After a very long time, Ajay Devgn delivers a gripping performance as the actor bounces back from comedy to his forte of serious  and profound roles. Drishyam is a thriller that churns out the usual thriller and keeps you glued till the end with all the nail biting and nerve wracking moments. Don’t compare it with the original in 2013 which stars Mohanlal. Drishyam with the tag line ‘visuals can be deceiving’ delivers a different plot, which piques us through curiosity and keeps us on toes towards its end. The suspense thriller holds us glued till the end with all it’s nerve wracking moments. The movie showcases Ajay Devgn in lead, who has bounced back from his usual comedy characters to a potential character in Nishikant Kamat directorial Drishyam. Moreover, one can surely say that Ajay Devgn’s stardom will definitely pace up with industry after Drishyam. Ajay Devgn’s version lacks on certain grounds when compared to the Malyalam starring Mohanlal. Still the duo of director Nishikant Kamat and writer Upendra Sidhaye has delivered a good piece of thriller with exceptional elements. Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) depicts a strong character who is a self-made orphan in the movie with his thirst for saving the family from an unsensefull aftermath. Drishyam then takes off to a much different level when we come to know the brash teenage boy turns out to be the son of top cop Meera Deshmukh(Tabu). Following up with series of investigation about their missing son, the second half just keeps constant butterflies in our stomach. Gaitonde (Kamlesh Sawant) plays a severe role as the Sub-inspector in Drishyam who always have displeasure with Vijay Salgaonkar’s family and wants the disruption of Vijay (Ajay Devgn). You feel for the character in the film, it leaves you astonished and the film will keep you glued to your seats. All in all, Drishyam is spellbinding in parts, but at the end it is one good thriller delivered by Bollywood after a series of nonsensical tales.

Stunning, gripping, edge-of-the-seat, shocking, engrossing... use any of these adjectives for this Ajay Devgn version of Drishyam, and you are spot on. There is just one caveat: Don't compare it with the original in 2013 which had Mohanlal. Director Nishikant Kamat's tale of a common man's dilemma, courage and deceit could suffer in comparison with the original by Jeethu Joseph, it is still one film that will reinstate your faith in the suspense genre. If Kahaani was the last memorable mainstream Hindi suspense thriller you watched, then Drishyam will be a grand new entry to that list. Drishyam initially appears as a regular catch-me-if-you-can kind of a thriller, but then it very strategically does away with the minor suspense plots and attaches strong motives to every primary character. As a result, all the concepts of wrong, right or being wronged culminate at a point where you can't any longer sit in a corner and just watch the proceedings. Drishyam works because it doesn't talk about a hero but a common man. Drishyam works because you feel for every character in the film. Drishyam works because it leaves you stunned. Drishyam works because it keeps you glued to your seat till the last moment. Drishyam works because it's a finely crafted suspense thriller after a really long time. Drishyam works because you thought Indian filmmakers can't make good thrillers. Drishyam works because it shows two different India. Drishyam works because visuals can be deceptive.

Drishyam, a thriller that eschews the standard trappings of the suspense genre, is replete with surprises. Director Nishikant Kamat and writer Upendra Sidhaye (adapted screenplay and dialogue) still manage to throw in a few new elements. But the additional twists, except for the relocation of the story to Goa, have negligible impact on the shape and substance of the film. Director of photography Avinash Arun harnesses the visual potential of the locales to great effect. But Drishyam steers clear of the Goan beaches and bars that Bollywood loves to distraction. Drishyam is gripping in parts but is anything but an unblemished .

Drishyam starts far too snoozily. The narrative intent is clear -- to normalise the world (and Devgn) before shifting into thriller-mode -- but the film is clumsily written, with dialogue that sounds wooden; the first hour of the film sounds like an amateurishly dubbed film instead of one we’re watching natively. There are a few smart flourishes, but the filmmakers linger on the one or two good twists for so long that they render them tedious. (There is even a cheeky reference to Suspect X, I believe, in the throwaway mention of a “retired professor” who lives nearby.) At one point in the film Tabu makes the link about Vijay and the movies, and this is where I rubbed my hands together and thought we were (finally) in for some intriguing traps that subvert or mock cinematic cliché, a truly brilliant cat and mouse game. Alas, nothing comes of it and we never get a battle between equals. Perhaps because she’d have eaten him alive, lug, luggage and all.

Ajay Devgn is a trifle stilted (the effect of those buffed-biceps pumped-up characters he has been playing in such awful tripe as ‘Action Jackson’ wearing off slowly?), but it is good to see him try on a ‘character’ for size after a long gap. The second half is where ‘Drishyam’, and Ajay Devgn– both take time to get into their groove– come into their own, and we get an interesting view of the age-old theme of crime and punishment. Finally, though, the film holds. In the way it unravels for us the street-smartness of a near-illiterate man intent on protecting his family at any cost, and how forgiveness can, sometimes, lead to a kind of acceptance. And in the way it delivers the stinging twist to the tale.

Though the first half (that could do with a 10-minute trim) feels sluggish, the pace kicks in when Tabu, the hard-nosed cop enters. Since all evidence from the time her son goes missing, points to the Salgaonkars, she bays for their blood, like a wounded lioness. Interestingly enough, the unassumingly `innocent' Vijay matches her with his quick wit and sharp moves. A suspense drama with a nail-biting finish, Drishyam holds the viewer by the eyeballs till its' engaging climax. Ajay, who is the prey here, shines in his role of the protective father. While his family definitely needed to be cast in a more discerning fashion, half a star in this review is reserved for Tabu, who is outstanding as his predator.

The best thing about Nishikant Kamat’s ‘Drishyam’ is that he doesn’t try to tamper with an almost flawless plot. He makes no attempt to insert perfunctory elements into the narrative just to stake a claim at adding a twist to the tale. And yet, he makes the film immensely watchable. But the hero of this tale is Tabu – Inspector General Meera Deshmukh. Right from her entry where you see her silhouette emerges from the darkness in the interrogation room where she is ruthless with her captives.  It’s these elements and very compelling storytelling that make ‘Drishyam’ a must watch. I had watched the Malayalam version and though I knew the every twist in the tale, I found myself as intrigued as the rest of the audience.