Drishyam 2 - Faithful Remake

Rating: 3.5/5

Ajay Devgn's Drishyam 2 released in theaters today (November 18, 2022). Directed by Abhishek Pathak, it features Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran and Akshaye Khanna in lead roles with Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav and Rajat Kapoor in supporting roles.

A remake of Malayalam film by the same name that released in 2021, Drishyam 2 is a sequel to the 2015 crime thriller that left everyone guessing what really happened on October 2 and 3, a story which all of us now remember by heart after listening to the members of Salgaonkar family some 100 times over during the police investigation. But the story which was assumed ended is not yet at it.

The film starts with Introducing Vijay Salgaonkar who lives in Goa is now an owner of a Theater lives with his wife Nandini (Shriya Saran) and daughters Anju (Ishita Dutta) and Annu (Mrunal Jadhav). Vijay as in the first part hides the truth about the death of young boy, Sam, who happens to be Goa IG Meera Deshmukh's (Tabu) son, never lets anyone in the family to talk about the incident, not even a word.

Though Vijay underneath thinks and pledges to safeguard his family, regardless of what may come, he displays a calm and cool kind of attitude to everyone. But Nandini is still terrified about their past, and she gets feared almost every minute thinking about the past.

While Anju, who is the most affected person in the whole scenario, is under regular medication because of the traumatic impact of the incident.

Their life starts to get into the trouble once again when the new IG in town, Tarun Ahlawat (Akhaye Khanna), reopens the case file and wants to find Sam's body along with all other loose ends that would help him put Vijay behind bars. Does Drishyam 2 solve this puzzle? Will Vijay throw himself under the bus to save his family? Will his wife and daughters follow Vijay's ideas and fool the police officers again?

Screenplay by Aamil Keeyan Khan and Pathak gives Drishyam 2 follows the same pattern of the original Malayalam Version with cutting down some side tracks which makes it 20 mins lesser run-time than the original.

While the first half initially starts with some slow patches and takes its time to get on track. The second half picks up pace and the last 30 minutes makes you clap, whistle, and blows your mind for the impeccable writing to make the most implausible things to look logical and convincing. 

Ajay maintains the realistic touch of his character as in the first part and makes his performance effective. Shriya Saran continues to be that scared wife, and she makes you feel for herself in a scene where she pleads to Vijay to tell her the truth. Ishita as Anju delivers a decent performance. Akshaye Khanna gave an impressive performance. Tabu was apt as the selfish mother, but her role was like a cameo in this sequel. Laxmikant Gaitonde (Kamlesh Sawant) returns and continues to make you hate him. Saurabh Shukla as the new addition in this movie who makes the climax part work with the big reveal.

Drishyam 2 is a faithful remake, and it is definitely a terrific, Thrilling ride for the audience who have loved the first part. Go and watch it in the nearest theaters.