Exclusive! ‘Drishyam 2’ will be a captivating watch: Jeethu Joseph

The 2013 Malayalam movie ‘Drishyam’ was a game-changer for director Jeethu Joseph and the industry. Starring Mohanlal, the family drama-cum-thriller, rewrote the whole box-office equations of Malayalam cinema. The interesting narrative and thriller elements grabbed the attention of the movie buff as well as the critics, making it one of the biggest hits M-Town had ever witnessed.The box-office numbers and response to ‘Drishyam’ attracted the film fraternity from around the world, resulting in the remake of the movie in six different languages. A few days ago, director Jeethu Joseph announced a sequel to the movie. Titled ‘Drishyam 2’, the movie will feature Mohanlal in lead. In an exclusive chat with ETimes, the director spills the beans about the project.
The camera zooming in to get an extreme close up of Georgekutty’s (Mohanlal) eyes was the last shot of ‘Drishyam’. Although Georgekutty has cleverly covered up the crime, to save his family, the audience had a lot of questions to ask. Will the cops find the body? What if Georgekutty gets caught? Will Geetha (Asha Sharath) seek revenge for her son, and so on. When the sequel to the 2013 release has been finally announced, the audience is seeking answers for many such questions. However, the filmmaker puts it this way as he says, “Let them come to the cinemas, without any expectation. I could promise that ‘Drishyam 2’ will be a good cinema. When ‘Drishyam’ reached theatres, everyone watched it, because it was a family entertainer. Although the mystery and crime are still discussed by many, I don’t see it as a thriller cinema. We approached it as a family drama. It’s a tale of two families.”
“We never expected such a great response or box office success. Similarly, let them come without huge expectations. But still, I know that people would expect a lot out of the upcoming. We are concerned about that and definitely have that baggage. The sequel will be an interesting watch,” the director adds.
It has been seven years since ‘Drishyam’ was released and when asked about why it took this long for the director to make a sequel, he clarifies, “When ‘Drishyam’ was released, I never thought of making a sequel to it. When many asked about it, all I said was no. But during the 2015 -16 period, the movie was highly discussed as it was remade in different languages and that’s when I realized that the movie had a scope for a sequel. So I have been developing the story and I felt it was interesting and decided to go.”
Mohanlal, who is reprising Georgekutty, has earlier said that the movie will fetch back the audience to the theatres and the director thinks the same. “I am confident that ‘Drishyam 2’ will be a captivating watch. It will be a good movie,” Jeethu Joseph adds affirming that the movie will be enthralling.
The director further adds that the team is waiting for the government’s announcements to resume shoot, so they can kickstart theirs. “We are waiting for the guidelines from the authorities about when we could start the shoot and will decide the first schedule accordingly,” the filmmaker says.
When asked about the cast, other than Mohanlal, the filmmaker says, “We haven’t decided about the other cast yet. At this point, we can’t finalize the artist. It would be of vain if we do so. I definitely have some names in mind. But we can’t pitch with them until we get permission to film.”
When the sequel was announced, the most anticipating question the movie buffs had was whether the movie will portray the aftermath of the prequel. The filmmaker gives a positive nod to it and adds, “When we say it is a story of two families, the sequel has to be its continuation. Like ‘Kireedom’ and ‘Chenkol’, the upcoming movie will also trace the characters and their life.”
The team is planning to go on floors, once the government issues permission and also film in a controlled environment. Speaking about the safety concerns, the filmmaker says, “Safety is the biggest concern. It is not just limited to the artists, but the entire crew, including the light boys, technicians, and others. Once the government permits, we will follow their guidelines and take precautionary measures. I think the first guideline they would give is reducing the number of people on the set. Second, would be reducing the number of visitors or guests. Masks and sanitizers are inevitable. I guess this will also increase the number of days in the schedule and also production cost. But safety is our priority and hence we will take necessary measures.”