Haiwaan audience review: Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan starrer hit the big screen on 11 September, ending 18-year hiatus. The highly awaited Bollywood movie marks their reunion after 2008 The Last Outing: Tashan. With an approved runtime of 2 hours 45 minutes, the movie positioned as dark action-crime thriller released in theatres with UA 16+ CBFC rating.
Backed by KVN Productions and KVN Thespian Films, the movie is being screened across several cities with 2,870 shows in total, Sacnilk reported. A per real time update of the film industry tracker at 1:30 PM, the movie did a business of ₹0.69 crore gross which brings cumulative gross earnings to ₹0.81 crore and total India net to ₹0.69 crore.
Haiwaan audience review:
A user wrote, “Haiwaan is a gripping and powerful thriller. Yes, it’s a remake of #Oppam, but the climax brings a fresh impact and keeps you hooked till the end. Akshay Kumar is fantastic, while Saif Ali Khan steals the show with one of his finest performances. The interval, police station sequence, pre-climax, and climax twist are absolute highlights.”
Another user remarked, “#Haiwaan is a lazy remake, which looks fine but lacks soul (serious thrill). No idea what compelled #AkshayKumar to do this film.”
A third user stated, “Haiwaan is one of those movies where you keep waiting for the story to pick up, but unfortunately, it never really does. The biggest problem with the film is its extremely slow pace. The screenplay feels stretched, and several scenes seem unnecessary, making the overall experience unnecessarily long and tiring. The story itself is another major disappointment. Instead of building an engaging narrative with interesting characters and meaningful twists, the movie offers a predictable and poorly written storyline. There are moments when you expect something exciting to happen, but the film repeatedly fails to deliver. The lack of a strong screenplay makes it difficult to stay emotionally invested in what is happening on screen. The pacing is so weak that the movie often feels boring rather than suspenseful or entertaining.”
A fourth comment read, “#AkshayKumar transforms into a full-time #Haiwaan and surprises with his psychologically challenging character that has dark shades with mental elements attached to it. The opening scene and the climax are where he steals the show and makes you believe in the evil he portrayed on screen. The film has a classy framework – top-class cinematography – that deserves all the praise, along with a superb background score. The storyline has a #CapeFear touch and there is a lot of emotional boosting for #SaifAliKhan’s character, who has done decent work. The screenplay picks up a solid pace in the second half during those cat-and-mouse chase sequences. The ending feels fulfilling, with a surprise cameo that is a pleasant one!”
Adapted from Priyadarshan’s 2016 Malayalam hit Oppam, Haiwaan’s story line revolves around a visually impaired caretaker Shyam with heightened senses who gets framed for a retired judge Pradhan’s murder. It follows vengeful killer Parshuram journey to hunt Pradhan’s hidden daughter Nandini. The storyline develops on Shyam escaping police and saving Nandini.
Besides lead actors Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, the ensemble cast features Asrani, Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Saiyami Kher in pivotal roles. Mohanlal is also part of the cast as he makes a special appearance in the movie reprising his original role from Oppam.
Film trade analyst Sumit Kadel gave 3.5 star rating to the movie and in a post on X stated, “Haiwaan is a very powerful and compelling thriller. Yes, it is a remake of #Oppam, but the climax is different, and the film is even more engaging.”
Hailing Priyadarshan-helmed film, he added, “Akshay Kumar has delivered a fantastic performance, but the real heart and soul of the film is Saif Ali Khan. In my opinion, this is one of the finest performances of his career. The interval block, the police station sequence, the pre-climax and, most importantly, the climax twist are absolutely FANTASTIC.”
