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| Edited By: Aishwarya Vasudevan |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Feb 16, 2021, 05:09 PM IST
Only a few days are left for the much-awaited streaming of Malayalam film Drishyam 2 on Amazon Prime Video. The Jeethu Joseph directorial is a sequel to 2013 film which stars Mohanlal and Meena, with Ansiba Hassan and Esther Anil in the lead roles. Now, the second instalment has been made nearly after eight years. In these many years, Drishyam has been remade in several languages including Drishya (2014) in Kannada, Drushyam (2014) in Telugu, Papanasam (2015) in Tamil and Drishyam (2015) in Hindi.
Now as the film will be dropping soon, we caught up with filmmaker Jeethu for a quick chat. In an Exclusive interaction with DNA, the director spoke at length about the sequel, roping in Murali Gopy as the new addition to the cast. Jeethu who also directed Papanasam revealed if he will make the second part in Tamil too.
Excerpts...
You recently revealed why it took you seven years to make the sequel. What was that one trigger you got about the plot for Drishyam 2? How long did it take to complete the screenplay?
Actually, I started thinking about the sequel from 2015 only. I first thought, there is no possibility of a sequel. But later, I thought in 2015, when people, normal audience started creating stories on their own, I also started thinking about the possibility of the Drishyam 2.
What will be the plot of Drishyam 2? That's the first question, of course, which came to my mind. Anyway, the crime has already taken place, now what's the after-effects of that crime? So definitely the trauma because the family, they are not professional, they have are normal people. So the crime will haunt them forever. Of course, there will be police investigation stories from society. There will be problems within the family because Georgekutty is very confident. He knows where the body is and the rest of the members don't know where he has kept it. So the problem is, whenever there is a police investigation or a moment, they all get scared but Georgekutty is very calm. There is a lot of confusion there are internal issues between husband and wife, these things can happen. Basically, Drishyam 2's main concentration was on the trauma of this family.
Were there people who were against the sequel?
Yes, it started with my family itself! My wife, daughter, brothers and even my friends told me 'don't do it'. When I started writing, I told them 'let me write the first draft'. If it is working, we'll do it otherwise, we'll move on. After writing the first draft, I gave it to them. They read and said, 'Okay, this is a very good film. We don't know about the box office impact, but this is going to be a good film, that's for sure. You can definitely try.' Then I took that decision.
Why an Amazon Prime Video release?
Of course, we want Drishyam 2 to be seen by a larger audience. Now because of this coronavirus, if you release in theatres, it's not going to happen. So, when the producer asked me about the opinion of giving it to Amazon Prime, I said okay, because we are planning to release the film in 200 countries. So in a single day, the entire world can watch the film. That's a good thing, right? For a film like Drishyam 2 because it's a pan-Indian. It's a sequel, so it has to reach all the people, right?
How difficult was it to shoot the film during the pandemic?
It wasn't that difficult as we expected. We planned it for 56 days but we finished it in 46 days, which saved 10 days. Actually, I'm thankful to my entire team, their strong support and cooperation. Without that, I couldn't have done this. We had proper planning for two-three days, we sat together, we discussed different problems of shooting. So we made some arrangements, we made some changes in our working pattern. In the first three or four days, there was some little confusion and the shooting was slightly slow. But after that, we picked up the speed and we shot fast, and we finished it. After the shoot, we all tested and not a single person was tested COVID-19 positive in our unit.
Tell us about casting Murali Gopy in the sequel.
We wanted to cast someone for the character of the police officer and a fresh face. I know, Murali is not a fresh actor but for Drishyam, he was a suitable character. I think he hasn't done much of cop roles. His appearance, his personality, everything matches with my character, so we approached him. He did an amazing job.
Will Drishyam 2 give closure to George Kutty's story?
Like I told you before, after Drishyam everybody asked me the possibilities of another part and I said, 'No'. So I'm not going to comment on it. If I get a good plot, I will definitely go for it, otherwise, I won't.
How has your working relationship evolved with Mohanlal sir from Drishyam to Drishyam 2?
Even if it's the first or second film or 100th film, working with Mohanlal is always the same. He is a very cool, down to earth person. He is a very highly professional actor and a director's actor. Mohanlal is very easy to work with, that's why every director in this country dreaming about working with Mohanlal.
You also directed Papanasam, can one expect a sequel to that too?
It all depends upon the success of Drishyam 2 and the decision should come from Kamal Haasan Sir. I hope he will think about the second part of Papanasam. I'm also waiting for that call.
Recently it was reported that Hindi rights of Drishyam 2 have also been bagged. Due to the unfortunate death of Nishikant Kamat, do you plan on to direct the Hindi sequel too?
Definitely, I wanted to work in Hindi. I wanted to do the second part of Drishyam in Hindi, but I don't know how this is going to be. I'm just waiting for the opportunity, I think maybe it will happen.
Drishyam 2 is set to be streamed on Amazon Prime Video from February 19, 2021.
