Drishyam

So the Bollywood version of Drishyam is out and the most impressive thing about the film is that Nishikanth Kamat has tried to add some creative tweaks. With the story being the same, Mr. Kamat has tried to approach the movie in a slightly different view point. While the Malayalam movie was more like how the hero saves the family, Hindi version looks more like a mind game between the commissioner and the leading man.

As you all know, the hero Vijay Salgaonkar is a local cable TV operator in the Goan village named Pandolim. He is a film buff and is quite a smart guy. He has a family comprising of wife and two kids. The unfortunate incident that happens to the family which puts them under suspicion and how Salgaonkar saves his family from this trouble is the content of Drishyam.

Unlike the Jeethu Joseph versions, Nishikanth Kamat version of Drishyam is brisk. It has positives and negatives. Kamat has given a new background to the elder girl in this story and has taken away the father in law – son in law conversation. The crucial inclusion of ATM footage has given the screenplay a more solid feel in my opinion. To have briskness, he has avoided the combination scenes between the husband and wife. That in a way has reduced the on screen bonding of the family. And also the intrigue level was slightly low for this version. The thrill of the last phase of investigation was maintained well by the director.

Ajay Devgn in comparison with the portrayal of Mohanlal and Kamal Haasan stands way below. While the performance of Mohanlal and Kamal created an emotional attachment with the characters, Devgn’s portrayal looked quite dull. Tabu had that screen presence which Kamat needed in his cop vs culprit interpretation. Shriya Saran showed hiccups in her performance. Ishita Dutta as the elder daughter performed really well. In comparison with Siddique’s performance, Rajat Kapoor wasn’t that impressive. He may not have got the limelight in the trailer, but Kamlesh Sawant as Inspector Gaitonde impressed me a lot. Actors who portrayed the role played by Neeraj Madhav and Roshan Basheer in original Drishyam, reminded me of Rajpal Yadav and Raj Kumar Rao.

Nishikant Kamat has gone for a speedy narration with relatively less amount of jolly mood. The screenplay has maintained the secrecy and I could hear north Indian people making wrong guesses about what will happen next. As I already mentioned, the ATM CCTV footage was a really good creative inclusion. The dialogues were nice. Cinematography was okay and the edits were impressive. Music by Vishal Bharadwaj has his signature unconventional feel. Art director could have made the look of the house more like a middle class one.

To conclude, Drishyam in Hindi may not have the backup of terrific performances. But it still has the thriller feel to keep you excited. The rating for Nishikant Kamat’s Drishyam is 3.5/5.