People's Choice

Haivaan Isn’t Really an Akshay Kumar Film — And That’s the Problem

Published

2 months ago

September 11, 2026

Johal

Haivaan Isn’t Really an Akshay Kumar Film — And That’s the Problem

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk

Marketed around its biggest star, Haivaan quietly hands its story to Saif Ali Khan while remaking a 2016 Malayalam thriller almost frame for frame. The result raises a sharper question than whether the film works — it asks who it was actually made for.

Based on Buzz around the movie We have consolidated what has been reported to studio by those who saw the movie and had words flowing as review of the film .

Somewhere between the poster and the projector, Haivaan changes its mind about what kind of film it wants to be.

The marketing sells an Akshay Kumar vehicle. The screen delivers something closer to a Saif Ali Khan character study, wrapped inside a near scene-for-scene remake of the 2016 Malayalam thriller Opam, directed then and now by Priyadarshan. Audiences walking in expecting Kumar to anchor the film may find him present for what amounts to three or four scenes in the first ninety minutes — a role that functions less like a lead performance and more like an extended cameo, deployed mainly to jolt the film awake whenever its pacing threatens to put viewers to sleep.

That’s not a minor marketing quibble. It’s the central tension the film never resolves.

A Remake Without Reinvention

Haivaan is not loosely inspired by Opam. It is, by most accounts from those who’ve seen both, a direct transplant — same structure, same character dynamics, same central mystery involving two blind men, one who lost his sight and one who chose blindness after witnessing something unbearable, bound together by a child both are fighting over for opposite reasons. Priyadarshan directed the original and directs this one, which makes the lack of adaptation harder to explain away as unfamiliarity with the material. Reportedly even dialogue beats and specific plot furniture carry over largely unchanged.

The practical consequence is that anyone who has already seen Opam — available in a Hindi-dubbed version on YouTube — has little reason to buy a ticket. There is no reinterpretation on offer, no new lens, no updated stakes. Just a different cast wearing the same story, stretched from the original’s roughly two-hour runtime to nearly two hours and forty-four minutes.

That extra length is where the film’s other core problem lives. A slow-burn opening built on suspense and psychological tension is a legitimate genre choice — Priyadarshan clearly wants viewers reading faces and second-guessing motives rather than watching fights. But the patience required to get through an unhurried first half, padded further by songs that add little and comic detours that add less, may test even a sympathetic audience. For a thriller, tension is the currency, and tension dissipates when the film seems unsure how much of its runtime it’s allowed to spend building toward very little.

Where The Film Actually Works

Credit where it’s due: the scenes that do land are the ones between the two blind men, staged with deliberately minimal lighting and a score that leans into dread rather than spectacle. It’s old-fashioned suspense filmmaking, and in isolated stretches it works exactly as intended.

Most of that success rests on Saif Ali Khan, playing the role originated by Mohanlal in the original film. Reactions suggest he’s the film’s most consistently praised element — not necessarily because the writing gives him new dimensions, but because he commits to a physically and emotionally demanding part with restraint rather than showmanship. Whether that’s enough to satisfy 2026 audiences the way it satisfied 2016 audiences is a separate question. A twist that felt fresh a decade ago, before remake fatigue and instant access to the source film, may land as predictable rather than clever this time around.

Akshay Kumar’s presence complicates this rather than strengthening it. His character is positioned, at least on paper, as a menacing, near-mythic threat — the kind of role a title like Haivaan implies belongs to him. Revealing his face early, rather than preserving the mystery the original apparently maintained for a majority of its runtime, undercuts that intent before it has a chance to build. What’s left is a recognisable star delivering a handful of scenes with more voice than action, asked to generate fear through presence alone in a script that gives him almost nothing to actually do.

Expectation Versus Delivery

Here’s where audience psychology matters. A film sold on a marquee name creates a specific contract with its audience — that name will carry meaningful weight in the story. When that contract is broken, the disappointment isn’t really about screen time. It’s about feeling misled by the poster.

That’s a marketing failure as much as a creative one, and it’s worth separating the two. Kumar’s reduced role isn’t inherently a flaw — supporting a genuinely strong thriller from the margins can be a legitimate creative choice. The flaw is packaging that choice as something else entirely, then handing audiences a film whose first half tests their patience before the deception is even apparent.

Studio Perspective

The more interesting failure here isn’t really about any single performance. It’s about a director revisiting his own material a decade later and treating that as sufficient justification on its own — without asking whether a story that worked as a modest, character-driven mystery in 2016 needed anything new to justify existing again in 2026, especially with its original Hindi-dubbed version a free click away.

Remaking your own film isn’t inherently a problem. Plenty of filmmakers have returned to earlier ideas with sharper tools and better instincts. What’s harder to defend is doing so with apparently zero creative reinvestment — same locations, same beats, same reveals — while asking a considerably larger budget and considerably bigger stars to carry material that hasn’t been rethought for the audience receiving it now.

That’s arguably the real story underneath Haivaan’s mixed word of mouth and reportedly muted theatrical turnout. It isn’t that the central mystery is badly conceived — Opam evidently wasn’t a masterpiece to begin with, just a solid, modest thriller. It’s that a film built entirely on faithful repetition offers audiences almost nothing they couldn’t get elsewhere, for free, in less time, minus the confusion of wondering why the biggest name on the poster barely shows up in the film.

Whether that’s a failure of nerve, of marketing, or simply of imagination is hard to say definitively. But it leaves behind a question worth sitting with: when a studio remakes a film scene for scene and calls in major stars to sell it, is the audience being offered a new experience — or just a more expensive way to watch something that already exists?

