more uff uff than ole ole.

Haiwaan is not a bad film. It has a good cast, a workable story, with splashes of comedy and a director who knows this material. It is simply a film that needed someone to make it tighter and cut it down to the thriller it could have been.

Haiwaan's staggeringly foolish notions make for unintended comedy.