# Haiwaan trailer pits Akshay as psychopath against blind Saif Ali Khan 2026-08-25T13:10:03+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets The trailer for Haiwaan, a Hindi remake of Priyadarshan's 2016 Malayalam thriller Oppam, released on Thursday. Akshay Kumar plays a psychopathic killer hunting a blind lift operator, played by Saif Ali Khan. The film marks the actors' first collaboration in 18 years since Tashan. Saif's character uses heightened senses of smell, hearing and touch to track the killer after witnessing a murder. Boman Irani, Saiyami Kher, Shriya Pilgaonkar and Rajpal Yadav feature in supporting roles. The cast also includes a reported special appearance by Mohanlal, who played the blind hero in the original. Directed by Priyadarshan, Haiwaan is produced by KVN Productions and Thespian Films. It is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on September 11, 2026. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The three outlets all report the Haiwaan trailer release, Oppam remake status and September 2026 release date as core facts, making the coverage uniform straight reporting. Times Now gives the most detailed Oppam plot summary, which serves as a recap rather than news. Hindustan Times and Times of India both lead with Akshay Kumar's evil turn, but Hindustan Times includes the actor's own comments about playing a pure villain, adding promotional depth. No outlet questions the film's premise or box office prospects. The key takeaway is the star casting and genre shift, not the plot. Release: September 11. ## Coverage Coverage: 3 sources, 3 neutral - timesnownews.com (neutral report) Leads with Mohanlal original plot over trailer news - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight trailer release report with cast details - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Features actor's own quote on playing pure evil This brief was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources. Last updated 2026-08-26T00:16:03+00:00. Tags: Akshay Kumar, Haiwaan, Mohanlal, Oppam, Priyadarshan, Saif Ali Khan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/haiwaan-trailer-out-akshay-kumar-saif-ali-khan-in-priyadarshan-thriller/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/haiwaan-trailer-out-akshay-kumar-saif-ali-khan-in-priyadarshan-thriller/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/