Ahead of Drishyam 2 release on Amazon Prime Video, revisiting Mohanlal’s 2013 blockbuster

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Drishyam 2, releasing on Amazon Prime Video on 19 February, takes place six years after the events of the first film.

In mid-2020, Malayalam actor Mohanlal had announced Drishyam 2: The Resumption, the sequel of his blockbuster 2013 film.

Directed by Jeethu Joseph, the mind-bending thriller focused on a father (played by Mohanlal) who went to great lengths to cover-up the murder committed by his wife and older daughter.

Not only Drishyam was highly successful in 2013 — it was the first Malayalam film to collect Rs. 50 crore — but was also remade into probably more languages than any other Indian film ever was. Besides Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Telugu, it was adapted for films in two foreign languages, Chinese and Sinhalese, reports The Hindu.

Hence, ahead of its sequel release on Amazon Prime Video India on 19 February, here’s a primer on Drishyam.

Drishyam opens with setting an introduction to our protagonist, Georgekutty, an orphan who had dropped out of school after the fourth grade. Though an under-educated, this self-made man who loves his cable business, his family and the movies. He is married to Rani (Meena) and they have two beautiful daughters.

Georgekutty is stingy and does not like to spend money on anything beyond the basic necessities. His only interest in life apart from his family is watching films. He spends most of his time in front of the TV in his small office. Films form an important part of his daily routine, and so in his major life’s decision.

However, the family faces a major crisis when Georgekutty’s older daughter, Anju, gets photographed in the bathroom by a hidden cell phone during a nature camp. The culprit is a teenage boy named Varun Prabhakar, son of police Inspector General Geetha Prabhakar (Asha Sharath). When confronted by Rani, Varun misbehaves and in an attempt to self-defence, the boy is accidentally killed by Rani and her daughter. The duo then hides his body in a compost pit and narrate the entire incident to Georgekutty, who then cleverly devises an escape plan for the family.

To ensure things go smoothly, Georgekutty takes his family out on a trip to Thodupuzha to pray in a church, watch a movie and eat at a restaurant. The movie takes off when Geetha descends to investigate her son’s disappearance.

Ahead of Drishyam 2 release on Amazon Prime Video revisiting Mohanlals 2013 blockbuster
A still from Drishyam (YouTube Screengrab)

Georgekutty, who had prepared his family to face the torturous interrogations, makes sure that his family does not break up in the face of coercive police tactics. When questioned individually, they give the same replies. Georgekutty also presents the bill of the restaurant, the movie tickets and the bus tickets as proof of their alibi. Geetha questions the owners of the establishments they claim they have been to, and their statements prove Georgekutty’s alibi.

However, she is still not convinced and senses a foul play with the pieces of evidence. She calls Georgekutty with his family and asks police officer Sahadevan (Kalabhavan Shajon) to use brute force to beat the truth out of them. Georgekutty’s youngest daughter Anu breaks and reveals the place where she saw the body buried. But upon digging the compost pit, much to their shock, Geetha finds a carcass of a calf, with Georgekutty hiding Varun’s body elsewhere. With no solid proof of murder, Georgekutty and his family is let off the hook. Sahadevan is suspended on the charge of assault and Geetha resigns from her post, presumably out of guilt over Varun’s actions.

Later, Georgekutty is summoned by Geetha and her husband. They admit that they spoiled their son, and thus were (indirectly) responsible for his death. “We have harmed your family, and we apologise,” says Geetha’s husband. But they still want to know what happened to the son. Is he missing? Or is he dead? A remorseful Georgekutty finally confesses that his family accidentally killed Varun because of what Varun tried to do to Anju.

Now in remand, Georgekutty signs a register at the newly constructed local police station, where the new Inspector states that Georgekutty won’t be fooling him and the police and that they will find Varun’s body sooner or later. As Georgekutty leaves, a flashback shows him leaving the incomplete police station with a shovel in hand.

What to expect from the sequel?

In an interview with The Hindu, Joseph shared that Drishyam 2 will place six years after the events of Drishyam. “It is about how the family responds to the life after the crisis,” he says. “The police hadn’t closed the murder investigation. So the film will examine how the family deals with their own personal trauma and reactions from society.”

The trailer of the sequel begins with a glimpse of Georgekutty and his family trying to lead normal lives after the events of the first film. Georgekutty, who has always been a fan of movies, has now dipped his toes in the theatre business, which his wife believes is doomed to fail. However, things take a turn for the worse for Georgekutty when an inspector reopens the investigation of the death of the cop’s son. The townsfolk also suspect some foul play, as some claim the cop’s son was a friend of Georekutty’s daughter.

Cast

Apart from Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba Hassan and Esther Anil, also reprise their roles from the first film.

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