"A test of the viewers' morality as the protagonist, Vijay, tries to stave off the fate that his family's crime deserves."
Drishyam, a 2015 mystery-thriller, is a truly exceptional movie. With a star-studded cast including the likes of Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Rajat Kapoor under the brilliant direction of the late Nishant Kamat, Drishyam rocked the box office. Drishyam made waves within the cinephile community all over the world. A runtime of 2h43m may seem excessive for a thriller and yet, the seamless deliberations between different elements of the movie fully justify it.
Drishyam has the character establishment and interactions game locked down perfectly. Gaitonde makes for a great dislikeable antagonist. His constant conflict with Vijay is entertaining and engaging. Their divide is brilliantly established. Vijay's character was used to the fullest effect, by fleshing him out, showing off his intelligence and general awareness. It's especially visible when he's going up against Meera and Mahesh Deshmukh - Sameer's parents. The only weak link in the characterization phase is the fluff where they try to establish Vijay's family.
Drishyam takes up a very interesting set of conflicts and resolutions. The words "If you believe a lie is the reality and make others believe it's true, you can change a lie into a reality" have never been truer than in Drishyam. The movie puts the viewer through multiple tests of their morality via the different character interactions. The thriller is a great watch, even with the family and makes for good post-movie discussions. Drishyam shows off its take on societal interactions in a very neutral way. Drishyam could easily have ended with Vijay walking out of the police station. And yet, the decision for Vijay to give closure to Sameer's parents and fulfill his character's moral role lead to the movie being exceptional.
The thriller is a great watch, even with the family and makes for good post-movie discussions. It's a good movie with solid rewatch value too, though only if the gap is enough to make you remember the plot and outcomes but the individual character actions. It's the perfect Sunday afternoon stimulant. My Rating is 8.3/10. Drishyam is among the best bollywood movies I've ever seen. The movie is available on Hotstar + Disney for free. This was Alliteration Articulation assessing a movie, see you soon!
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