Drishyam (2015 film)

For the original film made in Malayalam that was released in 2013, see Drishyam.

Drishyam
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNishikant Kamat
Written byUpendra Sidhaye
Story byJeethu Joseph
Based onDrishyam
by Jeethu Joseph
Produced byKumar Mangat Pathak
Abhishek Pathak
Ajit Andhare
StarringAjay Devgn
Tabu
Shriya Saran
CinematographyAvinash Arun
Edited byAarif Sheikh
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byViacom18 Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 31 July 2015 (2015-07-31)
Running time
160 minutes[3]
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹38 crore[4]
Box officeest. ₹147 crore[5][4]

Drishyam (transl. Visual) is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film directed by Nishikant Kamat. A remake of the eponymous 2013 Malayalam film, the film stars Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Shriya Saran. Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav, Rajat Kapoor, Kamlesh Sawant and Rishab Chadha play supporting roles.

The film was released in theatres worldwide on 31 July 2015, and in China in 2022. Upon its release, it was a critical and commercial success. A sequel titled Drishyam 2 was released in 2022.[6]

Plot

[edit]

Vijay Salgaonkar is an orphan who dropped out of school at the fourth grade. He then becomes a businessman in Goa. He is married to Nandini and has two daughters; Anju, his adopted elder daughter and Anu, his youngest daughter. His only interest, apart from his family, is watching films.

During camp, a nude video of Anju gets recorded. The culprit, Sameer ''Sam'' Deshmukh, is the son of the Inspector-general of police Meera Deshmukh. When Sam meets Anju, he tries to blackmail her for sexual favors. The same night, he turns up at her house and when Nandini arrives, she pleads with him to delete the video. Nandini pleads Sam to leave Anju alone; he agrees on the condition that Nandini have sex with him. Anju strikes Sam with a rod, which accidentally kills him. Anju and Nandini bury Sam's dead body in a compost pit, which is seen by Anu.

The next morning, when Vijay comes home, he is informed of the incident by Nandini and he devises a way to save his family from the police. He constructs an elaborate Drishyam (or visual) among all connected witnesses' minds by skillfully lying to them just the right amount. He re-constructs their alibis by taking a trip after the fact to Panaji for a religious sermon (which of course they miss because they go there the day after. However he returns for the same trip a week later and reinforces their earlier visit - with just the dates changed so the witnesses will corroborate their presence on the day of the murder. Then he removes Sam's broken phone and disposes of his car in a lake, which is seen by Sub-inspector Laxmikant Gaitonde, who has a grudge against Vijay.

Meera, realizing that her son has gone missing, starts an investigation. She begins to suspect Vijay and his family and they are called in for questioning. Having predicted that this would happen, Vijay coaches his family on how to change their alibis. When questioned individually, the family stick to their alibis. Meera questions the owners of the establishments that Vijay had met during his trip. Their statements prove Vijay's alibi. Meera deduces that Vijay had gotten acquainted with the owners, and manipulated them into lying.

Meera arrests the family and Gaitonde uses force to beat the truth out of them. Meera learns about the video that Sam made about Anju from Sam's friend Alex. After Gaitonde thrashes Anu, she discloses the truth. Anu reveals that she saw Anju and Nandini bury Sam's body in a compost pit. The police dig up the compost pit, only to find the remains of a calf. Vijay protests to the crowd that Gaitonde had thrashed Anu. Gaitonde attempts to attack Vijay, but is stopped by an angry mob who thrash him.

Following the incident, Gaitonde is suspended and Meera resigns. Meera and her husband, Mahesh summon Vijay where they ask for his forgiveness over Sam's perverted behavior. They also reveal that they are going to live with Meera's brother in London. They ask Vijay to disclose the truth behind their Sam's disappearance, to which he reveals to indirectly killing him. He reveals that he would go to any lengths to protect his family and asks them for forgiveness.

In the present, Vijay is called to sign a register at the police station. While signing the register, the police inspector tells Vijay that the police are not fools and promises to one day find the body. Vijay replies by telling the officer that he respects the police and believes that the police will always be there to help the people. As he walks out of the station, flashbacks are shown of Vijay walking out of an unfinished police station, implying that he buried Sam's body beneath the police station.

