Drishyam 2 (2022 film)

Drishyam 2
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by	Abhishek Pathak
Screenplay by	Aamil Keeyan Khan Abhishek Pathak
Story by	Jeethu Joseph
Based on	Drishyam 2 (2021) by Jeethu Joseph
Produced by	Bhushan Kumar Krishan Kumar Kumar Mangat Pathak Abhishek Pathak
Starring	Ajay Devgn Tabu Akshaye Khanna Shriya Saran Ishita Dutta
Cinematography	Sudhir K. Chaudhary
Edited by	Sandeep Francis
Music by	Devi Sri Prasad
Production companies	Panorama Studios Viacom18 Studios T-Series Films
Distributed by	Panorama Studios Yash Raj Films
Release date	18 November 2022 (2022-11-18)
Running time	140 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹50 crore[2][3]
Box office	est. ₹142.13 crore[4] [5]

Drishyam (transl. Visual 2) is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film based on the 2021 Malayalam film of the same name, also serving as a sequel to the 2015 film Drishyam, which in turn was adapted from the eponymous 2013 Malayalam film. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Akshaye Khanna, Shriya Saran and Ishita Dutta.^[6][7] It also features Mrunal Jadhav, Rajat Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla and Kamlesh Sawant in supporting roles.

Soon after the release of the original film in February 2021, the remake came into development and was finalised within the same year. All actors from the predecessor were retained, with Khanna and Shukla as new additions. Principal photography for the film commenced in February 2022 and ended in June 2022. It was primarily shot in Goa with filming also taking place in Mumbai and Hyderabad. The film's soundtrack is composed by Devi Sri Prasad.

Drishyam was released theatrically worldwide on 10 November 2012.^[8][9] It opened with positive reviews with praise for the cast performances, writing, direction, cinematography, and editing. The film set box office records for a thriller film, collecting over ₹100 crore (US$13 million) worldwide in just four days. As of 22 November 2022, it has grossed over ₹178.86 crore (US$22 million) worldwide to become the 8th highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022.

Plot

On the night of 3 October 2014, a man named David Braganza is on the run from the authorities for murder. Hiding behind an unfinished police station, he sees Vijay emerging from it. Afterwards, he attempts to apologize to his wife, but ends up being arrested by the police.

Seven years later

Vijay, Nandini, Anju, and Anu are now leading a more affluent life. Vijay is the owner of a cable company and a prosperous movie theatre and yearns to produce his own film despite Nandini's objections. He is in frequent contact with Murad Ali , a prominent screenwriter, to prepare the screenplay for his film. Anju, on the other hand, suffers from epilepsy and PTSD, a result of her fears of being arrested for her role in Sam's murder. Jealous of the family's rise in wealth, a number of locals have resorted to spreading rumors about Anju having "venereal connections" with Sam, much to Nandini's distress. Nandini's only source of solace is her friendly neighbor Jenny, who is often abused by her alcoholic husband, Shiv.

The Goa Police has been humiliated in their inability to decipher the truth behind Sam's case. On the death anniversary of Sam's death, Vijay has an encounter with Sam's father Mahesh, who vainly begs the former to disclose the location of his son's remains. With Vijay remaining aloof to her concerns, Nandini spends more time with Jenny, and on one occasion, inadvertently blurts on the truth about her family's complicity in Sam's murder. Unbeknownst to her, Jenny and Shiv are actually married undercover cops, assigned by IG Tarun Ahlawat, who is a close friend and colleague of Meera.

