Priyadarshan is bringing something old and something new with his upcoming thriller ‘Haiwaan’. While the film is his eighth collaboration with Akshay Kumar, it also marks his first-ever project with Saif Ali Khan. In a recent interview, the director said that he couldn’t have found better performers for his cat-and-mouse thriller.
Saif Ali Khan’s blind role required no training
Saif Ali Khan plays a blind man in ‘Haiwaan’, a role Priyadarshan admitted that couldn’t have been easy. Speaking to Mid-Day, he revealed that the actor slipped into the part effortlessly without any formal preparation. He said, “No training, nothing,” the director emphasised, adding, “While we were discussing his character, Saif asked me how he should play the role. I told him that the day we start shooting, I’d tell him. On the first day on set when he came to me, I told him to open his eyes and, without blinking, to think that he cannot see. Saif told me that he had never heard such a simple explanation before.”
Priyadarshan calls Saif Ali Khan ‘transparent’ and curious
The director also spoke fondly of Saif Ali Khan’s inquisitive nature on set. He said, “Like my granddaughter, Saif has questions every moment,” adding, “Saif is wonderful to work with because he is so transparent. I’ve handled easy-going actors like Suniel Shetty, Shah Rukh Khan, and Akshay; and the most difficult ones like Govinda, Salman Khan, and Akshaye Khanna, but I never had any problem. Once a director shows his actors that he knows what he is doing, they trust him completely.”
Akshay Kumar turns villain in ‘Haiwaan’
After seven films together, working with Akshay Kumar came naturally to Priyadarshan. But unlike their earlier comedies, ‘Haiwaan’ sees the actor play a ruthless antagonist. “Akshay’s character is not grey; he is a psycho in Haiwaan,” Priyadarshan said. He added, “Akshay and I trust each other so much that he never asked me any questions. He just did what I asked him to do.”With two actors stepping into strikingly different roles, ‘Haiwaan’ looks set to offer a fresh cinematic experience under Priyadarshan’s direction.The film is set to hit theatres on September 11, 2026.
