Wikipedia

Drushyam 2

Drushyam 2 (transl. Visual 2) is a 2021 Indian Telugu-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It is a remake of his 2021 Malayalam film Drishyam 2 and sequel to Drushyam (2014). The film was jointly produced by D. Suresh Babu, Antony Perumbavoor, Rajkumar Sethupathi, and Jacob K. Babu through the companies Suresh Productions, RajKumar Theatres, and Max Movies. It stars Venkatesh, Meena, Nadhiya, Naresh, Kruthika and Esther Anil reprising their roles from first part, with Sampath Raj and Poorna as new additions. The story takes place six years after the events of Drushyam.

Drushyam 2
Official release poster
Directed byJeethu Joseph
Written byJeethu Joseph
Based onDrishyam 2
by Jeethu Joseph
Produced byD. Suresh Babu
Antony Perumbavoor
Rajkumar Sethupathi
StarringVenkatesh
Meena
CinematographySatheesh Kurup
Edited byMarthand K. Venkatesh
Music byAnup Rubens
Production
companies
Distributed byAmazon Prime Video
Release date
  • 25 November 2021 (2021-11-25)
Running time
154 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTelugu

Drushyam 2 was released on Amazon Prime Video on 25 November 2021. It received highly positive reviews from critics and audiences, claiming that the film's sequel is much better and improved than its predecessor. It was dubbed in Hindi as Aankhen 2 in 2023.

Plot

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The plot of the film connects with the predecessor. For more information on the predecessor's plot, see Drushyam.

On the night of 3 August 2014, Janardhan sees Rambabu exiting an under-construction police station (burying Varun's body at the end of Drushyam) as he flees from the authorities after murdering his brother-in-law. He attempts to apologize to his wife and hide at their home but gets arrested.

Six years later, Rambabu, Jyothi, Anju, and Anu are living semi-normally. After selling some land, Rambabu now owns a movie theatre and is producing a film of his own with renowned screenwriter Vinaya Chandra. Anju suffers from PTSD and seizures from her experience with the police. Jealous of Rambabu's wealth, the rest of the village claims Anju led Varun on and gossips about Rambabu and his family. Feeling isolated from the rest of her family, Jyothi forms a sister-like bond with her new neighbor Saritha, a government clerk, who is often abused by her alcoholic husband Sanjay, a real estate broker.

On the anniversary of Varun's death, Prabhakar, Varun's father, begs Rambabu to give him his son's remains to conduct the final rites to console Geetha, but Rambabu refuses, enraging her. Meanwhile, Anu comes home over break and invites her friends for a sleepover despite Jyothi's objections. With Rambabu remaining aloof to her concerns, Jyothi spends more time with Saritha and inadvertently discloses that Anju killed Varun. Unbeknownst to her, Sanjay and Saritha are undercover cops assigned by Geetha's friend IGP N. Gowtham Sahu, who wants to avenge Geetha and the embarrassment the case gave the police, and they had bugged the house. Meanwhile, Janardhan is released from prison and sets out to earn for and restore relations with his estranged wife. After learning about Rambabu's case and a potential reward, he goes to Gowtham to get the money, which Geetha and Prabhakar give him. Janardhan divulges what he saw, leading to the authorities excavating the station floor and discovering a skeleton. Rambabu, seeing this through CCTV cameras he had installed around the station, prepares for the worst.

Gowtham, Geetha, and Prabhakar summon Rambabu's family for more questioning, but they maintain their alibi. However, Geetha plays a recording of Jyothi's confession to Sarita, defeating them. An enraged Geetha probes Anju about the case and triggers her fits. Desperate, Rambabu falsely confesses to Gowtham that he murdered Varun. With the police satisfied, the family is released, but Gowtham plots to trap them all later. The next day, the police formally arrest Rambabu and place him on trial for Varun's murder. Having learned about this, Chandra goes to Gowtham, Geetha, and Prabhakar and reveals Rambabu had written a movie script loosely based on the case and then published it as a novel under Chandra's name, titled Drushyam, to give the story copyright protection. Rambabu pleads not guilty and claims that the police used scenes from Drushyam as the basis of a forced confession, making them realize it was part of his scheme. Furthermore, the DNA tests reveal that the body isn't Varun's, to everyone's shock. Chandra reveals that Rambabu had created a different climax for his film: knowing his initial plan might fail, the hero immediately procures the remains of another young man who died of similar injuries by befriending the undertaker of the cemetery where the other body is buried. He keeps those remains for three years before befriending a security guard at the local morgue by promising him a role in the film. The night after the original body arrives at the morgue, the hero switches them before DNA samples are collected and burns the original body in secret.

