Haiwaan Review: Priyadarshan-directorial with Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar is slow paced with predictable screenplay

Planning to watch Priyadarshan's film, starring Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar? Read Pinkvilla's review first.

Updated on Sep 11, 2026  |  01:11 PM IST |  8K

Haiwaan Review: Priyadarshan-directorial with Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar is slow paced with predictable screenplay (PC: KVN Productions)

Name: Haiwaan

Director: Priyadarshan

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Boman Irani, Late Asrani, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Saiyami Kher, Rajesh Sharma, Jisshu Sengupta, Rajpal Yadav, Sharib Hashmi, Manoj Joshi, Pahal Chaudhary, Kanchan Pagare, Ashish Gokhale, Suchitra Pillai

Writer: Priyadarshan, Abilash Nair, and Rohan Shankar

Rating: 2.5/5

Plot

The crime thriller Haiwaan brings Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar together on screen after 18 years, with the former playing a blind protagonist and the latter stepping into the role of a ruthless antagonist. The film is a Hindi remake of Priyadarshan's 2016 Malayalam thriller Oppam, which starred Mohanlal. The premise is straightforward as Saif portrays Shyam, a blind maintenance manager living in a Mumbai housing society, who finds himself protecting a young girl, Nandini after her father is m*rdered by a man seeking revenge.

Shyam is not the usual visually impaired man. He is a trained wrestler, singer, and his heightened senses of hearing and smell allow him to compensate for his lack of sight. His life takes a dangerous turn when Pradhan, the retired judge, becomes the target of Akshay Kumar's character Parshuram, a convict who has begun eliminating everyone he believes was responsible for his imprisonment. Hence, Shyam makes it his life's mission to protect Nandini from Parshuram.

What Works

The central idea remains the film’s biggest attraction. Watching a blind protagonist navigate danger through sound, touch, memory and instinct gives Haiwaan a potentially engaging thriller framework. Shyam’s encounters with Parshuram occasionally generate the kind of tension the film promises, particularly when his inability to see becomes both a vulnerability and an advantage.

The second half of the film sees Akshay Kumar flourish as the antagonist although his role has limited screen presence. Priyadarshan uses the Mumbai setting to give the thriller a familiar backdrop, while Shyam’s familiarity with the housing complex creates opportunities for suspense. There are moments when the film remembers that a thriller should be playful as well as dangerous. Late actor Asrani brings genuine laughter when the plot derails.

What Doesn’t Work

The writers took long time for the film takes to establish Shyam, his family situation, his job and his unusual abilities, which made the narrative more obvious. Instead of allowing the audience to discover his capabilities organically, the writing repeatedly underlines them, making the protagonist feel less like a believable person and more like a superhero.

The larger problem is that the plot begins to falter in the second half. The investigation is convenient to the screenplay and lacks basic logic, which does not go with the image of Mumbai Police! Several situations appear simply to put Shyam in danger or hand him an advantage. The slow pace makes these weaknesses even harder to overlook. In one particular instance, Shyam meets with a fatal accident but is miraculously saved after being rammed by several cars. In fact, a surprise cameo at the end of the film also feels wasted by the director.

Acting Performances

Saif Ali Khan approaches Shyam with commitment, but the casting works against him in unexpected ways. The character is supposed to rely heavily on physical awareness and careful movement, yet Saif’s muscular appearance and brisk physicality sometimes make him look more like an action star playing blind than a man whose movements have developed around the absence of sight. His portrayal is not convincing.

Akshay Kumar, meanwhile, chooses menace almost entirely through his eyes, expressions and constant glowering as Parshuram is meant to be frightening, unpredictable, and dangerous. 

Boman Irani brings authority to his brief role as the judge, while Saiyami Kher gets little opportunity to develop Varsha beyond the familiar determined police officer. 

Sharib Hashmi is wasted as a frustratingly inept investigator, and Shriya Pilgaonkar’s glamorous maid feels more like an obligatory character than an organic part of the story. 

Pahal Chaudhary, as Nandini, carries an important portion of the plot but her character is largely restricted by the film’s writing.

Final Verdict

Haiwaan has a promising hook and two recognisable stars at its center, but neither is enough to overcome a screenplay weighed down by lengthy explanations, unrealistic plot, and uneven pacing. The idea of a blind man using his other senses to outwit a criminal should have provided an inventive and tense thriller. Instead, the film repeatedly shows old tricks and asks the audience to overlook increasingly obvious gaps. Priyadarshan’s familiar visual setting flourishes, while occasional comic touches cannot compensate for the lack of sustained suspense. For viewers drawn to the Saif-Akshay reunion, Haiwaan holds some curiosity value, but as a thriller, it sees the destination long before it figures out how to get there.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Pinkvilla. No statement in this article is intended to defame, harm, or malign any individual or entity.

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