Haiwaan

Some thrillers are so absorbing that they persuade us to surrender logic at the door and simply follow the action wherever it takes us. A good mystery, particularly one built around a cat-and-mouse chase, can make even the most improbable turn feel plausible because the characters, the atmosphere, and the suspense are persuasive enough to keep disbelief suspended. Haiwaan begins with precisely that promise — a potentially engrossing tale of guilt, vengeance, betrayal, and retribution, populated by characters whose secrets could have sustained a gripping psychological thriller. Instead, Priyadarshan’s remake of his own 2016 Malayalam film Oppam gradually loses sight of the thriller it could have been, drowning a promising premise in star power, implausible action, and a screenplay that repeatedly mistakes excess for excitement.

Priyadarshan’s Haiwaan is a remake of his own Malayalam film Oppam (2016), which was a big hit a decade ago. After watching Haiwaan, I spent some time wondering why Priyadarshan chose to remake a successful film of his own. What value addition could he possibly bring to it? Alas, I couldn’t think of a satisfactory answer - except that commercial considerations must have warranted it.

At the start of Haiwaan, Shyam (Saif Ali Khan) boards a ferry, teases a man who owes him money, sings and plays guitar. If it wasn’t for his dark glasses and cane, it would be hard to tell he’s blind—indeed, it’s a running conspiracy theory through Priyadarshan’s film that he’s only pretending he can’t see. Shyam has heightened senses of sound, touch, taste and smell, which provide him an uncanny mental picture of the world around him. But when his sister tearfully asks for his blessings, he responds after a few seconds and doesn’t realise that she’s left. He’s left patting the air around him while violins play sadly on the soundtrack.

श्रीराम राघवन की फिल्म ‘अंधाधुन’ में एक अंधा पियानो प्लेयर एक खून होते हुए ‘देख’ लेता है। अब अंधा आदमी ‘देख’ कैसे सकता है? और यहीं से शुरू होती है छल, कपट और धोखे की एक अंधी दौड़ जिसमें कोई भी पाक-साफ नहीं है। प्रियदर्शन की इस फिल्म ‘हैवान’ में एक बिल्डिंग के अंधे मैंटेनेंस मैनेजर की जज साहब को मारने वाले एक खूनी से हाथापाई हुई है। वह उसे सूंघ कर पहचान लेता है लेकिन पुलिस उस अंधे को ही खूनी माने बैठी है। कैसे निकलेगा वह इस आरोप से? कैसे पकड़ा जाएगा वह खूनी? वह खून कर ही क्यों रहा है? क्यों वह ऐसा हैवान बना हुआ है जो अपने बदले की आग में मासूमों की जान लिए जा रहा है? सवाल कई हैं, जवाब यह फिल्म देती है। मगर क्या ये जवाब हज़म होने लायक हैं? आइए देखते हैं।

Transplanted from Kochi to Mumbai, a well-received Priyadarshan-helmed Malayalam crime drama that Mohanlal spearheaded a decade ago morphs in the same director’s hands into a Bollywood thriller with the Kerala superstar in a surprise cameo. Textually similar, texturally different and tonally entirely its own beast, Haiwaan, starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, struggles to shrug off the shadow of Mohanlal and Oppam (2016). Comparisons here are not as odious as they usually are. They are, in fact, essential in understanding the trip that Haiwaan is on in the company of two Bollywood actors whose personas shape the film.

A blind man, an innocent child, and an unhinged monster. As director Priyadarshan recreates Oppam for a Hindi audience, he sets the stage for an engrossing sensory thriller. It follows a visually impaired protagonist, Shyam (Saif Ali Khan), who accidentally becomes the protector of a young girl targeted by a ruthless serial killer, Parshuram (Akshay Kumar). The imagery of a thriller where the only man who can save a target can’t see the killer is appetising bait that pulls us to the edge of our seats. Alongside Sabu Cyril and Divakar Mani, the seasoned filmmaker designs an atmosphere where shadows and silhouettes combine to create subtext. In Saif, he has a performer whose visible hunger to become the character these days promises a believable clash. Playing a character etched for posterity by the inimitable Mohanlal, he internalises the blindness and creates a gaze devoid of intent. In his own way, he puts in the effort to bring the required gravitas to the character of a maintenance man in charge of a high-rise.

मलयालम सिनेमा के दिग्गज सुपरस्टार मोहनलाल की ब्लॉकबस्टर फिल्म ‘दृश्यम’ की फाइनल कड़ी के बॉलीवुड रीमेक की चर्चा अभी जोरशोर से चल ही रही है। इस बीच उनकी एक और फिल्म ‘ओप्पम’ के हिंदी रीमेक ने सिनेमाघरों में दस्‍तक दी है। साल 2016 में डायरेक्‍टर प्रियदर्शन ने यह मॉलीवुड फिल्‍म बनाई थी। अब 10 साल बाद उन्‍होंने ही इसका रीमेक किया है। इसकी बड़ी खासियत यह है कि इससे बॉलीवुड के अनाड़ी और खिलाड़ी यानी सैफ अली खान और अक्षय कुमार की जोड़ी 18 साल बाद दोबारा पर्दे पर एक साथ लौटी है। हालांकि, इंडस्ट्री में तीन दशक बिता चुके सैफ अली खान इस फिल्म में अनाड़ी नहीं, बल्कि ऐसे सुपर-मानव हैं, जो कई खिलाड़ियों पर भारी हैं। लेकिन इसी वजह से उनके इस अति-प्रतिभावान किरदार पर भरोसा कम हो जाता है।

The concept of CCTV cameras doesn’t exist in the world of Haiwaan. Neither does logic, rationale, common sense or coherence. One could still overlook the absence of all these elements if this was a Priyadarshan comedy. But Haiwaan is supposedly a cat-and-mouse game, a play of good vs evil, a thriller which is meant to keep its players on its toes and the minds of its audience ticking. But this is a film that mistakes dumbness for dread and incomprehensible for acuity. In terms of this genre alone, Priyadarshan has done more, and done it much better. Haiwaan is, after all, a remake of the man’s own 2016 Malayalam thriller Oppam. And even though it is an almost faithful adaptation of its core material, Haiwaan feels empty and tiring, which Oppam certainly didn’t. The presence of big stars and better production values doesn’t cover up for the tedious slog this movie is.