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Drishyam 2 Review: Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu starrer is worth a watch because of its gripping climax
Planning to watch Drishyam 2 this weekend? Read Pinkvilla’s review of this Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Tabu, Shriya Saran and Ishita Dutta starrer.
Name: Drishyam 2
Director: Jeethu Joseph,Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Ajay Devgn,Tabu,Mohanlal,akshaye khanna,Ishita Dutta,Shriya Saran
Writer: Jeethu Joseph
Rating: 3
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video
Plot
In the first part of Drishyam, Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) moves heaven and earth to save his family after they were hit by a catastrophe. While back then he managed to get away with murder quite literally, the unfortunate event comes back to haunt him after seven years in part 2 when a new IG Tarun Ahlawat (Akshaye Khanna) takes charge of the Pondolem police station, and fresh pieces of evidence come to light. As the authorities bring their A-game forward to prove the crime, the Salgaonkars go through the same trauma yet again. Will Vijay be able to safeguard their future this time as well? You’ll have to watch the film to find out.
What’s Hot?
The best part about Drishyam 2 is its gripping second half, especially the last 40 minutes. This is where the whole film unravels by introducing one twist after the other. The situations are seamlessly put together making the whole sequence exciting and believable. Kudos to original Malayalam film director Jeethu Joseph for penning this story, and to Abhishek Pathak - who has helmed the Hindi version of the crime thriller - and has justified the OG version of the movie.
There is this one particular sequence of Akshaye Khanna’s Tarun Ahlawat with Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta and Mrunal Jadhav’s characters which is beautifully conceptualised, delivering the necessary thrills and chills. It is aptly supported by Director of Photography (DOP) Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary’s camera angles and Devi Sri Prasad’s tremendous background score. Dialogues written by Aamil Keeyan Khan stand out, especially the one liners that were given to Khanna. They provided the occasional laughs, while also making a strong impact. Production Designer Tarpan Shrivastava stayed true to the characters’ milieu, and played an important role in bringing the world of Drishyam 2 alive.
What’s Not?
The first half of the film doesn’t work at all, and lacks high points. One of the most important elements of a crime-thriller is to keep the audience hooked throughout, and Drishyam 2 fails to achieve that in the first half. The inconsistency of thrill in the narrative for the first sixty minutes is the biggest drawback of this movie, and adapted screenplay writers Aamil Keeyan Khan and Abhishek Pathak could have focused a little more on sharpening this crucial part of the sequel. However, I had the same complaint with the Malayalam follow-up too.
Some sequences are also quite elongated, and the writers along with editor Sandeep Francis could have collaborated to fix this.
Performances
While the first part of Drishyam was unveiled in 2015, its sequel is releasing after seven years. With such a long gap, one would wonder if the actors have lost their hold over the pulse of their characters, but they haven’t. Ajay Devgn effortlessly slips into the character of Vijay Salgaonkar, still managing to make the audience empathise with his part, despite knowing the fact that he too has committed a crime. Devgn delivers a very controlled performance, and so does Tabu, who aces every role that she takes up. Though I wish she had more screen time in this one. Akshaye Khanna has played a cop in the past too, but everytime he manages to bring a unique charm to his character, and has done that in Drishyam 2 as well. He shines in every scene.
Shriya Saran’s performance helps one relate to Nandini Salgaonkar’s plight, while Ishita Dutta and Mrunal Jadhav give sincere performances as Anju and Anu respectively. Rajat Kapoor is brilliant in his limited screen time.
Final Verdict
Not having enough and expected high points in the first half of Drishyam 2 goes against the film, but it manages to cover up for that in the latter half of the movie. Watch it for all the thrill that it promises in the second half. It is also an honest adaptation of its original Malayalam version.
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