With Jeethu Joseph’s sequel in progress, here’s a flashback to how five different actors tackled the emotional confrontation at the end of the story.
When they announced Drishyam 2, with the same team from the blockbuster original (director Jeethu Joseph, actors Mohanlal and Meena), I wondered where it would take the story of Georgekutty. Because Drishyam is a complete film — as complete as a film can be. The plot clicks shut as firmly as the snap-locks on a VIP suitcase from the 1980s. The wily father saves his guilty-yet-innocent wife and children. The cops are still in the dark. The major evidence — the victim’s body — is someplace it will never be found, even though it’s literally under the noses of the police. What? You’re screaming about the missing spoiler alert? I’m sorry. I just assumed you’ve not been living under a rock and have seen at least one of the many versions of this film. (As of this writing, it’s apparently been made in every Indian language except Andaman-and-Nicobar-ese.)
But then, they said the same thing about The Godfather, which was another complete film — as complete as a film can be. When Francis Ford Coppola announced a continuation saga, people wondered where it would go, and found themselves stunned with one of the greatest sequels of all time. Let’s hope that’s the case, here. They’ve said that Drishyam 2 picks up the narrative in close-to-real time, i.e. seven years later (the first film was released in 2013), and that it’s not so much a thriller as a family drama. Will we see the “rotting” of Georgekutty’s soul the way we saw Michael Corleone’s? (Both of them, after all, were pulled inadvertently into a crime, and then realised there was no turning back.) I’m not exactly comparing the two films, of course. As pure filmmaking, The Godfather is leagues ahead. But as far as pure plot-design goes, Drishyam is world-class, too. (Ask the Chinese. They remade it.)
Read the rest of this article here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/features/malayalam-features/the-best-scene-in-drishyam-as-performed-by-mohanlal-kamal-haasan-ajay-devgn-venkatesh-and-ravichandran-malayalam-tamil-telugu-kannada-bollywood-jeethu-joseph-baradwaj-rangan/
Copyright ©2020 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
madhusudhan194
September 25, 2020
@BR – you mentioned five. But I only see four. Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi and Telegu.
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apala
September 25, 2020
Enjoyed reading…………you know which performance I would go with!! 🙂 (No need for a gun to my head!)
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Ashwin Kumar
September 25, 2020
Fun fact! : Drishyam was heavily inspired by the Korean movie ( Perfect number) which was in turn based on the Japanese novel ( The Devotion of Suspect X). So I reckon the Chinese did not remake Drishyam but based it on the original novel. WhDris aen
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tonks
September 25, 2020
But yes, if you held a gun to my head, I’ll go with Mohanlal
Yessss 💪
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tonks
September 25, 2020
which was in turn based on the Japanese novel ( The Devotion of Suspect X).
I’ve read the book. The only similarity between this novel and Drishyam is the “creating of the spurious alibi” conceit. Otherwise the characters, the crime, the emotional pull of it, the way the alibi was created, the climax everything is different (and in my opinion far, far superior) in the movie.
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Aman Basha
September 25, 2020
@tonks: Thank God, I’d have sobbed if Drishyam was a rip off.
BTW, am really surprised you gave so much thought and words for Devgn, Ravichandran and Venkatesh. I just felt they redid the same thing but then have to give it to you Boss to find something new. Have to rewatch it, but would it have been a problem if you mentioned how hot Tabu looked in a police uniform? Really stood out from the other versions’ policewomen solely for that reason.
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Ashwin Kumar
September 25, 2020
Well, I haven’t read the novel but have watched the movie Perfect Number which is pretty good watch with enough emotional elements. I watched Drishyam after that and though thoroughly enjoyed it, couldn’t help seeing striking similarities between them . The characters and entire setting is beautifully adapted.But I am not sure if I will call the plot as entirely orginal. It’s like how ghajini was so much entertaining and better watch than the Hollywood original
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Ashwin Kumar
September 25, 2020
Here’s the trailer of the 2012 movie that points to plot point similarities to ponder on..
