Haiwaan (2026): Bollywood’s Khiladi And Anari’s Shoddy Reunion After Decades You Should Know

The once-bromantic duo of the Khiladi, Akshay Kumar, and Anari, Saif Ali Khan, who rocked Bollywood screens in the 90s, surprised audiences with their latest Hindi theatrical release, “Haiwaan”, translated as “Beast”. This neo-noir crime thriller made its theatrical debut on September 11, 2026, and has been co-written by Rohan Shankar, co-produced by Venkat K. Narayana, and directed by Priyadarshan.

Brace Yourselves As Saif Ali Khan Takes On Akshay Kumar, The “Haiwaan”!

Haiwaan (2026) Synopsis: When Revenge Sees No Relation

Filled with vengeance because of his tormented past, a cold-blooded murderer, Parshuram Gokhale (Akshay Kumar), is set free from prison. As he targets the last one of his victims, a girl child named Nandini, standing in his way is the visually challenged yet sturdy Shyam Rane (Saif Ali Khan), who would go to any extent to protect Nandini. Are Shyam’s instincts and physicality solid enough to stop the vengeful sociopathic Parshuram before it’s too late?

Haiwaan (2026) Official Trailer: The Revenge Of A Beast

The Good:

Haiwaan is an eye-opener against police brutality prevalent in India. It shows how the low-income, weak, and vulnerable people in Indian society are targeted by the police and brutally tortured to forcefully accept crimes they haven’t committed. It also sheds light on the blind judicial system in the country, which can wrongly accuse and punish innocent suspects.

There are some high-intensity fight sequences performed by Saif and Akshay, although this is not an out-and-out action film. The cinematography of Haiwaan has a dark, thrilling essence which creates an overall eerie atmosphere.

Saif Ali Khan as Shyam Rane With Child Actor Pahal Chaudhary as Nandini In The Lovable Track “Mera Hero Hai Woh” From Haiwaan

The Bad:

A supposedly dark revenge-thriller turns out shoddy. Honestly, Haiwaan is not worth watching. I had tremendous expectations from the evergreen duo of Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, who reunited on-screen after 18 years since their last collaboration in action-comedy Tashan (2008). So, I was utterly excited to watch Haiwaan even though I was very well aware that these two are arch-rivals in this film. The pre-release promotions, posters, and trailer had given us lots of hints that Akshay is the antagonist, the titular Haiwaan, and Saif, the protagonist.

But when I watched this film, I was shocked with disappointment. Not only was the story completely predictable sans thrill, but the entire first and second halves of the screenplay were shoddy, gloomy, slow-moving, as well as depressing to watch.

Haiwaan has tried to bring back the retro “tension-filled” essence of the 90s Hindi action-crime dramas with its unique dark visuals, but in that pursuit, it ended up in flimsiness. Akshay had comparatively much less screen time than Saif, and one would probably doze off watching his performance. Rather than appearing as a mysterious and scary villain, he looked more like a confused victim of circumstances. However, his true beastly nature did erupt at a certain point during the climax.

Presenting Saif Ali Khan In The Soulful Track “Rangiyara” From Haiwaan

This is yet another mediocre Bollywood remake of a South Indian crime drama titled Oppam (2016). The powerful casting of Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, and Boman Irani simply fails here. Saif’s visually impaired musician and wrestler character appeared unconvincing, as he has been shown effortlessly indulging in violent hand-to-hand combat, writing, and cycling. The physicality of his blind character was so exaggerated and beyond real that the film itself depicted some on-screen people gossiping in certain scenes that he is not really blind, only pretending to be so.

The rumbustious climax was predictable, as Haiwaan has a similar story concept to Akshay’s 1999 action-crime drama “Jaanwar”. However, in Jaanwar, Akshay had realization and repentance in the climax. But here he ended up as a completely screwed-up beast, which was actually humorous rather than frightening to watch.

The End-Credits Titular Dark Track “Main To Nahi Haiwaan” Featuring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan

Moreover, the character development of the supporting cast was exceptionally poor, as the story happens to divert at some point from its main context by bringing in some suspicious and irrelevant characters from time to time. To add to it, the slow, clumsy, and shoddy narrative has absolutely no twists that could have built suspense. Also, the plain and cringeworthy dialogues further exacerbate the film’s weakness.

Haiwaan happens to be the last film of Govardhan Asrani before his demise, where we can see the late veteran Bollywood actor as a security guard who gets abused by the police. I think he should have been given a better role at his age.

The Verdict: Not Just Disappointing, But Depressing

I must tell you, watching Haiwaan can prove to be a tormenting exercise for your eyes and mind. The film is utterly boring with its unusually slow-paced and baseless screenplay, and frustrating as well. Watching this movie is not only a waste of time, but can be severely injurious to your mental health and may leave you in severe depression.

I feel amused after thinking about the kind of efforts award-winning director Priyadarshan might have put into directing this retro-style crime thriller. After some tiresome work to create a dark and mysterious revenge thriller, is this the output we get? I mean, I grew up watching his Hindi films, and when a star director like him comes out with such a cringe piece of work, it’s sheer dejection indeed.