Haiwaan Review: Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan Deliver a Mixed Thriller That Finds Its Strength in a Powerful Final Act

Haiwaan Review time, and I walked into the theatre with fairly high expectations, mostly because it’s been 18 years since Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan shared screen space together.  

That alone was enough to make this one of the most-awaited Bollywood releases of September 2026. After watching Priyadarshan’s crime thriller, my honest Haiwaan review is this: it’s an uneven film that takes its time to find its footing, but when it finally does, in its last 30-odd minutes, it becomes genuinely gripping.  

If you’re searching for a straightforward, no-spoiler Haiwaan movie review Akshay Kumar Saif Ali Khan fans can actually use before booking tickets, this is exactly that. 

Haiwaan released in theatres today, September 11, 2026, with a U/A 16+ certificate and a runtime of 2 hours 44 minutes. It’s produced by KVN Productions and Thespian Films, directed by veteran filmmaker Priyadarshan, and features music by Pritam Chakraborty with a background score by Ronnie Raphael.  

Early trade reports suggest the film opened to around ₹1.55 crore net on Day 1 from over 4,500 shows across the country, a modest start for two stars of this stature, which tells you the real battle for this film will happen on word-of-mouth, not on advance bookings. 

Let’s break this Haiwaan review down properly, story, performances, direction, music, and finally, whether it’s actually worth your money this weekend. 

Haiwaan Story: What Is the Film Actually About? 

The plot of Haiwaan centers on Parshuram Gokhale (Akshay Kumar), a man wrongly convicted by Judge Pradhan (Boman Irani) despite his repeated pleas of innocence. While Parshuram is in prison, his entire family dies by suicide, unable to bear disgrace and hardship.   

When he’s finally released, he’s no longer the man he once was, he has become the “Haiwaan,” a beast consumed entirely by revenge, hunting down everyone connected to his conviction. 

Standing in his way is Shyam (Saif Ali Khan), a visually impaired man who works as the caretaker and unofficial manager of the housing society where Judge Pradhan lives.  

After the judge is murdered, Shyam becomes the target of suspicion and is forced to go on the run, but he’s also the only person who can protect Nandini, the judge’s hidden daughter, from Parshuram’s wrath. Along the way, a twist about Nandini’s identity changes the emotional stakes of the entire film. 

This isn’t a new premise for Hindi cinema, the “wrongly convicted man turned avenger” trope has been used before, but what makes this Haiwaan movie cast and story interesting is the blind-caretaker angle.  

Saif’s character has to rely on sound, memory, and instinct rather than sight, and that adds a layer of tension to the cat-and-mouse chase that a standard action thriller wouldn’t have. 

Star Cast Performances: Who Steals the Show in Haiwaan? 

This is where my Haiwaan review gets genuinely interesting, because the performances are far more consistent than the writing. 

Saif Ali Khan as Shyam is, in my opinion, the film’s biggest strength. He plays the visually impaired character with restraint instead of exaggeration, no theatrical head-tilts or overacting, just quiet, controlled body language that makes the vulnerability feel real. Several scenes, particularly his early interactions in the housing society, land with genuine warmth. 

Akshay Kumar as Parshuram is a mixed bag. He clearly wanted to move away from his usual heroic screen image, and there are flashes where his menace works, a cold stare, a sudden shift in tone.  

But the character needed to feel more psychologically terrifying than it does on screen, and a few critics have pointed out that the writing doesn’t give him enough room to go fully dark. 

Paahal Chaudhary as Nandini is the film’s biggest surprise. For a newer face, she holds her own opposite two seasoned stars, and her arc carries more emotional weight than I expected going in. 

The supporting cast, Boman Irani as the conflicted Judge Pradhan, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Saiyami Kher as the investigating officer, along with Asrani, Sharib Hashmi, Rajpal Yadav, and Rajesh Sharma all do competent work, though a few of them get sidelined once the main Akshay-Saif conflict takes over the second half. 

If you enjoy watching contrasting actor dynamics, this pairing alone is reason enough to check the latest Bollywood news around the film’s promotional run, the chemistry between the two lead stars off-screen has been part of the buzz too. 

