Why ‘Drishyam 2’ may work despite Ajay Devgn’s recent failures and remakes facing public rejection

Nishikant Kamat’s 2015 crime thriller Drishyam was a smash hit. The Hindi remake of the Malayalam film of the same name, written and directed by Jeethu Joseph, drew audiences to the theatres because of its gripping screenplay and fine performances by its star cast led by Ajay Devgn.

Starring Devgn as Vijay, the head of the Salgaonkar family consisting of him, his wife Nandini (Shriya Saran) and their two daughters Anju and Anu (Ishita Dutta and Mrunal Jadhav, respectively), the film deals with the life-changing consequences of an accidental murder.

The peaceful life of Vijay Salgaonkar (Devgn), a small-town cinephile who runs a cable TV service inside a dimly lit room, gets shattered after his elder daughter kills the pampered son of the Inspector General of Goa, Meera Deshmukh (Tabu). The boy had started blackmailing her after making a video clip which showed her having a bath during a nature camp away from home. The daughter and her mother bury the corpse in the garden of their bungalow.

The police start the investigation after the boy goes missing. Clues lead to the family and the police, among them a corrupt sub-inspector who detests Vijay, interrogates the family without much respect for the law. Each person is beaten up, including the small younger child.

Where has the son disappeared? Will the family speak the truth? Will a lady and her husband get the answer as parents after the former, the high-ranking police official, has resigned from her post?

Seven years later

Vijay makes a cryptic confession in front of the sad and anxious parents of the missing boy in Drishyam’s climax. The last few moments suggest the possibility of a sequel.

The Malayalam sequel, Drishyam 2, also written and directed by Joseph, was released in 2021. The Hindi version of the same name, in which the same star cast will reprise their roles, will hit the marquee on 18 November. The sequel also has Akshaye Khanna as a cop, a significant character in the story.

New director factor

How the director does his job is of utmost importance, even if the remake is a frame-to-frame copy of the original. Kamat, who had helmed Drishyam’s Hindi version brilliantly, passed away in 2020. Whether or not Abhishek Pathak, the director of Drishyam 2, has been able to create the appropriate atmosphere and extract equally good performances from his actors in the sequel remains to be seen.

A remake in the times of rejection

What will happen to the Salgaonkar family? Can the police find concrete proof of the crime? Can Vijay, the astonishingly calm and shrewd father, protect himself and his family from facing the consequences of an act of crime? Those who haven’t seen the Malayalam film in which the legendary Mohanlal plays Georgekutty, Vijay’s original Malayalam version, can find all these answers on the Internet.

While Hindi film remakes continue to get made, viewers have been rejecting them consistently. Drishyam 2, in other words, is a release in the post-pandemic era in which the Hindi filmmaker needs to address a far more selective viewer who is particularly critical of remakes.

If Pushkar-Gayathri’s Vikram Vedha failed despite its mass-friendly qualities and the larger-than-life presence of Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan in author-backed roles, can Drishyam 2 score those winning runs at the box office? The first weekend after release will answer that all-important question.

Ajay Devgn’s recent failures

Ajay Devgn has made much-appreciated special appearances in two recent blockbusters, SS Rajamouli’s RRR and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Gangubai Kathiawadi. However, his last two theatrical releases in which he has played the central role have under-performed at the box office. They are the self-directed Runway 34 and Indra Kumar’s Thank God.

Although the story of Drishyam 2 progresses because of the motives and actions of more than one character, the composed persona of the father, who is a fourth-grade dropout but not unintelligent, has an overall appeal unmatched by anybody else. Whether or not Devgn’s performance in this role is appreciated again will be a significant reason for acceptance or rejection.

The plus point

Drishyam was a blockbuster. Bookings of around 80,000 tickets already in PVR, INOX and Cinepolis, three national chains, suggest that many theatres screening the sequel will have good occupancy on the first Friday. How it fares after that day will depend on whether or not the film can keep the viewer engaged during its longish running time, which is 140 minutes.

The author is a freelance writer. Views expressed are personal.

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