Come September 11 this year and we will witness the release of veteran director Priyadarshan’s 99th film Haiwaan (Beast).
The film stars Saif Ali Khan and Akshay Kumar in leading roles, with Saif playing the role of a visually-impaired man. Just as talk of the film began to take shape, it was revealed early on that Haiwaan would be the official remake of Priyadarshan’s own Malayalam film Oppam which released in 2016. The film was a blockbuster upon release and went on to become the third highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time then. One of the highlights of the pre-release marketing campaign was the manner in which its plot was discussed. Through a series of interviews and online campaigns, the central plot point was able to generate genuinely organic curiosity: What if a blind man becomes the only “eye witness” to a murder?
The film was written by Govind Vijayan, basing it on his own short story with the screenplay being written by Priyadarshan. It was also revealed around the time of its release that this short story was recommended to Priyadarshan by Mohanlal himself.
While the success of Oppam may look obvious today, given its subject and the organic buzz it was able to generate, the film couldn’t have come at a better time for the director, as he was coming off the failure of five back-to-back failures. His films in Hindi around the period — Tezz, Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaali and Rangrezz, across three genres — had all failed at the box-office. Also, the failure of two back-to-back Malayalam films made around the period — a comedy starring Jayasuriya named Amayum Muyalum and Geethanjali, the high profile sequel to all-time Malayalam classic Manichithratazhu — had created discussions on social media about how the director had become a spent force.
Personally too, the period was just as difficult for the director with his divorce from actress Lissy Lakshmi. Questions about their split also became a constant question during promotional interviews for Oppam. Since starting his career in 1982, there hadn't been a single year in which Priyadarshan did not have a release. But owing to multiple factors both professionally and personally, 2015 was the only year (until then) in which a Priyadarshan film had not released in a span of 33 years!
But all that seemed to change with Oppam finally releasing on September 8, 2016. While it was obvious that the film would not follow the typical mood of a Priyadarshan comedy, the thriller saw an obvious reinvention of the master’s talents. It looked unlike any of his films before and also kicked into gear almost immediately with Mohanlal playing a visually-impaired man for the first time.
A large portion of the narrative was set within the premises of an apartment building, and dealt with this man having to protect a little girl from danger. Despite also befitting from a solid performance by actor Samuthirakani, who played the role of Vasudev in Oppam, it’s fair to say that the film fully belonged to the towering performance of Mohanlal.
But Haiwaan’s trailer, which released last week, appears to have reworked several aspects of the original film; it feels like a battle between two absolute equals as a weak and vulnerable Saif Ali Khan must take on the powers of a deranged and unpredictable Akshay Kumar, who reprises the role of Samuthirakani.
Given the stature of a star like Akshay Kumar, it also feels clear that his role has been enlarged or modified to meet his star status. In comparison to the quiet and sneaky villain in the original, the remake creates the scope for a louder, meaner bad guy who has everything going for him.
But that does limit the heroic potential of the character played by Saif Ali Khan. The original film used the character’s visual impairment as just one of the defining factors, as even his heightened sense of smell and sound became the highlight in several scenes. For what is a largely visual form of entertainment, Oppam’s best scenes involved the use of sound design or the perception of smell from Jayaraman’s (Mohanlal's character) POV to further the narrative.
With the Priyadarshan film touted to open big next week, it remains to be seen if the director behind some of Hindi cinema’s biggest comedies can still stake claim to pull off a nail-biting thriller... and for Akshay Kumar, one of his best roles as a bad guy.