Priyadarshan’s Direction: Command Over Chaos 

Priyadarshan has built a career on tonal control, and you can see flashes of that skill here, particularly in how he stages the suspense sequences in the housing society and the chase portions in the film’s back half.

He knows how to hold tension in a scene without over-relying on background score. 

Where the direction falters is pacing. At 2 hours 44 minutes, Haiwaan is a long sit for a crime thriller, and the middle portion drags.  

Several sub-plots involving the supporting society residents feel like padding rather than plot progression. A tighter edit, trimmed to around 2 hours 15 minutes, would have made this a noticeably sharper film. 

Music and Background Score 

Pritam’s music doesn’t dominate the film, this isn’t a soundtrack-driven release, but it serves its purpose in the emotional stretches.  

The real MVP on the audio side is Ronnie Raphael’s background score, which does a lot of heavy lifting in building dread during the Akshay-Saif confrontation scenes. It’s predictable in a few places but effective overall. 

What Works in Haiwaan 

• The Akshay-Saif face-off, hands down the film’s strongest commercial and emotional hook. 

• Saif Ali Khan’s restrained performance as a visually impaired character, avoiding cliché. 

• Paahal Chaudhary’s debut-level performance, which genuinely surprised me. 

• The final 30 minutes, where the film finally commits fully to its darker tone and pays off the setup. 

• Boman Irani’s moral conflict as a judge wrestling with guilt. 

What Doesn’t Work in Haiwaan 

• Overstretched runtime the middle act loses momentum. 

• Akshay Kumar’s villain isn’t menacing enough for large parts of the film, even though the idea behind the character is strong. 

• A predictable twist that seasoned thriller audiences will likely see coming. 

• Underused supporting cast, especially Saiyami Kher’s investigator track, which feels rushed. 

Is Haiwaan Worth Watching in Theatres? 

Here’s the honest answer to the question everyone types into Google: is Haiwaan worth watching in theatres? My take, yes, but with a caveat. If you’re going purely for the Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan reunion and don’t mind a slow middle stretch, the payoff in the final act makes it worthwhile on the big screen.  

If you’re expecting a tightly wound thriller from start to finish, you may want to wait for the digital release and watch it at home, where the pacing issues feel less punishing. 

For genre fans, it comfortably fits within our thriller collection, and if you enjoyed similarly styled revenge dramas, you’ll probably find something familiar here, just don’t expect it to reinvent the format. 

Haiwaan Box Office: Opening Day Numbers 

Early estimates put Haiwaan’s Day 1 collection at approximately ₹1.55 crore net in India, from over 4,500 shows across roughly 650 cities, with a reported opening occupancy of around 7.3%.  

These are early trade estimates and tend to get revised as the day final numbers come in, so treat this as a directional figure rather than the final word.

Given the star power involved, this is a slower start than the film producers would have hoped for, which puts more pressure on positive word-of-mouth over the weekend to drive numbers up.  

Keep an eye on us upcoming movies section for how these compares against other September 2026 releases. 

Haiwaan Movie Cast and Crew: Quick Reference 

If action-driven revenge dramas are more your genre, browse us action movies category for more recommendations while you decide whether to catch Haiwaan this weekend. 

Haiwaan Review: Final Verdict 

My final verdict on this Haiwaan review: 3 out of 5. It’s not the sharpest thriller Priyadarshan has made, and Akshay Kumar’s villain needed more bite, but Saif Ali Khan’s performance, Paahal Chaudhary’s breakout turn, and a genuinely strong final act make it worth a watch, especially for anyone who’s been waiting nearly two decades to see these two actors share the screen again. 

Conclusion 

That wraps up my Haiwaan review, a film carried more by its performances and final act than by a consistently tight screenplay. Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan’s long-awaited reunion delivers enough payoff to justify the watch, even if the journey to get there is a little bumpy. 

 If you catch it this weekend, come back and share whether you agree with this Haiwaan movie review Akshay Kumar Saif Ali Khan fans have been discussing all day, or whether you think it deserves a higher or lower rating. For more honest, spoiler-aware reviews like this one, keep browsing our movie reviews section, new verdicts go up the same day a film releases.

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