Cast

[edit]
Saran, Devgn & Tabu promoting the film in July 2015
  • Ajay Devgn as Vijay Salgaonkar - an orphan and owner of Mirage Cable Network, Nandini's husband and Anju and Anu's father
  • Tabu as IG Meera Deshmukh, IPS - Sam's mother and Mahesh's wife who has the Salgaonkars arrested on suspicion of her son Sam's death
  • Shriya Saran as Nandini Salgaonkar - Vijay's wife and Anju & Anu's mother
  • Ishita Dutta as Anju Salgaonkar - Vijay & Nandini's adopted elder daughter and Anu's elder sister
  • Mrunal Jadhav as Anu Salgaonkar - Vijay & Nandini's younger daughter and Anju's younger sister
  • Kamlesh Sawant as SI Laxmikant Gaitonde
  • Rajat Kapoor as Mahesh Deshmukh - Sam's father and Meera's husband who remains benevolent throughout Meera's investigation against the Salgaonkars
  • Prathamesh Parab as José - Vijay's assistant at Mirage Cable Network
  • Rishab Chadha as Sameer "Sam" Deshmukh - Mahesh & Meera's son, the blackmailing culprit of Anju and Nandini who was killed accidentally
  • Yogesh Soman as Inspector Vinayak Sawant
  • Prasanna Ketkar as Senior Inspector Shrikant Prabhu
  • Vikas Kumar as Alex - Sam's friend and helper to record Anju's MMS
  • Sharad Bhutadiya as Martin Uncle - the owner of Martin's Corner, a restaurant opposite Pondolem Police Station
  • Ramesh Pardeshi as Contractor Rane
  • Tarun Shukla as Swami Chinmayanand
  • Anil Rasar as Peter, Chaiwala at Martin's Corner
  • Aashish Warang as Police Officer in Climax

Production

[edit]

Casting

[edit]

In October 2014, it was announced that Saif Ali Khan would take the lead role and reprise the role played by Mohanlal in the 2013 Malayalam predecessor.[7] There were also reports that Akshay Kumar will take up the lead,[8] but in November 2014, it was announced that Ajay Devgn would star in the Hindi remake of the 2013 film Drishyam,[9] which will be produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures in association with Panorama Studios and directed by Nishikant Kamat. Plans then were to have Devgn reprise the role played by Mohanlal in the 2013 film.[10] Later it was announced that Tabu will be playing the role of Meera Deshmukh a cop and Shriya Saran will play the wife of Ajay Devgn's character.[11]

Filming

[edit]

Principal photography for the film was slated to begin in February 2015. Ajit Andhare, the chief operating officer of Viacom 18 Motion Pictures stated "Drishyam is an iconic film that leaves you spellbound and intrigued long after you have watched it. Its box office record in Malayalam & Telugu speaks for itself."[12] Actor Ajay Devgn had been in Canada to shoot snow scenes for his upcoming film Shivaay, but light snow conditions had him reschedule that film and return to India to instead begin Drishyam.[13] The First 20 Day Shooting schedule of the film began on 13 March 2015 in Goa and ended on 1 April 2015. The second schedule of the film began in 2nd week of April.[14] The first look of the film was unveiled on 29 May 2015.[15]

[edit]

On the announcement of the Hindi remake, film producer Ekta Kapoor sent a legal notice to the Malayalam filmmakers. Ekta Kapoor acquired the movie rights of Japanese author Keigo Higashino's book, The Devotion of Suspect X, and her legal team claimed that Drishyam is a film adaptation of the novel, for which they purchased rights. However, the original Drishyam director and screenwriter Jeethu Joseph, denied that his film is an adaptation or copy of the Japanese novel and film.[16] Commentator Nandini Ramnath noted how the denial of even slight inspiration by the Japanese novel is parallel to the inside movie storyline as "Jeethu Joseph's achievement lies in lifting an intelligent concept and localising it so effectively that the links (to the Japanese novel) appear tenuous unless closely investigated. Drishyam is the perfect crime about a perfect crime, and its director's alibi is almost as airtight as the one Ishigami creates for Yasuko and Misato."[17]

Drishyam was declared tax free in Uttar Pradesh.[18]

Soundtrack

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The music for Drishyam is composed by Vishal Bhardwaj with lyrics written by Gulzar. A song titled "Carbon Copy", which was sung by Ash King, was released on 7 July 2015. The music rights for Drishyam are acquired by Zee Music Company.

