‘Drishyam’ changed the way world looks at Malayalam cinema: Mohanlal on taking legacy forward

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Mumbai: Superstar Mohanlal on Monday said he is confident that the upcoming sequel of “Drishyam” will replicate the success of the 2013 crime drama, which was a hit across multiple languages and changed the way “world looks at Malayalam cinema”.

The film was remade in Hindi with Ajay Devgn filling in for Mohanlal’s Georgekutty and Tabu playing the Inspector General of Police, originally essayed by Asha Sarath.

It was also the first Indian film to be remade in Chinese (Mandarin) language, Mohanlal said at a virtual press conference of “Drishyam 2”.

“‘Drishyam’ first part was a huge success, not just in Malayalam but also in multiple languages. It was also the first Indian movie to be remade in Chinese. It received critical as well as commercial success and changed the way the world looks at Malayalam cinema,” the superstar said.

“There is definitely a lot of pressure on making the sequel of such a movie but we are very confident that this film will be loved and well received by the audience. We are now ready to take the legacy forward and achieve a new cinematic milestone,” he added.

“Drishyam 2”, whose trailer crossed over nine million in 48 hours of its debut, is all set to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on February 19.

The film is produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas and written and directed by Jeethu Joseph, who also helmed the original.

The film also stars Meena, Siddique, Asha Sharath, Murali Gopy, Ansiba, Esther and Saikumar in pivotal roles.

The story begins from where the first part ended but the stakes are higher this time. The trailer gives fans a glimpse of how Georgekutty and his family are coping after their lives were altered one fateful night.

Georgekutty, a cinema loving cable operator, realises that he will have to step up once again to protect his family. Joseph said initially he did not think about taking the story forward as he felt the first part gave the perfect culmination to the events in the 2013 film, but fans kept asking him for a sequel. Some admirers even wrote their own version of the story, the director added.

He started thinking about returning to the story at the prompting of his producer, who told him to attempt and see if it worked.

“I started thinking about the possibility but it took almost five years to come to this film. The moment I said I am going to write this thing, my family said, ‘Don’t do it. Don’t destroy the name’.

“I showed the first draft to them… and the final draft. They said ‘This is a good film, you can make it’. I sent it to so many people to get the feedback because this is something genius and you can’t mess with the second part, so I took a lot of feedback…” Joseph said.

Vijay Subramaniam, Director and Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India said the streamer was proud to associate with different language movies as they reflect the rich diversity of the country but Malayalam cinema has consistently given “intellectually stimulating” stories — be it “Lucifer”, “Trance”, “C U Soon” and now “Drishyam 2”.

“For all the regional content that we have been programming, whether it is ‘Soorarai Pottru’, ‘Maara’ or ‘C U Soon’ and pretty sure with ‘Drishyam 2 as well, 50 per cent of the audience viewing this content is coming outside of the origin state. “That gives you a picture how popular these stories can become. Through Prime Video, creators are getting an opportunity to create reach where none existed,” Subramaniam said.

Calling “Drishyam 2” an exhilarating piece of work, the senior executive said, “It’s a perfect blend of all the elements”.