An archive of Hindi movie reviews and ratings from 2010 to 2020.
  • Drishyam

    59

    Mixed or average reviews (?)
    Based on 27 critics

    Cast & Crew

    Summary

    Vijay Salgaonkar runs a cable TV network in a remote and hilly village of Goa. He lives a happy life with his wife Nandini and two daughters. A 4th grade dropout & an orphan, Vijay has worked his way towards success with his sheer hard-work & street smartness in order to provide for his family who mean the world to him. A man of few means & needs; Vijay believes life is to be lived simplistically - his wife, while she loves him devoutly, wants Vijay's thrifty & miserly behavior to end and wants the world for her family. If there's one thing that Vijay cannot live without, it is his passion for watching films. Such is his 'filmy' obsession that he doesn't mind staying up all night at his office binging on TV movies! In a bizarre turn of events; a teenage boy goes missing; he is the son of a headstrong & no-nonsense cop; IG Meera Deshmukh and the Salgaonkar family is the prime suspect! Will a humble & middle class man, be able to protect his family from oppression of the powerful? How the family weathers the storm that ensues during the violent investigation forms the rest of the story leading to an unexpected & shocking climax.

    Trailer

Critic reviews and ratings

  • ...is an absolute winner that keeps you hooked completely right till the end.

    79

    Critic rating (?)

  • A suspense drama with a nail-biting finish, Drishyam holds the viewer by the eyeballs till its' engaging climax.

    79

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...a spot-on crime thriller that has some 'heart-in-your-mouth' moments.

    79

    Critic rating (?)

  • What makes this Drishyam (even) more interesting than the original though, is the tweaking – both in the casting and writing – of its women and the central man-woman relationship.

    79

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...reiterates the fact that when you have a gripping story, other things kind of fall in place, even if the film is somewhat at a disadvantage because of a fairly unsteady, under-confident execution.

    69

    Critic rating (?)

  • Stunning, gripping, edge-of-the-seat, shocking, engrossing... use any of these adjectives for this Ajay Devgn version of Drishyam, and you are spot on. There is just one caveat: DON'T compare it with the original in 2013 which had Mohan Lal.

    69

    Critic rating (?)

  • I don't remember the last time my emotions were engaged in a thriller, let alone a pounding heart and racing mind. A psychological thriller that hooks, thrills and keeps you thinking after it is done.

    69

    Critic rating (?)

  • When was the last time you enjoyed a film for its gripping plot, its compelling story? Drishyam, with its refreshingly original screenplay and its many moments of tension, is just that.

    69

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...works just fine so long as it reproduces its original twisty quality, but it nevertheless suffers from miscasting and unnecessary scripting tweaks.

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...the film remains watchable for the story, a few suspenseful moments, and Tabu's electrifying act.

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...is gripping in parts but is anything but an unblemished humdinger.

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...a solid remake, but a film with Tabu as in the Vijay role and Devgn as the cop would have been so much more exciting.

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...isn’t an edge-of-the-seat thriller. In fact, it is one that makes you sit back and think.

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...remains a great thriller which is an immensely enjoyable ride, especially if you have managed to steer clear of the original(s).

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...manages to grab your attention thanks the unwavering screenplay.

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • This film isn't so much a whodunnit as much as it is a why- and how-dunnit. But it takes too much time building a convincing case of it.

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • Not a very subtle film even if reasonably entertaining, Drishyam does ask a few questions of the current criminal justice system.

    59

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...the story grips you. But the director doesn’t do any favours to the film. The filmmaking team make a series of bad decisions.

    49

    Critic rating (?)

  • The film, which stays mostly faithful to the original but has a few inserts, could have been better if it had been tighter. And if Ajay Devgn had someone other than Shriya Saran (the two don’t quite fit) opposite him.

    49

    Critic rating (?)

  • It’s a depressingly ordinary film, and the allegedly stolen plot -- about a crime being covered-up -- is something we’ve seen many, many times before.

    49

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...is in a perpetual loop of rise and fall. Seldom has an Indian film trundled along its runtime with such a cycle of offering promising elements, tripping over those very elements, getting up unscathed and falling again, only to rise yet again, and so on.

    49

    Critic rating (?)

  • Copy it is, but a diminished one for a lot has been lost in translation and one of them is the social connection with the characters, which is the hallmark of the original.

    49

    Critic rating (?)

  • Kamat’s Drishyam is not necessarily a dumbed-down version. It’s a version that lacks the nuances that were aplenty in the writing of the Malayalam version.

    49

    Critic rating (?)

  • It’s the cat ’n mouse games, twist in the tale and the final revelation that are the stuff of collective audience sighs. That too only if you are watching it for the first time.

    49

    Critic rating (?)

  • The trademark, heavy-lidded intensity of Ajay’s Vijay is too casual and throwaway instead of powerful and impassioned.

    49

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...could've been crisper and woven in a few more tricks and surprises. But it is only a lazy remake and a lot is lost in translation.

    39

    Critic rating (?)

  • ...you'll be better off watching the Malayalam original.

    39

    Critic rating (?)

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