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Movie Name: Haiwaan
Directed by: Priyadarshan
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Saiyami Kher
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller, Crime, Mystery, Horror
Release Date: September 11, 2026
Running Time: 164 Minutes
Language: Hindi
Rating:
Production Company: KVN Productions, Thespian Films
Budget: Rs.- crore
A blind martial artist protects a girl child from a psychopath killer.
Haiwaan: Overview
Haiwaan is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film co-written and directed by Priyadarshan. Produced by KVN Productions and Thespian Films, it is a remake of Priyadarshan’s own 2016 Malayalam film Oppam, and stars Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Boman Irani, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Saiyami Kher while Mohanlal makes a cameo appearance.
The soundtrack has been composed by Pritam, with lyrics composed by Javed Akhtar. The film score was composed by Ronnie Raphael.
The first look posters were unveiled on 15 July 2026.
The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on 11 September 2026.
In a pre-release deal, Sony Pictures Networks acquired the post-theatrical digital and satellite rights of the film for 125 crore.
Movie Trailer:
Movie Review:
An overstretched middling thriller that never quite finds its rhythm
Story:
After the death of a retired judge (Boman Irani), his loyal aide, visually impaired maintenance worker Shyam Rane (Saif Ali Khan), senses foul play. Without actually seeing him, he detects the presence of a killer, Parshuram (Akshay Kumar), in the room. Can Shyam track down the murderer, who is himself on the prowl?
Review:
Driven by rage and revenge, Parshuram stalks Shyam like a shadow as he attempts to get to the judge’s daughter. He has scores to settle with her father and will stop at nothing. Can Shyam save her from the clutches of this haiwaan?
A Hindi remake of Priyadarshan’s own Malayalam thriller Oppam (2016), the film makes you wonder why the director felt the need to revisit the story, especially when the material feels this dramatically thin. Devoid of a compelling mystery or sustained tension, the narrative quickly turns flat and monotonous. The writing fails to create intriguing characters or situations that keep you invested, let alone on the edge of your seat.
Empathy pitted against vengeance could have made for an engaging face-off, had the story given us reason to keep guessing. Instead, the characters have little ambiguity to them, leaving no real mystery to unravel. Their supposed secrets can be sensed from a mile, so very little comes as a surprise or shock. Scene after scene feels mechanical, with neither the setting nor the characterisation proving particularly convincing or clever.
The film’s biggest draw, Saif and Akshay reuniting on screen after 18 years, isn’t quite the rewarding experience one might expect. Saif is sincere and brings a certain nonchalance that feels at odds with Akshay’s melodramatic, larger-than-life portrayal. Their contrasting energies never quite gel, making it difficult to fully immerse yourself in the story. Saif’s Shyam dada, a Maharashtrian maintenance worker who strums the guitar and gets hapus from Devgad, while sporting cool linen co-ords and Converse, never quite develops into a fully convincing personality.
Akshay, meanwhile, plays the stalker at full throttle throughout. A little restraint could have gone a long way. His rage often feels performative and theatrical rather than genuinely menacing. The humour involving veterans like Asrani feels forced, while the cops, played by Saiyami Kher and Sharib Hashmi, are given little to do despite their potential.
Barring a few effective hide-and-seek action sequences between the two leads, Haiwaan struggles to grip. It picks up somewhat after the interval, but with a runtime of 2 hours and 44 minutes, the film ultimately stretches a thin premise far beyond its limits leaving little impact by the time it ends. The Conjuring-style finale takes the tension out of the climax, veering into unintentional humour.