At the same time, David is released from prison. After struggling to make amends with his now-estranged family, he seeks to find employment. While coming to know that Vijay’s case is still ongoing, he recollects Vijay's presence at the police station which was under construction. Realizing that Vijay was indeed complicit in the murder, he tips IG Tarun – who later summons Meera and Mahesh. After the trio bribes him with a sum of Rs. 25,00,000, David reveals Vijay's presence at the then-unfinished police station on the night of October 3. Armed with David's revelations, the authorities raid the police station, eventually unearthing a human skeleton. Concurrently, Vijay, having noticed the events through his CCTV cameras (which he had set up around the police station), seemingly gives up. Armed with the discovery of the human remains, Tarun, Meera, and Mahesh summons Vijay's family for an informal interrogation through court. Vijay, Nandini, Anu and Anju manage to maintain their alibi. However, Meera reveals a voice-recording of Nandini's earlier confession to Jenny; the police had bugged the family residence earlier. Having exposed the family, Meera turns to question Anju, resulting in the latter having another epileptic fit. Distraught, Vijay falsely confesses that he was the culprit in Sam's murder. With the police satisfied, the family is released and Vijay ends up being arrested, although Meera isn't satisfied as she demands that Vijay's family be punished as well.

Later, Vijay is placed on trial for Sam's murder. Concurrently, Murad, having learned about Vijay's arrest, pays a visit to Tarun, Meera, and Mahesh. He reveals that during his business collisions with Vijay, the latter had fabricated a script for a future crime-thriller, loosely based on Sam's murder. He further reveals that Vijay had published a novel, titled Drishyam, based on the film script (although it was published under Murad's name, for copyright protection). The quartet is then informed that Vijay had officially pleaded not guilty, with his legal defense claiming that he had been framed by the authorities, which had "misused" Drishyam's plot as a means to incriminate him. Realizing that Vijay's earlier confession matches with Drishyam's plot, Tarun deduces that Vijay had created the novel and the confession, as a part of a scheme to escape legal punishment. Even more surprising, the DNA tests conducted on the skeleton revealed that it doesn't match Sam's DNA. Murad divulges that Vijay had fabricated an alternate climax for his film – in which the hero (Vijay), in his bid to evade legal punishment, would procure the remains of another person of same age and sex, who had died owing to similar injuries like that of the villain by befriending the gravedigger of the cemetery where that said body had been interred. The hero would keep the skeletal remains which he got from the cemetery with him for nearly three years, and befriend a security guard at the district medical college morgue under the pretext of offering him a chance in the film industry. On the night the remains excavated from the police station arrive at the morgue, after plying the security guard with drinks, the hero would switch the body in the morgue, just before the day the DNA analysis is to be performed.

Vijay is released on bail due to lack of evidence and the police are temporarily prohibited from bothering the family. The Judge calls IG Tarun to his chambers and tells him that both Vijay's and Meera's families truly deserve justice but the legal system is unable to provide it to them. The Judge also orders Tarun to end all investigations against Vijay and his family, as unsolved cases are not new to the system. Outside the courthouse, Murad discloses to Meera and Mahesh that Vijay's alternate climax had a tail end as well: the hero would transfer the villain's ashes to his bereaved parents. Simultaneously, Vijay has Sam's cremated skeletal remains anonymously handed over to Meera and Mahesh.

As Mahesh immerses Sam's ashes into the river, Mahesh convinces Meera to let go of her enmity with Vijay as they got the closure they needed and they thought they were keeping an eye on him but it was Vijay who was observing their move all the time. Meanwhile, Vijay, who was watching them from afar, leaves solemnly.

