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Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Boman Irani, Saiyami Kher
Director: Priyadarshan
What’s Good: A few scenes and the occasional thrill
What’s Bad: An essentially decent story, mixed up and stretched too thin!
Loo Break: Any time in the first half, many times in the very predictable second!
Watch or Not?: Dear Priyan, Akshay, and Saif fans, your call completely!
Language: Hindi
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 164 minutes
User Rating:
The story is primarily about Parshuram (Akshay Kumar), a man wrongly accused of a crime he never committed. A conscientious judge, Pradhan (Boman Irani), has no choice but to sentence him, as the evidence against him is overwhelming, despite Parshuram’s entreaties that he is innocent. Pradhan is conscience-stricken when, en masse, Parshuram’s family commits suicide. And now, Parshuram is free and hell-bent on revenge, targeting everyone who destroyed his family—and their families. Having lost everything, he has now turned into a beast (Haiwaan).
Pradhan lives as a rich bachelor with his relatives in a residential society where the visually challenged Sham (Saif Ali Khan) is something of a manager, overseeing its affairs. The society has motley residents and staff, including Hussein, the security guard (Asrani), and a maid, Naina (Shriya Pilgaonkar). The residents include a lady living with a child (Bhavna Pani), the Sikh Gulati family, a Christian family, and others.
Sham is Pradhan’s confidant and close friend and is told that Pradhan has a ‘secret’ daughter named Nandini (Pahal Ashok Chaudhary). Foreseeing his death when he learns that Parshuram is on a spree of revengeful murders (wonder why a criminal judge did not go to the cops!), Pradhan confides a secret to Sham and, to avoid his money-minded kin’s greed, removes his investments in cash and gives Sham the responsibility of providing for Nandini.
Sham, who also ran boxing classes in the village, is a kind of wizard with his senses heightened by his visual challenge. He can ‘smell’ a specific person, estimate a man’s height when he speaks, and gauge the direction of sound with deadly accuracy. By pure luck, he bumps into Pradhan’s killer at the venue of the murder and has a prolonged fight with him before he escapes in an autorickshaw driven by Chandu (Rajpal Yadav).
Due to a chain of circumstances that follow, Parshuram has by now heard of Nandini’s existence—his final target. He is now on Sham’s tail, and Sham senses (or, to be correct, smells) his presence whenever he is near. What happens next?
Haiwaan Movie Review: Script Analysis
This vendetta story may not be the most original, but it had immense potential, especially in the hands of a master craftsman like Priyadarshan, who is also credited with its story. Unfortunately, the script (Priyan with Abilash Nair and Rohan Shankar) is too convoluted. This trio seemingly cannot decide whether to make the anti-hero the real leading man or pass the baton to Sham.
Hence, Sham also has a backstory of a sister, Shraddha (Yamini Joshi), for whom he has to arrange money for her wedding. How will he raise that sum? Then there are too many additional complexities. The maid has a brother (Yogesh) who is of ill repute and her suspended and vicious ex-husband, Manya (Kiran Pange), who is a cop. Hussein is known for mixing up the names of his contacts. A lady with a kid (Bhavna Pani) is another mysterious character. Finally, Pradhan never meets Nandini but always sends Sham. Why is that? There is no explanation given!
The overlong film also wastes time on lengthy forced humor, like how Hussein was the first to ‘see’ the dead body of Pradhan, though it was Sham who stumbled upon the corpse, which frustrates the cops as they do not know that Sham is blind. The investigating officer (Sharib Hashmi) and the SP (Rajesh Sharma) are all characters with their own idiosyncrasies, and you wonder how they reached their positions in the force.
The thrilling moments are there, but too little and too done-and-seen before. The emotional bond between Nandini and Sham seems forced in the way it is depicted. There are also jerky shifts like Sham being suddenly seen at his village home when the police are beating him, as they have arrested him in the city!
The angle of Naina, her brother, and her ex-husband is also taken to too-confusing lengths without justification.
Haiwaan Movie Review: Star Performance
While Akshay Kumar does the bestial Parshuram with Elan, there is nothing especially engrossing or wicked in his performance. By contrast, Saif Ali Khan is completely in sync with his character, slipping into a heartwarming role with great expertise and impact. He is especially outstanding in his initial sequence with Nandini and remains ardent throughout.
Boman Irani is perfect as Pradhan, the judge who knows his end is near. But he is partly let down by the writing. Why could he not tell the world his truth earlier? Why did he choose to do what he did when he saw the corpses of Parshuram’s family? Yes, these two points should have been added in the script analysis above, but we mention them here to doff our hats to Boman for overriding these aspects and still emerging tall.
The supporting actors do not get justice to match their talents. Saiyami Kher as Inspector Varsha, the only sensible cop here, still has nothing much to do. Manoj Joshi, Rajesh Sharma, Suchitra Pillai, and Sharib Hashmi are all wasted or ill-used, though Shriya Pilgaonkar is alright in her role. Rajpal Yadav is decent, but the late Asrani shines. The rest are of no consequence, really.
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Haiwaan Movie Review: Direction, Music
Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar came together after a long gap in Bhooth Bangla a few months back. But this attempt to experiment with the dark side of the actor does not really make the grade. His major blunder here is to concoct a story and script that do not really come together. Basically, the thriller tries to inculcate various genres into one overindulgent whole that is also absurd in parts and far from entertaining with its dark tenor.
The background score (Ronnie Raphael) works despite its predictability, but the song sequences do not. This is because they come up out of the blue at needless points, and Pritam does not get great situations. Ironically, the otherwise irrelevant Rangiyara works better.
Haiwaan Movie Review: The Last Word
Those looking at an exciting Akshay-Saif film (after their similarly dark 2008 last collaboration, Tashan) on the lines of Main Khiladi Tu Anari will be severely disappointed. Those looking at yet another Priyan-Akshay reunion ditto. Those looking at a non-comic gripping thriller from the director, too, will not be satisfied. Those looking at a crisp value-for-money entertainer ditto. In short, this is a film that does not get a pass mark.
Two stars!
Haiwaan Trailer
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