Haiwaan, the remake of the 2016 Malayalam film Oppam, stars Saif Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar, Boman Irani, and others. The Hindi-language movie was released in theatres on Friday. What is it like?
Critical and audience consensus on the Priyadarshan-directed thriller Haiwaan is mixed-to-negative, with most reviewers calling it an uneven experience that wastes potential.
Across major outlets (Hindustan Times, The Hindu, NDTV, India Today), the primary grievance is the bloated 2-hour-44-minute runtime. Critics noted that the script takes far too long to set up the central cat-and-mouse chase, burdened by jarring, forgettable song placements and uneven comedy tracks.
Overly long runtime, misplaced music/songs, weak logic, and comparisons unfavorable to the original Oppam are among the prime weaknesses.
Atmospheric climax sequence, screen dynamic between Saif and Akshay, nostalgia from late actor Asrani's scenes are counted as the merits.
Haiwaan is produced by KVN Productions of the recent Toxic and Jana Nayagan fame. The banner is also producing Chiranjeevi's Kaaka.