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Rocky
September 26, 2020
Re.- In the Hindi version, Ajay Devgn (as Vijay) chooses the stoic Mohanlal route (perhaps inevitably, for he’s not exactly an “emotional” actor), with just the tiniest touch of Kamal’s sentimentality. (I like how he describes himself as “chauthi fail”, a barely educated man.) But mostly, he’s essentially shrugging and saying, “Look, my family is important to me and I will do anything for them. So I regret the fact that this happened, but… sorry, I guess.” There’s very little overt remorse. He’s like Arjuna on the battlefield, single-minded in his belief that dharma has been upheld.
Ajay was brilliant , have not watched the other versions. Time to revisit Drishyam
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H. Prasanna
September 26, 2020
Regarding Devotion of Suspect X. They did make a more faithful remake, plotwise, in Tamil, Kolaigaran with Vijay Antony.
In Devotion of Suspect X also, the protagonist is challenged to be the emotional and spiritual force that keeps the balance when the crime is solved. While the protagonist in Papanasam was primed to do that, raising a family and business by himself, the lifelong loner at the center of Devotion of Suspect X has to find it in him to protect a family and support them emotionally in a time of crisis. His vulnerabilities are explored subtly throughout, forcing him to deal with his insecurities and overcome his fears. His love is almost invisible, and he must depend on that to solve the crisis. And every character was built that way, giving space for emotional, spiritual vulnerability and growth while trying to get away from or solve an unsolvable crime.
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Alex John
September 26, 2020
That the making and plot of Drishyam is superior than Perfect number(or Suspect X for that matter) is debatable, but the Korean film has something the Indian adaptations are (unsurprisingly) no match for. The guts. A mainstream Indian filmmaker can never even think of making the hero do things the Korean protagonist does to save the love of his life. Of course, Drishyam is an airtight & engaging family drama/thriller, but I feel they could take the film to a totally different level if they added a pinch of that raw intensity to it. To my taste, Drishyam was too tame and innocuous for a film with a ‘how far will they go’ content.
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Aman Basha
September 26, 2020
At the risk of sounding like a absolute gossip queen, but since the article does have Kamal and Mohanlal, I might put this comment up.
I remember talking to a Mallu friend about recommending some good movies and about the two M’s. I had always assumed that among the two, Mammooty was the bigger star simply because he’d rarely do films in Tamil and Telugu, that too of Yatra, Shrutilayalu, Thalapathi, Peranbu while Mohanlal acts in crap like that Surya movie, that Vijay movie and that Jr.NTR movie. Color me gobsmacked when I hear that Mohanlal has a Rajni following to Mammooty’s Kamal, and I was further shocked when I heard of Mohanlal’s romantic image and the fact that he is apparently quite the casanova. The cherry on top was this story of how he apparently cut a cake to celebrate him scoring 2K or something. Do all these gossip play a part in Mohanlal’s image, like it does for Kamal? So Mohanlal is the Jack Nicholson of Malayalam?
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adheeshlp
September 26, 2020
@Aman As much as there is talk about Mohanlal’s private life, why he has the following he has in Kerala , is the slew of hits/critical successes he had from mid 80s to mid 90s , an era in which he could do nothing wrong. Mammootty in this time period went through many ups and downs. Mohanlal just happens to be the guy I grew up watching. There are also people who grew up watching Mammootty they way I grew up with Mohanlal. But by and large , most Malayalis see both of them as great actors and legit stars with their own set of strengths. While Mohanlal is considered the better comedian among both, Mammootty is considered a better fit for doing a historical role.
But if you ask who is the biggest star in Malayalam, I would say there are two. While Mohanlal is the one I grew up with and the one I consider my favourite actor , Mammootty is too hard to dismiss.
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Voldemort
September 26, 2020
I would go with the Kamal performance.
In my view, it was of a village simpleton who had been strong for a really long time for his family, breaking down at the end, when he sees that, these parents, are after all, no different from him.
I however feel the papanasam line could have been avoided. It was a little on the face, merely existing to explain the reason for the title.
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krishikari
September 27, 2020
Great article, bringing out subtleties in the performances I never would have noticed! Since we’re comparing performances, Asha Sharath or Tabu?
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