REVIEW DRISHYAM 2

Producers- Bhushan Kumar and Kumar Mangat

Director- Abhishek Pathak

Star Cast- Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Akshaye Khanna, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav, Rajat Kapoor, Kamlesh Sawant

Genre- Thriller

Platform of Release- Theatres

Gripping & Nail Biting

The sequel to Drishyam, which is adapted from a Malayalam thriller of the same name, begins where the 2015 film had left off—Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) emerging from a police station carrying a shovel. Seven years ago, the almost-perfect crime had a witness, and that's what gives the police impetus to revisit the Sameer Deshmukh missing-case investigation so many years later.

Vijay Salgaonkar and his family comprising his wife and two daughters are still haunted by the fear and trauma of what happened seven years ago. With the police employing new ways and tracks to uncover the case, how long can the truth remain buried? Can Vijay save himself and his family again? The cops begin to question if Vijay actually has committed the crime.

The film gathers up steam when the police investigation led by the newly recruited middle aged balding Inspector General of Police Tarun Ahlawat (Akshaye Khanna), and Sameer’s (who's accidental death in Drishyam formed of the crux of both the films) mother and former IG Meera (Tabu), swing into action.

In the meanwhile, Vijay has moved on and is now a posh theatre owner who dreams of making a film based on a story he has written. His elder daughter Anju (Ishita Dutta) is still reeling from the shock of the traumatic events, while his younger daughter Anu (Mrunal Jadhav) is in her teens.

Jeethu Joseph’s original story is skilfully adapted by Aamil Keeyan Khan and Abhishek Pathak, who deftly weave in multiple threads, leading to a stellar edge of the seat climax packed with numerous twists as well as turns that are as good as the first film.

As far as the performances go, while full credit ought to go to the simple man with a razor-sharp mind- Ajay Devgn who shines as a protective father who loves his family unconditionally, Akshaye Khanna lends much gravitas to the gripping proceedings, in the film. Tabu is, as usual, simply outstanding as Meera, a mother seeking justice for her son. Rajat Kapoor shines as her husband who eagerly wants everything to be settled soon. Kamlesh Sawant reprises his role as Gaitonde, who is still ruthless and is also bent upon solving the mystery. Shriya Saran has grown as an actress over the years. Ishita Dutta is good while Mrunal Jadhav is endearing

What I like about the film is that Devi Sri Prasad has scored unobtrusive background music for the film and the intelligent situational dialogues enhance the impact of the film overall. To sum up, Drishyam 2 is an adaptation that, while faithfully reproducing Jeethu Joseph’s story, gives us a flavour of the cultural setting to which it has been transplanted from Kerala and does things with the new location that mark a refreshing change from the resurgence of prejudice and community stereotyping witnessed in Bollywood in the last decade.