Haiwaan

“Priyadarshan goes all dark and deadly in a cat-and-mouse thriller. Matching Mohanlal is a tough ask, but Saif makes the most of the opportunity that the unusual role presents.”

“Haiwaan is the usual mix of genres Priyadarshan serves, the first half setting up the premise of an innocent man being imprisoned, and the second turning into an unintentional comic police procedural.”

“Haiwaan builds its strongest moments around two accomplished actors standing on opposite sides of a conflict. Akshay Kumar delivers what could easily be described as one of his darkest and most menacing performances to date, while Saif Ali Khan is equally compelling with remarkable restraint. Their scenes provide some of Haiwaan's most thrilling moments because the conflict is not merely physical; there is a strong psychological element to their encounters.”

“Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan headline a gripping thriller that blends mystery, emotional conflict and unexpected turns while keeping the tension alive through its twists and intense performances.”

“Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan deliver a riveting thriller that engages audiences with its taut narrative and strong performances from the lead pair.”

“Overall, "Haiwaan" is a value-for-money film. It's a one-time watch, ideal for family viewing. The film's opening is so captivating that you'll be glued to the screen until the very end. Where the story falters, the music keeps viewers glued to their seats.”

“Haiwaan is a reasonably engaging thriller that should work better for Akshay Kumar fans and audiences looking for a straightforward suspense drama. Despite its flaws and predictable moments, it delivers enough thrills to make the overall experience good, with the second half being the saving grace where the film becomes more involving.”

“Haiwaan may not reinvent Oppam, but it remains an engaging thriller because its central character and cast keep it interesting. Priyadarshan understands that the best way to remake his own film is not to merely reproduce it.”

“The film leading up to the climax is riddled with plot holes, and Saif Ali Khan is not convincing as a visually impaired man from the very beginning. The first half, weighed down by Saif's unconvincing performance and a mishmash of characters, is a dull affair. But when the payoff lasts barely 20 minutes in a film that runs for two hours and 44 minutes, the imbalance is hard to overlook.”

“Haiwaan is not a perfect thriller, but it has enough masala and commercial elements to keep viewers engaged. The film has a strong foundation, becomes more exciting in the second half and benefits from its lead performances. However, its length and a few portions that slow down the narrative prevent it from becoming a tighter thriller.”

“Good performances and flashes of humour cannot overcome the film's slack pacing and uneven menace.”

“Disjointed screenplay, weak songs and underwhelming climax dilute HAIWAAN's impact.”

“Haiwaan has a promising central premise with a blind protagonist navigating danger, but the slow pace, predictable screenplay, and convenient plotting undermine what could have been 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.”

“An overstretched middling thriller that never quite finds its rhythm. With a runtime of 2 hours and 44 minutes, the film ultimately stretches a thin premise far beyond it.”

“Haiwaan wastes Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan's much-awaited reunion with a sloppy script, forced twists, weak suspense and exaggerated performances that fail to impress. Haiwaan feels like a half-cooked meal, something that looks exciting on the surface but falls apart the moment you actually experience it.”

“I had a lot of expectations from Haiwaan and that was completely my fault. Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan were singlehandedly carrying this film on their backs because the plot sincerely wasn't. With how much I wanted Haiwaan to work, I'm extremely disappointed with how it turned out.”

“A messy drama of revenge with a predictable twist, Haiwaan is in the no-man’s-land of a saga that fails to hook the viewer either as a vendetta thriller or a family drama.”

“Haiwaan doesn't tell the same story, but it repeatedly brushes against a similar moral question through Boman Irani's judge. The difference is that Priyadarshan's film rarely lets this potentially interesting conflict develop with the clarity Premchand's story achieves in a few pages.”

“Haiwaan's staggeringly foolish notions make for unintended comedy. Watching Haiwaan is such a tormenting exercise, I wonder whether everyone associated with this monstrosity made a secret pact to remain blindfolded at the time of script reading.”

“The original was daft, the remake is dafter. The thrill of seeing the sightless Shyam in action is cancelled out by the sluggish pacing and mostly poor acting.”

“The makers follow a remake checklist, with little effort to harmonise the flavours of the original. Displacing the story without re-rooting its soul no longer works. With the texture erased, the cat-and-mouse game becomes a showcase of Shyam's skills, eventually standing as a betrayal of Priyadarshan's virasat in Hindi cinema.”

“If you have already watched Oppam, save yourself the torture and skip Haiwaan. If you haven't, prepare yourself for 2000s-style filmmaking coupled with terrible acting.”

“On the whole, Haiwaan is a weak fare and will face rejection at the ticket windows. Akshay Kumar not having a full-fledged role in the film is a big minus point. Priyadarshan's story, inspired by his own Malayalam film Oppam, is not very engaging.”

“'Haiwaan' is a broken thriller that zombifies the viewer with its incoherent narrative and lack of purpose.”

“Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar deliver good performances, but Priyadarshan's overlong thriller struggles with pacing, execution and tone.”