Haiwaan Review: A Thriller That Never Thrills
CineInfinity Rating: ⭐⭐ (2/5)
There is a certain irony to Haiwaan. The film has almost everything required for a gripping thriller Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan sharing the screen, Priyadarshan returning to the genre, a dark revenge story and a visually impaired protagonist at the centre of the conflict.
Yet, after nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes, the biggest question is simple:
Where was the thrill?
Haiwaan has the ingredients of a commercial thriller but rarely generates the urgency the genre demands. Instead of building tension with every passing scene, the film takes too long to get going and then struggles to sustain momentum once the central conflict takes over.
The Story Had Potential
At its core, Haiwaan follows Shyam, a visually impaired man played by Saif Ali Khan, whose heightened senses become crucial when he finds himself caught in the path of Parshuram, played by Akshay Kumar.
The setup is genuinely promising.
A visually impaired protagonist relying on sound, instinct and observation while being hunted by a dangerous adversary should naturally lend itself to some terrific suspense. The audience should constantly be questioning what Shyam can sense, what Parshuram is planning and who is actually one step ahead.
Unfortunately, the screenplay doesn't make enough of this premise.
The film spends too much time establishing its world and characters, while the actual thriller mechanics arrive far too slowly. Once the second half begins, the narrative should be accelerating towards its payoff. Instead, the pace remains uneven and several sequences feel unnecessarily stretched.
At around 2 hours and 45 minutes, Haiwaan simply needed a much sharper edit.
The Oppam Factor
The film inevitably invites comparisons with Priyadarshan's Malayalam thriller Oppam, given the similarities in its central premise and the filmmaker's involvement.
Priyadarshan has indicated that Haiwaan shouldn't simply be viewed as a straightforward remake, and that distinction is fair. An adaptation should be allowed to develop its own identity.
But that also means the Hindi version has to justify its changes.
And this is where Haiwaan struggles.
The film expands the material without adding enough tension or emotional depth to compensate for the additional runtime. The result feels less like a reinvention and more like a stretched-out version of a story that desperately needed economy.
The problem isn't that Haiwaan changes things from Oppam.
The problem is that those changes don't consistently make the thriller better.
Akshay Kumar's Biggest Missed Opportunity
Akshay Kumar playing a negative character is easily one of the film's biggest attractions.
And he is effective.
There are flashes where Parshuram feels genuinely menacing, and Akshay's physicality and screen presence work well for the character. His decision to embrace a darker shade is one of the more interesting aspects of the film.
But the writing doesn't go far enough.
Parshuram has the potential to be a truly memorable antagonist, yet the screenplay doesn't explore his psychology or motivations with enough depth. We get glimpses of the character's darkness without being allowed to fully understand or fear him.
For a film called Haiwaan, the beast deserved considerably more to bite into.
That's one of the film's biggest missed opportunities.
Saif Ali Khan Keeps It Grounded
Saif Ali Khan delivers one of the film's more dependable performances.
As Shyam, he brings vulnerability and sincerity to a character whose biggest strength isn't physical power but his ability to observe and sense things others cannot.
Saif's screen presence helps anchor several portions of the film, particularly when the screenplay becomes dramatically uneven.
The supporting cast also puts in honest work, with Boman Irani and others fitting comfortably into the narrative.
And then there is Asrani.
Seeing the veteran actor on the big screen carries an emotional significance of its own. His appearance is a reminder of the enormous legacy he leaves behind.
We will miss you, sir.
Where The Thriller Loses Its Grip
The biggest weakness of Haiwaan isn't a lack of events.
It's a lack of tension.
The film has confrontations, revelations and dramatic developments, but too few of them create the feeling that something genuinely dangerous is about to happen.
The songs don't help the pacing either. In a film that requires constant momentum, they often feel like interruptions rather than organic parts of the narrative.
The editing could have been considerably tighter, and the screenplay needed to trust its central premise instead of repeatedly slowing down to explain or extend situations.
This becomes particularly damaging in the second half.
The first half is merely below par. The second half is where the film starts feeling like a snoozefest.
Instead of escalating towards a gripping climax, the narrative becomes increasingly predictable and uneven. The audience can see the film trying to manufacture suspense, but the sequences rarely land with the impact intended.
And that's the fundamental problem with Haiwaan:
It keeps telling us that something thrilling is happening without making us feel thrilled.
A Dismal Start At The Box Office
The film's theatrical journey wasn't helped by its advance booking.
Despite the Akshay Kumar–Saif Ali Khan reunion and Priyadarshan's name, Haiwaan opened with relatively weak advance sales. Times of India reported around ₹2.76 crore in Day 1 advance ticket sales, reflecting a slow start for the film.
The morning occupancy numbers have also been underwhelming, resulting in a dismal opening-day start for a film carrying this kind of star power.
That's particularly concerning because a thriller with modest advances can still recover dramatically through strong word of mouth.
Haiwaan needed audiences to walk out excited and recommend it.
Instead, the early response suggests the film has a much steeper climb ahead.
The weekend will therefore be crucial, but the opening-day trend is certainly not where a film of this scale would have wanted to begin.
Verdict
Haiwaan is ultimately a case of potential wasted in execution.
The premise works.
The casting is interesting.
Akshay Kumar in a negative role is intriguing.
Saif Ali Khan brings sincerity.
Priyadarshan returning to this territory should have been exciting.
But the screenplay needed discipline.
The film needed to be shorter, tighter and far more relentless. Most importantly, it needed to make the audience care about what happens next.
Instead, we get an under-explored antagonist, an overextended runtime, uneven pacing and a second half that struggles to hold attention.
The Oppam comparison makes the film's shortcomings more noticeable, but even without that comparison, Haiwaan has enough problems of its own.
A thriller can survive a predictable twist. It can survive an average song. It can even survive a few loose scenes.
What it cannot survive is boredom.
And unfortunately, Haiwaan spends too much of its runtime fighting that very problem.
CineInfinity Rating: ⭐⭐ (2/5)
A thriller with the right ingredients, but sadly, very little adrenaline.
