Drishyam 2 review: This flick is an engrossing thriller

Not often that a sequel hold out the same or even more interest than the first of a series. Abhishek Pathak achieves this task effortlessly. If anything it is the lukewarm response from the cineaste that is a tad disappointing . It is a tragedy of our cultural ethos that good works get cold shoulders. […]

Not often that a sequel hold out the same or even more interest than the first of a series. Abhishek Pathak achieves this task effortlessly.

If anything it is the lukewarm response from the cineaste that is a tad disappointing . It is a tragedy of our cultural ethos that good works get cold shoulders. The audience loves to swallow the spice of the crass. The result is that while the Malayalam original could have raked in the moolah the producers of the Hindi adaptation would have to hope for the weekend to help keep the sales counters a tad busier.

---

Drishyam 2 takes off exactly where the earlier narration stopped. The police miss the place of the hidden corpse as the mastermind decides to bury it right at the site of the new police station. Unfortunately for Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) there is a criminal on the run, David (SidharthBodke) who is an eye witness to the act.

The new police Chief IG Tarun Ahlawat (Akshaye Khanna) decides to revisit the investigation and takes interest in the probe. He gets suspended Inspector Gaitonde (Kamlesh Sawant) and the sober Inspector Vinayak Sawant (Yogesh Soman) as part of his team.

The Salgaonkar family has grown in prosperity. The erstwhile movie rental and cable network office is a thing of the past. He now owns a theatre and is even planning to make a film with the assistance of famous writer Murad Ali (Saurabh Shukla) . Other members of the family Nandini (Shreya Saran) and daughters Anju (Ishita Dutta) and Anu (Mrunal Jadhav) are part of the clueless and traumatized family living under fear. The family has a new neighbour in Jenny (Neha Joshi), a victim of an alcoholic wife beating spouse in Shiv Kulkarni (Nishant Singh).

When the police slowly come knocking at the doors of the Salgonkars, there is the usual tension of the Tom and Jerry challenges. Crisp in the telling, gripping in effect, and terse to a point, the frills are eschewed and the script moves effortlessly towards a climax with its interesting twists and turns.

Will there be another round of hunting and haunting the Salgaonkar, time will tell. In the meanwhile full credit to the team for keeping up the interest and being honest to the original and keeping the viewers engrossed. A thriller of this kind is bound to take a few cinematic liberties. It is the end product that matters and kudos to the team for ensuing that the two hours and ten minutes is well spent.

The likes of Tabu, Raja Kapoor, who are from the earlier part continue but with miniscule roles in this outing. This time round, it is largely an Ajay Devgn and Akshay Khanna film. Sadly, Akshay looks a tad out of touch. In an important scene when he visits the Salgaonkar family, he tries hard, very hard to be menacing and fails. He fails to add the required angularity that would have made the clash worthy of his reputation.

Ajay Devgn on the other hand is as steady as ever. He does not go overboard and keeps the interpretation of the main character well within bounds and also realistic.

This is an engrossing thriller and is worth the while even for those who have seen the version of the film in any other language.