Sep 02, 2026 5:30pm IST
Saif Ali Khan Was Not Allowed to Watch Mohanlal’s ‘Oppam,’ Reveals ‘Haiwaan’ Director Priyadarshan (EXCLUSIVE)
Priyadarshan’s “Haiwaan,” an adaptation of his 2016 Malayalam film “Oppam,” releases on September 11. The film has Saif Ali Khan as Shyam, a character Mohanlal played in “Oppam.” The filmmaker says it was important that Khan approach the role without being influenced by Mohanlal’s performance.
Priyadarshan ensured the “Sacred Games” actor did not watch the Malayalam film. He added that Khan brought his own body language, dialogue delivery and mannerisms to the character, making the performance distinct from Mohanlal’s. “Saif has no idea what Mohanlal has done. I did not allow it. Also, everyone has their own body language, dialogue delivery and movements. It cannot be imitated. When I work with Mohanlal, I tell him to move a certain way. I don’t follow the same with Saif. His dialogue delivery, body language and hand and head gestures are completely different,” Priyadarshan says.
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The filmmaker further explains that he wanted Saif to find his own interpretation of the character rather than replicate what had already been done. “Imitation never works in acting. I saw him working on the scenes and discussed how I wanted him to approach the character. He understood my vision and has done a good job,” he adds.
Beyond the performance, Priyadarshan also paid close attention to portraying Shyam’s visual impairment authentically. “You can’t create a world for him because he can’t see anything. Out of his five senses, one sense isn’t present, but the other four become stronger. I interviewed many visually impaired men before writing the script. When I was talking to one person, I asked him how he differentiates between day and night. He told me he does it by understanding the changes in temperature,” he shares.
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Did he draw inspiration from other movies? Priyadarshan replies, “Al Pacino played a visually-impaired character in “Scent of a Woman.” He was driving a Ferrari as well. Filmmaking is make-believe. It is about making the audience believe what you are doing is right. You have to put in logic. Today, people have a lot of exposure to world cinema. So, they’ll ask you thousands of questions. My responsibility is to answer these questions while making the film. I tried my best to do that.”
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