'Drishyam' review: Watch it for Tabu's electrifying act!

Drishyam review: Watch it for Tabu's electrifying act!

Source: Sify

By: Sonia Chopra

Thursday 30 July 2015

Movie Title



Nishikant Kamat

Star Cast

Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran

We meet our central guy Vijay (Ajay Devgn), a self-made man, who lives in Goa with hisfamily. His world centers around his wife and two daughters, and they're a pretty regularfamily, spending days tending to the garden or sharing their day at the dinner table.

Vijay dislikes a corrupt local cop and often picks fights with him, despite the localsadvising him against it.

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Things take a turn when a matter involving the elder daughter comes up. Terms thatyou heard in '80s movies like "ghar ki izzat" are flung around. (You'd think a family todaywould react differently to something like this, but no!)

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Things get out of hand, and super-cop (Tabu) is now on their trail, with a markedruthlessness as this incident has affected her personally.

From then on, Vijay tries to set things right. He thinks ahead and uses all his cunning sohis family is saved.

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The film, a remake of Malayalam film Drishyam released in 2013, means to besuspenseful at all times, but manages only intermittently. There are a few nail-bitingscenes like the one where one character is trying to drown a car and it has to be done,before a passerby spots it. Then there are skillfully executed skirmishes between Tabu'scharacter with Vijay's family.

But there's always this feeling that the suspense could have been far more potent. Afterall, it's a massive plot, and had the opportunity to be a real nail-biter.

But what you get mostly, are the locals vouching for Vijay being a "nek insaan" (goodperson), the women of the house sobbing copiously and continuously, the IG baying forthe blood, and several standoffs between the police and the accused family.

The performances are sketchy. Ajay Devgn is dependably intense and convinces us ofhis family man act. But one finds a certain touch of nuance missing. Shriya Saran ispassable.

Tabu is electrifying as the stern top-cop, and the films gets that much more interestingwhen she's onscreen. It's a treat to watch her flesh out the role of a powerful cop who ispowerless in her attempts at nailing the people, who she thinks are the culprits. Shevalues instinct as much as hard proof, and it's truly a fabulous role, enacted marvelouslyby Tabu.

Another actor who really leaves an impact is Kamlesh Samat, who plays the corrupt copGaitonde.

The dialogue is pedestrian. There are literal translations of English phrases like acharacter saying, "Har kutte ka din aata hai". Or a husband consoling his wife as amajor tragedy is likely to have affected their child with a casual, "Don't worry."

Then there are serious flaws like a character referring to their child in the past tense,without knowing for sure whether he/she is dead or not!

In the tragic turn of events that happens, it can be quite a task to pin down right from thewrong. In the end, the one thing this writer took away from the film is how subjectiveright and wrong can be.

Directed by Nishikant Kamat (Force, Mumbai Meri Jaan), the film remains watchable forthe story, a few suspenseful moments, and Tabu's electrifying act.

Rating: 3 stars