'Drishyam' - Movie Review

'Drishyam' - Movie Review

'Drishyam'
U; Suspense/Thriller
Director: Nishikant Kamat
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor
Rating:

Drishyam poster. Pic/Santa Banta

'Drishyam' 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. A fantastic story by Jeethu Joseph was earlier made in two other languages, Malayalam and Tamil.

The story is about a school dropout, Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) who runs a cable video business in a small village in Goa and is quite content in life with wife Nandini (Shriya) and two daughters. Their idyllic life turns topsy turvy when a freak incident threatens to endanger it. It is up to the desperate dad to protect his family from the cops and punishment. But they are pitted against the tough and ruthless Inspector General Meera Deshmukh (Tabu), who is out to find out the truth about the incident, since it involves her son. The game of wits between the cop and the 'illiterate' man forms the crux of the movie.

Even as the camera beautifully captures this sleepy town in Goa (cinematographer Avinash Arun), the happenings slowly and steadily get you in the midst of the crisis that the Salgaonkar family is grappling with.

Ajay's body language and his smouldering screen presence is enough to convince us that he's a man on a mission and nothing can stop him from fiercely protecting his family.

The first half lingers a bit too long, unnecessarily establishing certain facts. Wish Kamath trusted the audience's intelligence a tad more, like his counterpart Jeethu Joseph did in the Malayalam and Tamil versions. And as we know by now, deliberate, well thought of ambiguity adds to the thrill of a good film.

However, the second half keeps you hooked as the story gets you caught up in an emotional whirlpool along with the Salgaonkar family. Tabu's entry lifts the film to another level. She plays the duality of her character, moving from being a hapless, anxious mother to a ruthless cop out to take revenge, with admirable ease.

What works against the film is the loud Ramsay-like horror film background music and mediocre performances by most other actors, except Rajat Kapoor and Prathamesh Parab.

But do watch this film for Ajay and Tabu's performances and of course, that one-in-a-million story. Content, after all, is the key.