Priyadarshan has drawn a line after Haiwaan: he no longer plans to make serious cinema with Akshay Kumar. The director told Deccan Chronicle that the audience has now made its preference clear.
His comments follow a tough run for Haiwaan, the crime thriller starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. The film was an official remake of the 2016 Malayalam thriller Oppam.
What the box office showed
Haiwaan opened to Rs 3 crore net on September 11, with Hindi occupancy of about 11 to 12 per cent on day one. It had reached Rs 7.35 crore net by the end of its opening weekend, and by day nine its domestic run had effectively wrapped at Rs 9.92 crore net.
Worldwide, the film closed at Rs 15.05 crore gross — under 12 per cent of the reported Rs 130 crore budget. The report adds that it now sits among Akshay Kumar’s weakest recent box office results, with a comparable domestic figure not seen since Family: Ties of Blood in 2006. For Saif Ali Khan, it is also counted among the lowest openings of his career in a lead or co-lead role.
Priyadarshan’s reading of the audience
Priyadarshan accepted the result directly and said it confirms a pattern rather than a one-off. As he put it, “I don’t think the audience wants to see us in the non-comedic space.” He also pointed to Khatta Meetha, an earlier non-comedy outing with Akshay Kumar, as another film that underperformed.
The comedy record argues for itself
Their lighter films, by contrast, delivered major successes:
- Hera Pheri — one of the pair’s most famous comic partnerships
- Garam Masala and Bhagam Bhag — broad commercial hits
- Bhool Bhulaiyaa — another major commercial success
- De Dana Dan and Bhooth Bangla — later reminders of the pairing’s comic pull
That history makes the path forward simple. If a new Akshay Kumar-Priyadarshan film is announced, fans should expect the lighter register.
Source: The Times of India
