Drishyam: A taut thriller

The Malayalam original, Drishyam starring Mohanlal, was a super-duper hit. Its Tamil version, Papanasam with Kamal Haasan, is also doing roaring business. So there are obviously huge expectations from Ajay Devgn, who stars in its Bollywood version.
The actor has tried to downplay audience expectations saying he doesn't expect the film to enter the Rs150 crore club. But what really would matter to film-lovers is how he fits into the big shoes of Mohanlal and Kamal Haasan, two acting legends.
What worked for both Lal and Kamal in Malayalam and Tamil, respectively, owes a lot to how the superstars have been willing to play underdogs. After all, Rajinikanth was reported to have rejected the offer to do the Tamil version simply because he felt his fans would not take kindly to him being kicked by an ordinary constable.
Despite his star status, such 'box office confusion' does not fall on Ajay. He has been the Singham and all, but in Bollywood, he fares far above his peers in terms of his choice of roles and movies. There is no great wonder in Ajay doing a role that does not call for a great macho act.
The surprise would have been more pronounced if the Hindi version had Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan, who almost always stick to formula.
So in its Bollywood version, Drishyam comes across not as the vehicle for its hero to 'play the ordinary man.' It is just an Ajay Devgn movie, where he plays it cool. And he does that in his trademark style, downplaying his anguish and anger, as the father who tries to protect his family for a crime that was committed inadvertently.
Drishyam's major flaw, in its Hindi version, is its lack of honesty to its setting. Unlike the 'very ordinary' milieu convincingly brought across in its Malayalam and Tamil versions, the Hindi version fails to set the tone in the first half hour when Ajay tries in vain to come across as 'ordinary.' He doesn't fit in there, and the logic of Vijay going home late or other scenarios that will eventually become important to the narrative looks forced and even contrived.
It is when the film gets into investigative mode that Drishyam finds it true bearings. From then on, the film is a taut thrilling journey (even if you know the suspense already) because everything happens at a quick pace.
Director Nishikant Kamat has taken off some of the flab from the original to make things racier but he lacks a few surprise factors that the Malayalam version had.
While Kamlesh Sawant is brilliant as sub-inspector Gaiconde, who has a history of enmity with Vijay, he doesn't really make the same impression as Kalabhavan Shajon (who was otherwise being typecast as a comedian) in the Malayalam version.
The same is the case with the role of Tabu as IG Meera who has to bear the pangs of a missing son and the anguish of a conniving family that tries to cover up their involvement. Unlike Asha Sharath in its Malayalam or Tamil versions, Tabu doesn't get to the next level because we know she will be good. And good, she is!
Ultimately, Drishyam has to be watched without the expectations or comparisons with its south Indian language versions.
The thriller mode of script by Jeethu Joseph is intact. It is just that the surprises that the film springs on audiences lose their essence in the Bollywood version.