Rambabu is released on bail due to lack of evidence and the police are temporarily prohibited from bothering the family. The judge calls Gowtham to his chambers and tells him to stop pursuing the case, disclosing that unsolved cases "are not new to the system". Outside the courthouse, Chandra narrates the end of Rambabu's alternate climax to Geetha and Prabhakar - the hero would discreetly transfer the ashes to his bereaved parents and live with his sins. Simultaneously, Rambabu sends Varun's ashes anonymously to Geetha and Prabhakar with a message requesting they stop hounding his family. As Varun's father conducts the last rite, Gowtham convinces Geetha to let go of her enmity, concluding that they will never win as Rambabu will do anything to protect his family. Gowtham also states that Rambabu's life is punishment - he has to live in fear and always be prepared to evade the justice system. Rambabu, who was watching the proceedings from afar, solemnly leaves.

Cast

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Production

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Following the success of Drishyam 2 in February 2021, director Jeethu Joseph announced its Telugu remake, serving as the sequel to Drushyam (2014) which would be directed by himself.[2] The film was formally launched on 1 March 2021 with a puja ceremony in Hyderabad.[3] The film was jointly produced by D. Suresh Babu under Suresh Productions, Antony Perumbavoor and Jacob K. Babu under Max Movies, and Rajkumar Sethupathi under Rajkumar Theatres.[4][5]

Venkatesh, Meena,[6][7] Nadhiya, Naresh, Kruthika Jayakumar, and Esther Anil were confirmed to reprise their roles from Drushyam.[8] Poorna was cast in an undisclosed role.[9] Sampath Raj played the role of the IPS officer which was portrayed by Murali Gopy in Drishyam 2.[8]

Principal photography of the film commenced on 5 March 2021 in Hyderabad with Venkatesh on the sets.[10] Meena joined the production on 16 March.[11] The final shooting schedule took place in Kerala. Principal photography wrapped in April 2021, after 50 days of shoot.[10] The cinematography was by Satheesh Kurup.[5]

Music

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Anup Rubens composed songs and film score for the film.The music album consists of only one song title "Inka Ennaallu" were penned by Chandrabose and sung by Shreya Ghoshal and released on 22 November 2021 by Suresh Productions Music.

Track list
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Inka Ennaallu"ChandraboseShreya Ghoshal2:54

Release

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In May 2021, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the makers planned a direct OTT release for the film just like the original Malayalam film Drishyam 2.[12] It was finally premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 25 November 2021.[13]

Reception

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Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu praised Jeetu's work and also the actors' work by stating: "With the remake remaining unflinchingly loyal to the original, the onus to make it worthwhile for those who know the story, falls on the shoulders of the actors."[14] Writing for Koimoi, Shubam Kulkarni gave a mixed review by stating that "Don’t take me as a hater of remakes. There are amazing ones out there. But a point to point copy of a movie in an era where people are fast adapting to subtitles makes no sense to me".[15] Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India gave a rating of 3.5 out of 5 and cited as a "worthy sequel" to a "stellar film". She further praised film's direction, acting by the ensemble cast, cinematography, screenplay and the film score.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Nadadhur, Srivathsan (7 July 2021). "Venkatesh's Drushyam 2 to release in August?". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  2. ^ Ajith Kumar, P. K. (20 February 2021). "Jeethu Joseph to remake 'Drishyam 2' in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  3. ^ "'Drushyam 2' launched: Venkatesh and Jeethu Joseph attend the pooja ceremony". The Times of India. 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Drishyam 2 Telugu remake goes on floors with Venkatesh". The Indian Express. 2 March 2021. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b "దృశ్యం 2 సెట్స్‌లో అడుగుపెట్టిన మీనా..2021లోనే రిలీజ్ చేసే ఛాన్స్". Namasthe Telangana (in Telugu). 16 March 2021. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  6. ^ Balachandran, Logesh (7 March 2021). "Rana Daggubati to share screen space with Venkatesh in Drishyam 2 Telugu remake?". India Today. Archived from the original on 15 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Rana Daggubati denies rumours of starring alongside Venkatesh in 'Drushyam 2'". The Times of India. 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Meena, Shamna Kasim and others join Drishyam 2 Telugu remake". Onmanorama. 17 March 2021. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Poorna gets clicked post wrapping up shoot for Drushyam 2 with Venkatesh Daggubati for the day". The Times of India. 15 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Venkatesh wraps up Drushyam 2". Cinema Express. 15 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Meena joins the shoot of Drushyam 2". Sify. 16 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Venkatesh's 'Drushyam 2' to directly release on OTT?". The Times of India. 26 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  13. ^ Roy, Tanushree (12 November 2021). "Venkatesh Daggubati's Drushyam 2 teaser out now. Film to release on November 25". India Today. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  14. ^ Dundoo, Sangeetha Devi (25 November 2021). "'Drushyam 2' movie review: Jeethu Joseph makes this faithful remake worthwhile". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  15. ^ "Drushyam 2 Movie Review: Venkatesh Daggubati Leads Another Remake Gripping Enough Only For The First Timers". Koimoi. 25 November 2021. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Drushyam 2 Review: A worthy sequel to a stellar film". The Times of India. 25 November 2021. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
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