Drishyam 2 is the newest theatrical release from the Hindi belt of the Indian Film Industry. It is a sequel to the 2015 film- Drishyam. Both the films are remakes of the original Malyalam film of the same title which were written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. While the original starred Mohanlal as the protagonist, the Hindi remake has Ajay Devgn. I have never seen the original Drishyam, my first contact with this story was through Nishikant Kamat’s 2015 film. I loved the film when I watched it for the first time and I continue to love it every time I’ve seen it since. It has to be one of the finest thrillers ever produced in India. Not to disregard the original, the remake was possible only because of the Malyalam film. The ending the of the film was so perfect that I never thought there can be continuation to this.
However, I was proved wrong when Jeethu Joseph came out with the sequel to his original film in 2021. The film released on Prime and was very well-received. I chose not to see the film, as I hadn’t seen the original Malayalam version, so I waited patiently for the Hindi remake. Very soon the proceedings for the Hindi remake began. While I was privy to some spoilers for Drishyam, I made sure I walk in with a clean slate for the sequel. After a long wait, I’ve finally seen the film and I liked it however, I was disappointed. Why? You can check that out in our review. However, today let’s compare the sequel to the original film and let’s see which one is better.
Is Drishyam 2 Better Than The Original?
This article is strictly for the audience that has seen both the films. I’m not going to explain or elaborate on the story of the films. This article is simply me trying to explain to you about what I loved about the original and how the sequel while good is certainly disappointing. The biggest problem of the sequel is the script. There are flaws in the story for sure but I’m not addressing that for now, I’m talking about the script. The screenplay of the film takes a lot of time to set up everything which is forgivable as some thrillers are slow paced.
They take time but then the pay off is such as well. So, in conclusion having a long first act is not a fatal flaw of the film. The original film too had a long first act which set up everything. However, the first act ended with Sam’s murder and then the real story began of how Vijay would save his family. This part was the entire second act until a body was found in Vijay’s lawn, which turns out to be of a dog. Do you see the amount of things that happened in the second act, it includes the entire travelling to the satsang, the police investigation, etc.
The second act of the sequel is simply Akshay Khanna visiting the Vijay’s house to him signing his confession, after that the third act starts. There is nothing impactful in the second act of the film. This is also because the first act ends at interval point. There is no desperate struggle from the protagonist to save his family like the original. The original had brilliant plotting with a masterful second act. Also, Akshay Khanna’s inclusion in the sequel makes no sense as he does nothing. He is just another police officer.
He could’ve discovered the body but that too was done by a convenient eye witness. This is another point, many characters are introduced in the sequel who serve no purpose and could’ve been easily merged. The first film had characters where everyone felt necessary, from Nandini’s brother to the bus conductor. Now coming to the last point why the original will always be better. The final twist. While Drishyam had many small and smart twists to keep the audience hooked, the sequel takes the other route where it saves everything for the end.
Drishyam too had a final twist at the end sure, but it was a cherry on the top to the already delicious sundae. The twist made it better but the entire film wasn’t dependent on it. Drishyam 2 had no small twists in the middle except for the neighbors turning out to be police officers. The book twist at the end was okayish but that wasn’t something where I would gasp. It was more like, “Oh, okay.” The twists that follow afterwards is absolutely hilarious and atrocious because it defies the entire tone and setting of the film.
From a grounded thriller it becomes an over the top heist film. One of the major pluses of the original film was the grounded tone picked by Nishikant Kamat and I believe this is the main problem with the sequel more than anything else. The tone doesn’t match, the scale doesn’t match. The sequel is too big of a film for it to be a continuation of the 2015 film. The small scale feeling of the original was something that worked very well for it. Also, the original one had one and just one gut-punching twists at the end.
The sequel has too many twists and revelations at the end. Seriously too many. Drishyam 2 is nowhere close to the brilliance of the original film. It might work for the audiences but there are too many flaws with it for me to look pass. The resolution too feels rushed as Vijay gives the ashes to Meera’s husband which is technically evidence but Meera who was so devoted to imprison Vijay until now finds closure as she releases the ashes in the river. I mean what? She is a mother, she will do anything to catch Vijay how can she let him go?
These were all the glaring flaws of the film. There are many smaller flaws as well as nitpicks I have but I will write about that some other day. So, in conclusion Drishyam is a far superior film and its brilliance was not matched by the sequel. Which was expected only a handful of sequels turn out to be better than the original like The Dark Knight and Godfather Part II. I hope there is no Drishyam 3, let it end here as this point is not very disappointing, a third film might be. It is currently playing in theatres near you.
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