— Studio CarryOnHarry Editorial Desk

More Stories to follow in Horror Genre it needs to be seen if they live upto expectations of audience. A feature coming soon on Sarayapali Ka Wo Ghar

Read more People’s Choice stories on Studio CarryOnHarry. Reporting via Live News Vault.

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Editor's Choice

Ramayana Eyes Hong Kong Screens as Worldwide Numbers Keep Climbing

Published

6 hours ago

November 8, 2026

Johal

Ramayana Eyes Hong Kong Screens as Worldwide Numbers Keep Climbing

Studio CarryOnHarry Entertainment Desk | 8 November 2026

Ranbir Kapoor’s Epic Myth Crosses Borders

Nitesh Tiwari’s mythological blockbuster Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is spreading its wings further east, with an official Hong Kong release confirmed for 12 November 2026. The film will screen in its original Hindi language, with Chinese and English subtitles catering to local audiences — a bold multilingual move that underlines the production’s serious international ambitions.

The announcement arrives on the heels of a stunning worldwide opening weekend, with the Ranbir Kapoor-led epic reportedly crossing ₹384 crore globally within just three days of release. Tracking closely to Bollywood’s top stories this week, the film has already emerged as one of the highest-grossing Hindi openings in recent memory.

Star-Studded Cast Driving Global Appeal

The film features Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram alongside Yash in a reportedly pivotal role, with Sai Pallavi rounding out the leading cast. Director Nitesh Tiwari, best known for Dangal, has translated one of Hinduism’s most beloved epics into a sweeping cinematic spectacle that has clearly resonated well beyond the Indian subcontinent.

Ticket bookings for the Hong Kong screenings are already underway, signalling strong anticipation from the city’s South Asian diaspora as well as local cinephiles drawn in by the scale of the production.

Worldwide Numbers Tell Their Own Story

A Box Office Juggernaut in the Making

By Day 3, global receipts had already surged past ₹384 crore — a figure that puts Ramayana firmly in the conversation for India’s biggest international openers ever. Industry insiders are now eyeing the ₹500 crore worldwide milestone as a realistic near-term target.

Day 2 India collection alone crossed ₹100 crore
Worldwide box office near $40 million (approx.) by end of Day 3
Hong Kong release date confirmed: 12 November 2026
Screening format: Hindi audio with Chinese and English subtitles

International Expansion Strategy

Hong Kong joins a growing list of international markets where the film has opened, reflecting a strategic push to position Bollywood epics as genuinely global theatrical events. For broader entertainment industry coverage on how Indian studios are reshaping their overseas distribution playbooks, the momentum around Ramayana provides a compelling case study.

What This Means for Bollywood’s Global Moment

The Hong Kong release, while one market among many, carries symbolic weight. It signals that Bollywood’s mythological storytelling — when backed by scale, star power, and savvy distribution — can command attention in culturally diverse markets well outside the traditional diaspora belt.

With bookings open and buzz building, all eyes now turn to whether Ramayana: Rise of a Legend can sustain its remarkable momentum through the second weekend and beyond.

– Entertainment Desk, Studio Carry On Harry

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Editor's Choice

How a Post-Credit Cameo Became Bollywood’s Boldest Franchise Bet

Published

11 hours ago

November 8, 2026

Johal

How a Post-Credit Cameo Became Bollywood’s Boldest Franchise Bet

Studio CarryOnHarry Entertainment Desk | 8 November 2026

A Post-Credit Moment That Stopped the Internet

When the credits began rolling on Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, audiences were not quite done. A post-credit scene revealed a sight few had anticipated — veteran Bollywood powerhouse Sunny Deol stepping into the sacred role of Lord Hanuman. The reveal sent shockwaves across cinema halls and social media alike, instantly becoming one of the most talked-about moments of the year.

Deol, born Ajay Singh Deol and long celebrated for his commanding screen presence, expressed heartfelt admiration for the film. He stated that Ramayana: Rise of a Legend is not merely on par with Hollywood productions — in his view, it surpasses them entirely.

The Film That Redefined Bollywood’s Epic Ambitions

The film brings together a remarkable ensemble, with Ranbir Kapoor portraying Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi embodying Sita, and Yash delivering a formidable performance as the demon king Ravana. The narrative weaves through Ravana’s layered backstory while charting the fateful abduction of Sita, drawing audiences deep into one of mythology’s most enduring tales.

The cast also reportedly includes Arun Govil as Dasharatha and Lara Dutta as Kaikeyi, adding further gravitas to an already stellar lineup. For fans tracking Bollywood’s top stories, this production represents a landmark moment in the industry’s global ambitions.

Box Office Signal: A Strong Opening Weekend

Industry projections pointed to a projected 3-day gross of approximately $7.3 million from international markets alone — a figure that underlines just how much appetite exists for Indian mythological epics on a global scale. The premiere on 5 November set the tone for what could become one of the highest-grossing Indian franchises of the decade.

A Sequel Already on the Horizon

The story does not end here. A sequel is already confirmed, with a release window of 2028 pencilled in. Producers are urging audiences to show up and support the first chapter, as its commercial performance will shape the scale and ambition of what follows.

Broader entertainment industry coverage has noted that the film’s production values, visual effects, and mythological authenticity are drawing comparisons to the very best of international fantasy cinema.

What Sunny Deol’s Words Really Mean

A veteran star with decades of credibility lending his voice — and his presence — to the project
The post-credit cameo signals a carefully planned cinematic universe around the Ramayana IP
Deol’s praise carries weight precisely because he has seen Bollywood evolve across four decades

Whether or not every viewer agrees that Ramayana: Rise of a Legend eclipses Hollywood, one thing is certain — Bollywood has rarely swung this big, or this boldly.

– Entertainment Desk, Studio Carry On Harry

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