Director Jeethu Joseph reveals why he took seven years to make Drishyam 2 after the prequel

Director Jeethu Joseph said during a press conference on Monday that Drishyam 2 is being released seven years after the first part because he had initially believed that the story in Drishyam was finished and had not had any plans to write a sequel until 2015.

“I started thinking about a sequel only in 2015 because, before that, I felt there was no chance for a second part,” said Jeethu during the virtual press conference that was attended by cast members Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, and Esther.

He further added, “So many people were asking me about the possibility for a sequel, and I said (back then), ‘No, there won’t be a second part. The story is finished.’ However, after two or three years, people started making sequel stories on their own, so automatically, Antony (Drishyam producer Antony Perumbavoor) asked me one day, ‘Why don’t you think? You just try. If it is not working (out), leave it. But you have to try.’ So then, I started thinking seriously about the possibilities.”

However, the director also shared that his family was initially reluctant about the idea of a sequel for a megahit movie since they had apprehensions about the second part not being as good as the first one. Jeethu said, “The moment I said (to my family) that I was going to write this, they said, ‘No, don’t do it. Don’t destroy that name.’”

The usual trend with sequels in the Indian film industry is that they are generally not as much of a hit in the box office as the first part. However, there are numerous exceptions to this.

The director explained that he later told ‘Lal Ettan’ (Mohanlal) and Antony that he had a frame and a storyline, but that he wouldn’t confirm it with them right then. He told them, “Let me write a first draft, then we’ll decide.”

He later showed the draft to his family, who had initially been against the idea. After reading it, they had said, “Let us do it. This is a good film. I think you can do this movie.”

He further disclosed that he had sent it to a number of people for feedback, including Mohanlal, because this was a serious commitment. “You can’t mess with this,” Jeethu asserted. He had received an encouraging response, which was when they started filming.

He also spoke about the thought process involved while framing a storyline. “I thought, what will be the reaction of the society? Because, he (Georgekutty) has been accused of some crime, and later, people are realizing that there is something: There is no smoke without fire. They start gossiping.

“I thought about how this will affect the family… I decided that family trauma should be the core element of Drishyam 2… These characters in the film don’t know how to handle this pressure (from police investigations). They are not professionals who can handle this,” he explained.

Drishyam 2 will be released on Amazon Prime Video on February 19, 2021.