KVN Productions and Thespian Films’ Haiwaan (UA) is the story of a man on the revenge path. Justice Pradhan (Boman Irani) pronounces a wrong judgement because of which a young man, Parshuram Gokhale (Akshay Kumar), is put behind bars. This leads to the death of all his family members. Parshuram swears revenge against the judge and wants to annihilate the judge’s entire family (which includes him and his illegitimate daughter, Nandini) once he has served his jail term. Shyam Rane (Saif Ali Khan) is the judge’s trusted person and also works as the supervisor in the housing society in which the judge lives. Shyam is blind. After the murder of Justice Pradhan at the hands of Parshuram, it falls upon the blind Shyam to save Nandini from the murderous attempts of Parshuram. Also, Shyam is privy to a secret which Justice Pradhan had shared with him a few days before he was killed. What is the secret? What happens to Nandini? Is Shyam able to save her or does Parshuram also kill her? What happens to Parshuram and to Shyam?
Priyadarshan’s story, inspired by his own Malayalam film Oppam, is not very engaging. The screenplay, written by Priyadarshan, Abilash Nair and Rohan Shankar, is contrived and convoluted. Although the drama is mainly about two characters — Parshuram and Shyam — majority of the scenes and talkie portions are focused on Shyam. Since the character of Parshuram is played by Akshay Kumar, the audience feels cheated when they see Parshuram simply lurking in the background in a number of scenes. The twist about Justice Pradhan’s secret doesn’t have the shock value and, therefore, the impact which it should’ve had. The police investigation by senior police inspector Ashok Shinde (Sharib Hashmi) is designed to be funny, but the comedy evokes laughter at a few places only as it often borders on the ridiculous. In fact, most of the comedy in the investigation falls flat on its face and hence irritates the viewers more than entertaining them. Shinde’s senior, SP Rohit Vardhan (Rajesh Sharma), behaves so stupidly that it makes the audience wonder how an SP can be so dumb. The screenplay is often patchy. The climax, in a part of which Parshuram wears a nun’s attire, will be absolutely disliked by the viewers because of the macho image of the actor (Akshay Kumar).
Rohan Shankar’s dialogues are ordinary.
Akshay Kumar is not in his element as Parshuram Gokhale. His acting is just about average. His unkempt beard will also be an eyesore for his fans. Saif Ali Khan is earnest as Shyam Rane. He plays the blind man effectively. Asrani is sincere as security guard Hussain. Boman Irani is good as Justice Pradhan. Saiyami Kher hardly gets any scope as police inspector Varsha; she is just about alright. Shriya Pilgaonkar acts well in the role of Naina. Rajpal Yadav is impressive as auto driver Chandu, but the viewers will miss his rib-tickling comedy. Sharib Hashmi tries hard to make the audience laugh, as senior inspector Ashok Shinde, but doesn’t succeed most of the times. Rajesh Sharma is dull as SP Rohit Vardhan. Pahal Ashok Choudhary is confident as Nandini. Kiran Dange has his moments as Nandini’s ex-husband, Manya. Bhavna Pani is okay as Zeba Ahmed. Kanchan Pagare (as security guard Sudhir), Manoj Joshi (in the role of Shyam’s father, Pandurang Rane), Suchitra Pillai (as the school principal), Ashok Kelkar (as the shop owner), Parag Joshi (in the role of the moneylender), Vasudev (as Naina’s brother), Abeer Meherish (as Nagesh), Yamini Joshi (as Shraddha), Kalpana Rao (as Saithabma), Zeeshan Ali (as Joy), Ashish Gokhale (as sub-inspector Pandey), Krishna Kotian (as Mr. Baretto), Usha Subramanian Saulvi (as Mrs. Baretto), Naira Shah (as Simran), Naresh Asija (as Mr. Gulati) and Donny Kapoor (as Mrs. Gulati) provide routine support. Mohanlal springs a pleasant surprise and adds star value in a cameo appearance.
Priyadarshan’s direction, limited as it is by the weak script, is below the mark. Pritam’s music is a mixed bag. The Rangiyara song is quite alright but the other songs are not tuneful enough to become popular. Lyrics (Javed Akhtar for Mere hero hai woh; Yatindra Mishra for Rangiyara; I.P. Singh for Farratta; Kumaar for the title track) are so-so. Song picturisations (by Pony Verma for Rangiyara, Mere hero hai woh and Farratta; Bosco Leslie Martis for the title song) are routine. Ronnie Raphael’s background music is fair. Divakar Mani’s cinematography is appropriate. Stunt Silva and Ravi Thyagarajan’s action and stunt scenes are quite thrilling but needed to be more exciting. Sabu Cyril’s production designing is proper. Aiyappan Nair M.S.’s editing should’ve been sharper.
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.
Released on 11-9-’26 at Inox (daily 7 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PEN Marudhar Cine Entertainment. Publicity: not up to the mark. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was below the mark at many places.