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Carbon Copy"Ash King03:34
2."Dum Ghutta Hai"Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Rekha Bhardwaj04:30
3."Kab Kahan Se"KK03:58
4."Kya Pataa"Arijit Singh04:14
Total length:16:16

Release

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Drishyam was released on 31 July 2015 on 2,365 screens in India.[19]

Reception

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Critical reception

[edit]

Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film four out of five stars, describing it as "A suspense drama with a nail-biting finish." Iyer criticized the casting choices for some of the Salgaonkar family, but praised Devgn and Tabu's performances, "Ajay, who is the prey here, shines in his role of the protective father ... Tabu [is] outstanding as his predator."[20] The Indian Express, however, gave the remake two and a half out of five stars and found fault with the chemistry between Devgn and Shriya Saran, who plays his character's wife. Indian Express described Devgan's performance as "stilted" and Tabu's performance as "off-and-on", commenting that she sometimes comes off as stiff.[21]

Rohit Vats of Hindustan Times rated the film three and a half out of five stars, describing it as "Stunning, gripping, edge-of-the-seat, shocking, engrossing". Vats praised the film for being successful as a suspense thriller.[22]

Raja Sen of Rediff gave the film a rating of two and a half out of five stars, noting the pace of the film begins "far too snoozily".[23] Sen described Tabu's character as Inspector General Nair as a "badass superstar", but overall felt "the film is clumsily written, with dialogue that sounds wooden.[23] Contrarily, Bollywood Hungama gave the film four out of five stars and didn't notice the same pacing and script problems as Sen. "There is no single moment in the film suffers a lag ... As for the taut screenplay (Upendra Sidhye), it keeps on playing with your mind all the time. You know what happened but even then you are taken for a ride and start believing in it."[24]

Martin D'Souza of Glamsham gave it four out of five stars and stated "Drishyam is a spot-on crime thriller that has some 'heart-in-your-mouth' moments. It's set up in a made-up village called Pondolim in North Goa. What's satisfying about the entire screenplay is that what Vijay is doing on screen is what you will do for your family. Nothing less; after all, family is all that we have!"[25]

Subhash .K. Jha gave it four and a half out of five stars and stated "Nishikant Kamat's Drishyam is an outright winner. It is a remarkably resonant remake and a unique stand-alone experience."[26]

Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary of Gulf News gave it four and a half out of five stars and stated "There are no loose ends in the plot; every character, every situation is well planned and visualised to perfection. The background score is evocative though a song highlighting the trauma of the characters seemed eminently forgettable."[27]

The Free Press Journal (FPJ Bureau) Said, "The climax is just awesome and worth watching and waiting for. Performance-wise, Ajay is very good, as is Tabu. Shriya and the daughters have also acted brilliantly and did justice to their characters. The film's direction and screenplay are very good, while the music is okay. I would say, the movie is must watch."[28]

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 80% of critics had given the film a positive review based on 15 reviews, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[29]

Box office

[edit]

By the end of its first week, Drishyam had grossed approximately ₹463 million (US$5.5 million).[30] The movie grossed ₹629 million (US$7.5 million) in 13 days at the domestic box office.[31] By the end of its second week, the film had grossed about ₹64.17 crore (US$7.7 million).[30] By the end of its third weekend, the film had grossed about ₹687 million (US$8.2 million). By the end of its fifth week, the film had grossed about ₹757 million (US$9.1 million). [32][33] By the end of its sixth week, the film had grossed about ₹765 million (US$9.2 million).[34] It attained a total gross of ₹91.97 crore (US$11 million) (India)[35] in the Indian box office by the end of its run. Internationally, the film collected ₹155 million (US$1.9 million) in seven weeks[36] and reached a combined worldwide total gross of ₹1.1 billion (US$13 million).[37]

In 2022 film was released in China earning 30k USD on day 1 and total $4.05 million in lifetime run making total worldwide total gross of ₹1.47 billion.[5][38]

Sequel

[edit]
Main article: Drishyam 2 (2022 film)