Cast

• Ajay Devgn as Vijay Salgaonkar – Owner of Mirage Cable Networks, Movie theatre owner and aspiring film producer; Nandini's husband; Anju and Anu's father
• Tabu as Meera Deshmukh – Former IG; Tarun's colleague; Mahesh's wife; Sam's mother
• Akshaye Khanna as IG Tarun Ahlawat – Meera's colleague
• Shriya Saran as Nandini Salgaonkar – Vijay's wife; Anju and Anu's mother
• Ishita Dutta as Anju Salgaonkar – Vijay and Nandini's elder daughter; Sam's murderer
• Mrunal Jadhav as Anu Salgaonkar – Vijay and Nandini's younger daughter
• Rajat Kapoor as Mahesh Deshmukh – Meera's husband; Sam's father
• Saurabh Shukla as Murad Ali – A Screenwriter
• Neha Joshi as Jenny Thomas – Shiv's wife; an undercover cop
• Kamlesh Sawant as Laxmikant Gaitonde – Former Sub-inspector
• Yogesh Soman as Inspector Vinayak Sawant
• Samvedna Suwalka as Advocate Gayatri Mohan – Vijay's lawyer
• Prathamesh Parab as Jose – Vijay's cable boy
• Siddharth Bodke as David Braganza – an ex-convict sentenced for homicide
• Nishant Singh as Shiv – Jenny's husband; an undercover cop
• Ashmita Jaggi as Mary Braganza – David's wife
• Sameer Deshpande as Advocate Siraj Ahmed
• Sharad Butadiya as Martin – Owner of the hotel outside Pondolem Police Station
• Rishab Chadha as Sameer Deshmukh; Meera and Mahesh son

Production

The sequel to Drishyam was announced after the success of Drishyam 2 (2021), the sequel to the original 2013 Malayalam film Drishyam (2013), which released in February 2021.^[10][11] It was decided that Abhishek Pathak will direct the film.^[12] The film is produced by Panorama Studios and distributed by Yash Raj Films.

Principal photography of the remake sequel commenced on 17 February 2022 in Mumbai and was extensively shot in Goa with Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran. Tabu joined the sets on 26 April, and later on, Akshaye Khanna joined on 30 April.^[13] The film was wrapped up on 21 June 2022 in Hyderabad.^[14]

Soundtrack

The film's music is composed by Devi Sri Prasad and lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.^[15] The first single, "Saath Hum Rahein," was released on 1 November 2022.^[16]

Reception

Box office

Drishyam 2 earned ₹15.38 crore at the domestic box office on it's opening day. On the second day the film collected ₹21.59 crore, while on the third day it collected ₹27.17 crore taking the domestic weekend collection to ₹64.14 crore.^[17]

As of 23 November 2022^[update] the film grossed ₹96.04 crore (US$12 million) net in india. India overall collection grossed is 114.33 crore and total worldwide collection is 131.86 crore.^[17]

Critical response

Drishyam 2 received positive reviews from critics.^[18] Bollywood Hungama rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and termed the film a "paisavasool experience" and also praised the performances & applause-worthy climax.^[19] Archika Khurana of The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Drishyam 2 dishes out plenty of twists and turns to keep you hooked throughout, just like its predecessor. And the story of the Salgaokars will continue to remain in public memory".^[20] Anna M.M. Vetticad of Firstpost rated the film 3.25 out of 5 stars. Offering a detailed comparison between the original Malayalam Drishyam 2 starring Mohanlal and this Hindi remake, she wrote: "This 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."^[21] Rohit Bhatnagar of The Free Press Journal rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Drishyam 2 ticks almost every box on the checklist of a Bollywood film lover and makes it a great watch for massy cinephiles".^[22] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Everything hinges on the performances and the entire cast has chipped in with their best efforts. Tabu looks the very picture of grief and angst. Akshaye Khanna is the new player in the field and his quirks and punch dialogue make you smile. The film rests squarely on Ajay Devgn’s able shoulders".^[23] Shalini Langer of The Indian Express rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote: "The Ajay Devgn-Akshaye Khanna-Tabu starrer very deftly picks up from where the two main protagonists, both fierce parents, left off in Drishyam. Its execution is not as smooth as the last time though".^[24] Sonil Dedhia of News 18 rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Drishyam 2 doesn’t feel nearly as tense or urgent as it ought to, and its plot simply isn’t as deliciously complex as it could’ve been. As a result, it’s a watchable film, but not an unforgettable one".^[25] Anindita Mukherjee of India Today rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Ajay Devgn's Drishyam 2 has plenty of nail-biting moments but it will somewhere leave you missing 2015 film, Drishyam".^[26]

References

External links

• Drishyam 2 at IMDb
• Drishyam 2 at Bollywood Hungama