Venkatesh Daggubati fails to fill Mohanlal’s shoes in the Telugu version of Drishyam 2, which is presently available on Amazon Prime Video.
Director: Jeethu Joseph
Cast: Daggubati Venkatesh, Meena, Kruthika, Esther Anil, Nadhiya, Naresh, Sampath Raj
Every film can’t be made into a never-ending series. Some, like the Bond escapades, have managed to keep us engrossed, owing to the fact that each time they appear, they have a completely new storey to tell. The second segment of the Malayalam film Drishyam, starring Mohanlal, felt washed down and weak. To be fair, the actor, who has managed to maintain his star status, was just as good in part two as he was in part one. Jeethu Joseph directed both parts one and two.
In fact, when the Tamil remake of Drishyam 1 – titled Papanasam and directed by Joseph as well – was released, Kamal Haasan, who reprised Mohanlal’s role, fell a little short of the Malayalam hero, a humble cable operator whose ideas to fool police came from the numerous films he kept watching.
Georgekutty (Mohanlal) was a cunning man who knew how to play his chess game with the cops. Mohanlal was a perfect fit for this man. It’s not quite Kamal. Similarly, Venkatesh in Telugu’s Drushyam 2 falls far short of Mohanlal’s brilliance in Malayalam’s Drishyam 2.
Despite Mohanlal’s great performance (of course) — as a cable operator who had progressed to being the proprietor of a film theatre, with a fancy house and a fancy car — Drishyam 2 in Malayalam was not as riveting as part one.
So, what exactly is the plot of Venkatesh’s Drushyam 2? After making some money from his new firm, Rambabu (Venkatesh) has started to drink. This irritates his wife, Jyothi (Meena), but the father never fails to protect his family, which includes two children, Anju (Kruthika) and Anu (Esther Anil).
He has a desire to succeed. He has a script and a tale ready to go, and he wants to make a film. The storyline has been published as a book, which will eventually help him turn the tide. The old case of Varun’s (Inspector General’s son) disappearance, with his body never being found — despite the fact that it was buried beneath the newly built police station, a place where the men in khaki would never dream of looking — is still a source of local gossip, with Rambabu’s rising wealth fueling jealousy as well.
When a new police chief is appointed in Rambabu’s town, the case against him is reopened, and Varun’s parents fly in from the United States, where the retiring police chief and her husband had relocated.
Anju has suffered epilepsy as a result of the stressful police interview in part one of Drushyam, putting Rambabu’s calm family life in jeopardy once more. Her condition deteriorates as a result of her newfound fear, but Rambabu had promised to defend his family no matter what.
Drushyam 2 narrates how he accomplishes this, although it lacks the adrenaline rush of the original edition. There are a few scenes that are difficult to believe, and the courtroom scenario is incredibly boring and monotonous. The fire that we observed earlier has vanished. This is a strong indication that both Georgekutty and Rambabu’s charisma has worn thin. Yes, Mohanlal shines in both, unlike Venkatesh, who appears lost without his melodramatic moments.
