The last time audiences saw Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan together, things were considerably more fun. Haiwaan is not that film.
The teaser for Priyadarshan’s upcoming thriller arrives in 45 seconds and leaves you with more questions than answers — which is exactly the right approach. There are no plot explanations, no exposition, no hand-holding. Just shadows, unsettling sounds, disturbing images and a growing sense that something has gone very wrong, or is about to.
That restraint is the teaser’s smartest quality. It pulls you in by leaving the door open rather than walking you through the house.
Akshay Kumar Looks Completely Different
The biggest talking point from the teaser is what Akshay Kumar is doing with this character — and it’s genuinely surprising.
He appears to be playing someone dangerous in a way that goes beyond the morally ambiguous roles Hindi audiences are used to seeing from him. The expressions are unsettling. The body language is off. And that laugh — the one that closes the teaser — lands somewhere between theatrical and genuinely disturbing.
Every glimpse of Akshay’s character in the teaser carries the suggestion that this is the Haiwaan of the title. He doesn’t need to do much to feel threatening. He’s standing in shadows or watching from a distance and already the atmosphere shifts.
This is a major departure for Akshay, and perhaps even more so for his creative relationship with Priyadarshan. The two have worked together multiple times before, but those collaborations were built on comedy, chaos and memorable ensemble fun. None of that energy is present here. Something else entirely is being attempted.
Saif Ali Khan Plays a Blind Man
Saif Ali Khan’s character offers a completely different kind of intrigue.
He plays a visually challenged man — seen navigating dark corridors with a white walking stick, carefully descending stairs, checking a tactile watch to tell the time. The visual language around his character is deliberate and consistent.
What the teaser doesn’t tell you is how much he knows about the danger surrounding him. That ambiguity is the most interesting thing about the character at this stage. Is he vulnerable? Is he more capable than he appears? The performance is restrained enough that you genuinely can’t tell, which is exactly the right place to be at the teaser stage.
The Teaser Keeps the Story a Mystery
Forty-five seconds. No plot summary. Good.
The teaser opens with a woman humming something melancholic before we see Saif on the phone with a shadow appearing behind him. The shadow, when the camera gets to it, belongs to Akshay’s character. From there the atmosphere thickens: a murder glimpsed briefly, a bloodied hand reaching out, currency notes falling from a height. Each image raises another question without answering the one before it.
The final shot — Akshay’s hand pressed against glass, that laugh, the title appearing — gives the preview the kind of closing punch that makes you want to immediately watch it again.
Dark Visuals Create the Right Mood
Atmosphere is doing most of the heavy lifting in this teaser, and it holds up well.
Shadows, dark corridors, silhouettes, low-lit locations — the visual language is consistent and deliberate. Nothing is fully visible. Nothing is fully explained. The effect is a persistent sense of not quite being able to trust what you’re seeing, which fits a psychological thriller perfectly.
The sound design contributes equally. Rather than building to an action music swell, the teaser leans into an eerie, understated soundscape that creates dread more effectively than anything louder would have.
Haiwaan looks almost nothing like the films most audiences associate with Priyadarshan — and that’s genuinely interesting.
Priyadarshan Moves Into Psychological Thriller Territory
Priyadarshan built his reputation on a very specific kind of film — comedies packed with mistaken identities, physical gags, memorable characters and the kind of chaotic energy that keeps you laughing even when you’ve seen the film three times.
Haiwaan looks like a deliberate step away from all of that. The teaser suggests a psychological thriller interested in dread and suspense, not laughter. If Priyadarshan can sustain that tonal shift across a full film, this could be a genuinely unexpected addition to his filmography.
Haiwaan Is a Remake of Oppam
Haiwaan is the official Hindi remake of Priyadarshan’s own 2016 Malayalam neo-noir thriller Oppam, in which Mohanlal played a blind martial artist caught up in protecting a young girl from a dangerous criminal.
In the Hindi version, Saif Ali Khan steps into Mohanlal’s role as the visually challenged protagonist. Akshay Kumar takes on the role of the psychopath played by Samuthirakani in the original.
Priyadarshan remaking his own film gives him the advantage of understanding the material from the inside. The question is whether the Hindi version can carry the same weight.
Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan Reunite After 18 Years
The reunion factor is real. Akshay and Saif last shared a screen in Tashan in 2008, but their history together goes considerably further back — Yeh Dillagi, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Tu Chor Main Sipahi, Keemat: They Are Back, Aarzoo.
That’s a lot of shared history, and a lot of familiar chemistry. Haiwaan appears to have zero interest in revisiting any of it. The playfulness, the rivalry, the comedy — none of it is present in the teaser. What’s there instead is suspicion and tension between two characters who may be on a collision course.
There’s no Ole Ole energy here. And frankly, that’s the point.
Haiwaan Cast and Crew
The supporting cast includes Boman Irani, Saiyami Kher, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rajpal Yadav, Sharib Hashmi, Rajesh Sharma, Pahal Chaudhary and Manoj Joshi.
Priyadarshan directs and has co-written the screenplay with Abilash Nair and Rohan Shankar. Divakar Mani handles cinematography, Aiyappan Nair M.S. has edited the film, and Pritam composes the music.
The film is produced by Venkat K. Narayana and Shailaja Desai Fenn under KVN Productions and Thespian Films.
Haiwaan Release Date
Haiwaan releases in cinemas on September 11, 2026.
The teaser has done its job well. The biggest question now is whether the full film can hold the same atmosphere across its entire runtime.
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In 45 seconds, the Haiwaan teaser establishes an atmosphere, introduces two characters who immediately generate questions and closes on an image that sticks. That’s a lot to achieve in under a minute.
Akshay Kumar’s sinister turn is the biggest surprise — and the most intriguing reason to watch the full film. Saif Ali Khan’s blind character adds genuine mystery. Priyadarshan’s visual approach suggests a filmmaker willing to move well outside his comfort zone.
There’s no trace of the Khiladi and Anari dynamic that defined an earlier era of their work together. This time, the only thing in the room between these two characters is danger.
If the film can sustain that for its full runtime, September 11 could be a genuinely interesting day at the cinema.