Haiwaan review: Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar deliver committed performances in Priyadarshan’s suspense thriller, but its lengthy runtime and dated storytelling dilute the tension.
Reuniting Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan almost two decades after Tashan, veteran director Priyadarshan returns to his suspense-thriller roots with Haiwaan, an official Hindi remake of his 2016 Malayalam hit Oppam. While the film promises a nostalgic collision of two distinct acting forces in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game, it yields a mixed bag: an intriguing premise anchored by committed lead performances, hamstrung by a bloated runtime and an outdated narrative structure.
The inherent strength of Haiwaan is in the intrinsic charisma of its basic principle and in how Priyadarshan captures the tension visually. As Shyam, the visually challenged apartment caretaker who has heightened senses, Saif steers clear of stereotypes. He shows vulnerability with competence and brings an element of physicality in the fight scenes of the movie. Putting on the shoes of the real antagonist, Parshuram, the vindictive guy who acts out of pure evil, Akshay gives a performance that is unpredictable and sarcastic.
Even with its excellent opening scene, Haiwaan fails to sustain its tension for the entire length of its long film. With a running time of almost 2 hours and 45 minutes, the movie has scenes that are not necessary at all. These include subplots such as family debts and scenes of comedy which, although handled by reliable actors such as Rajpal Yadav, hamper the flow of the film’s suspenseful nature.
The film often halts its suspense to accommodate broad ensemble humour that feels imported directly from the early 2000s. Fans of modern thrillers will spot the central turns early on. The screenplay lacks the razor-sharp tightness required to keep a 2026 audience guessing until the end.
The film Haiwaan is an interesting movie, although somewhat a bit flawed, that seeks to resurrect the suspense thriller that is grounded back into mainstream Bollywood cinema. Despite falling short of being a classic due to its elongated length and the change in tone, Saif Ali Khan’s dedication in his physical performance along with Akshay Kumar’s malevolent performance make watching the movie worthwhile.
Mubeen Farooqi is a film writer and unabashed movie lover who enjoys watching and reviewing films, exploring storytelling techniques, following film makers across genres, and celebrating the power of brilliant cinema anywhere in the world.
He has just finished scripting his Hindi feature film which is in the supernatural suspense thriller space.
