The first installment to the film series, Drishyam, was released on 19 December 2013 met with widespread critical acclaim and was a major box office success. The film was an industry hit and was the highest-grossing Malayalam film at that time.[4]
Jeethu had given no thought to a sequel to the movie until the producer suggested it. Later, he started to write the screenplay to the sequel of the film. The film, Drishyam 2, was shot completely in the Covid-19 pandemic and was released through Amazon Prime Video on 19 February 2021. The sequel was critically acclaimed, claiming it 'One of the best ever sequels in Indian cinema'.[5][6]
Development
Drishyam
In July 2013, it was reported that Jeethu Joseph will be directing a film titled My Family with Mohanlal in the lead.[7] In August 2013, Jeethu clarified that the film was titled Drishyam.[8] A thread similar to that of Drishyam has been with the director since the early 1990s. He was inspired by a conversation he had overheard about the plight of two families involved in a legal battle.[9] Jeethu had penned the story of Drishyam even before Memories (2013).[10] He says, "I started working on the subject some two years back. But I wanted to stick to the planned order and hence postponed the project till I finished Memories".[11] The script was initially planned to be filmed by another director but since that director could not find a producer, Jeethu took back the script and decided to direct it himself.[12] Drishyam contrasts from the director's previous films. He says, "Different films require different treatment. I toiled hard while filming Memories as the film was full of twists and turns and the handling of the subject mattered a lot. But Drishyam is a complete script-oriented film that does not require any special effort. We shot the film sticking completely to the script, and the shooting was completed effortlessly."[13]
Drishyam 2
Jeethu Joseph and Mohanlal were filming for Ram prior to the COVID-19 lockdown in India, however the shooting of the film was stalled as some sequences they want to film in foreign locations, such as London and Cairo. As the crew realised that the filming would take time to continue, Jeethu decided to start the works for Drishyam 2, a sequel to their 2013 film Drishyam which he had plans for some time. As the shooting of the film would only take place in Kerala, Jeethu realised it was most appropriate film to shoot after the lockdown ends.[14] The film was officially announced by Mohanlal on his 60th birthday on 21 May 2020. It was intended to start filming soon after the government allows permission to begin film shootings.[15] Mohanlal said during an interview that he has read the script, and shooting might begin after lockdown.[16]Antony Perumbavoor who produced Drishyam returns as the producer. Jeethu said that it is a direct continuation of the last film and for that he has retained the principal characters along with some new additions in the secondary cast.[17] In the turn of events, Georgekutty and his family now leads an affluent life and Georgekutty has opened a cinema theatre and is also planning to produce a film.[18]
Drishyam 3
Director Jeethu Joseph revealed that Drishyam 3 is in early stages of development.[19]
Cast and crew
Cast
Drishyam
Mohanlal as Georgekutty, a local cable TV operator
Drishyam was remade into several languages. The Indian remake rights of the film were sold for ₹155 million. All the versions were commercially successful.[20][21] The film was remade in Kannada as Drishya (2014), in Telugu as Drushyam (2014), in Tamil as Papanasam (2015) by Joseph himself, in Hindi as Drishyam (2015), in Sinhala as Dharmayuddhaya (2017)[22] and in Mandarin Chinese as Sheep Without a Shepherd (2019) with a different ending.[23]
^Gautaman Bhaskaran of Hindustan Times claims the film's budget as ₹35 million,[1] while IANS claims it to be ₹50 million.[2]Sify claims the budget of the film to be ₹45 million.[3]
