Drishyam Movie Review: Deadly Deception

Remaking a thriller takes a lot of courage, especially when the original film is so well-known and those who have seen it, know the plot. However, Nishikant Kamat, known for making films like Mumbai Meri Jaan and Force deserves kudos for attempting to make a film, which has already been  remade… thrice!

Drishyam revolves around Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn), a semi-literate but street-smart cable operator, who lives in Goa with his wife Nandini (Shriya Saran) and his two daughters. Salgaonkar, who is such a film buff that he often relies on his cinematic knowledge to come up with solutions for problems, finds himself in the cross-hairs of IG Meera Deshmukh (Tabu), a tough cop whose son has gone missing.

Though circumstantial evidence points at the involvement of Salgaonkar and his family in the case, Vijay seems to have strong evidence to suggest that he and his family were away when Meera's son went missing in their village. Not only this, the entire town seems to support Vijay's story, with the sole exception of a local corrupt cop Gaitonde, who insists that he saw Vijay driving in the car of the missing son a few days back!

Will Meera crack the case or will Vijay evade the long arm of the law? Watch the film to find out…

After playing super cop Singham, it is refreshing to see Devgn play an Average Joe and the intense actor manages to pull it off with admirable restraint. Shriya puts in a decent effort, though her dialogue delivery seems a bit off. Tabu as usual impresses you with her sheer talent and convinces us with her portrayal of a tough cop, who is also a mother desperate to know about her missing son and willing to do whatever it takes to uncover the truth. Kamlesh Sawant as the corrupt cop Gaitonde is bang on with his body language and diction.

If there is one complaint about the film, it's the fact that the director takes more time than usual to establish the characters and Salgaonkar's family situation. Some scenes do seem unnecessary and you keep looking forward to the point when the actual story starts. However, your patience will be rewarded because once the plot comes into play; Kamat takes us on a roller-coaster ride of suspicion, deception and nail-biting suspense. It is after a long time that an honest-to-God, true blue suspense thriller has hit Bollywood screens, for which we are quite grateful.

With some editing, Kamat could have made a crisper and tauter thriller, but nevertheless, Drishyam is definitely good fun and will have you rooting for the underdog, who takes on the mighty police machinery with an unnerving calm and a methodical mind.