Following the success of the original Malayalam film Drishyam 2, Panorama Studios acquired the remake rights for the film in May 2021.[39] Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav and Rajat Kapoor, reprise their roles.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Drishyam:1 National Award winners come together". The Times of India. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  2. ^ Bollywood Hungama. "Vishal Bhardwaj – Gulzar come together for Drishyam remake". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  3. ^ "DRISHYAM (12A) – British Board of Film Classification". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Drishyam – Movie – Box Office India". www.boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  5. ^ a b Team, Koimoi com (9 May 2022). "Drishyam At China Box Office: Ajay Devgn's Thriller Fails To Recreate The Magic With Just Average Numbers Coming In". Koimoi. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  6. ^ "Drishyam 2 Movie Review : A Grabbing Sequel With 3 Astonishing Twists, Turns And Drama - Bolly Movie Review Tech". 20 November 2022. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  7. ^ Goswami, Parismita (20 October 2014). "Saif Ali Khan Bags Lead Role in Hindi Remake of Mohanlal Starrer 'Drishyam': Report". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Ajay Devgn or Akshay Kumar – who will replace Mohanlal in Drishyam remake?". Bollywood Life. 23 September 2014. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  9. ^ staff (25 November 2014). "Ajay Devgn to play the lead in Hindi remake of Drishyam". India Today. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  10. ^ V.P, Nicy (25 November 2014). "Ajay Devgn to Reprise Mohanlal's Role in Hindi Remake of 'Drishyam'; Shooting to Begin by February". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  11. ^ staff (27 February 2015). "Shriya in Drishyam Hindi remake". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  12. ^ sttaff (2 February 2015). "Ajay Devgn's 'Drishyam' Remake Will Go on the Floors in February 2015". Koimoi. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  13. ^ Iyer, Meena (2 February 2015). "Ajay pushes Shivaay, makes place for Drishyam remake instead". Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  14. ^ Parkar, Shaheen (23 March 2015). "Ajay Devgn continues shooting for 'Drishyam' remake despite fever". Mid-Day. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran shine in the first look poster of Drishyam". news.biharprabha.com. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
  16. ^ "Drishyam director responds to Ekta Kapoor's legal notice". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  17. ^ Ramnath, Nandini (2 July 2015). "'The Devotion of Suspect X' vs 'Drishyam': The perfect alibi meets the perfect double crime". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019.
  18. ^ "Ajay Devgn's DRISHYAM announced tax free in Uttar Pradesh". Glamsham. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  19. ^ "Box office: 'Drishyam' rakes in Rs 21 crore in its opening weekend". 4 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  20. ^ Meena Iyer. "Drishyam Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  21. ^ Drishyam review: This Ajay Devgn film could have been better if it had been tighter Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. The Indian Express (1 August 2015). Retrieved on 4 January 2016.
  22. ^ Rohit Vats. "High Voltage Thriller". Archived from the original on 31 July 2015.
  23. ^ a b Review: Drishyam is a depressingly ordinary film – Rediff.com Movies Archived 11 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Rediff.com (31 July 2015). Retrieved on 4 January 2016.
  24. ^ Taran Adarsh. "Drishyam Must Watch". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 4 July 2015.
  25. ^ Martin D'Souza. "Drishyam Review". Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  26. ^ Subhash K. Jha. "Drishyam Remarkably Resonant Remake". Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  27. ^ Suchitra Bajpai Chaudhary (30 July 2015). "Drishyam Review and Rating". Archived from the original on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  28. ^ The Free Press Journal. "Drishyam an Edge of The Seat Suspense Thriller". Archived from the original on 17 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  29. ^ "Drishyam (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  30. ^ a b "'Drishyam' First Week Box Office Collection: Ajay-Tabu Starrer Earns Same Amount as Hindi Version of 'Baahubali'". International Business Times. 7 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  31. ^ "Box Office Collection: 'Drishyam' Steady". International Business Times. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 13 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  32. ^ "'Drishyam' Box Office Collection". Indian Express. 18 August 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  33. ^ KoiMoi – Drishyam Makes It To The 75 Crore Mark | 5th Weekend Collections. M.koimoi.com (1 September 2015). Retrieved on 4 January 2016.
  34. ^ Drishyam : 6th Week Box Office Collections Archived 1 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Koimoi.com (11 September 2015). Retrieved on 4 January 2016.
  35. ^ Special Features: Box Office: Worldwide Collections of Drishyam – Box Office, Bollywood Hungama. Bollywoodhungama.com. Retrieved on 4 January 2016.
  36. ^ "'Drishyam' Overseas Box Office Collection". Box Office India. 28 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  37. ^ "Drishyam". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  38. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (16 April 2022). "Drishyam China Box Office: Ajay Devgn starrer collects 30k USD [Rs. 23 lakhs] on Day 1 in China :Bollywood Box Office - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2022.
  39. ^ "Ajay Devgn, Tabu announce Drishyam 2 release date, promise 'yet another thrilling journey'". Indian Express. 21 June 2022. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
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