Dhrishyam - 2 (Movie Review - Malayalam)

 Dhrishyam set the standards for crime-thrillers in Malayalam movies pretty high when it released in 2013 and was subsequently remade in multiple languages across different states in India. And on Friday, Feb 19th, the sequel to this superb Murder-Mystery, Dhrishyam - Part 2 (The Resumption) released on Amazon Prime. (Prime by the way does a fabulous job of bringing the 'right' kind of blockbusters to OTT platform - recently watched Lokesh Kanagaraj-Vijay movie Master, an absolute cracker of entertainment and action!) 

Does the sequel live up to the hype? Can Jeethu Joseph+Mohanlal duo re-create the magic of the original? Is there an angle that needs to be pursued here? What could possibly happen post that humdinger of a twist by the end of Dhrishyam-I? 

Naturally, the expectations were stratospheric and the audience ecstatic about the possibilities. The trailer gives us hints, that the sword is still hanging above George-Kutty and his family's head and there is no peace to be had. That the danger is not past yet. 

I watched the movie yesterday late night - staying up late to get to the end of this brilliantly plotted murder-mystery sequel and am happy to say, the sequel stands up to the scrutiny. It's another twisted maze of a mystery with multiple levels unraveling towards the end and the protagonist, played oh so well by the Maestro Mohan Lal, being the central architect of yet another puzzle box. 

So first things first, the set up and the gradual building up towards that feverish climax is yet again, executed so well by Jeethu. In fact, in the part-II since we all know the 'reality' of what George-Kutty is hiding, we are impatient to get to the meat of the story. But Jeethu patiently sets up the story, the surroundings, the small-town residents who matter and of course, the united family at the center of it all. It has been six years roughly to the events that transpired in Dhrishyam-I and George Kutty has risen above all the controversies. In fact, he is now a prosperous man, who runs a movie theatre and his cable TV business. And he is looking to rope in producers and script-writers for a movie script idea that he has gotten. So the man stays true to his passion - cinema. His wife and the two girls however, haven't yet shaken off the impact of all the police brutality and the merciless interrogation. The wife Rani, played yet again with a lot of aplomb and sweet grace by Meena, has deep-rooted misgivings about what her husband has really done. Because the reality is a deeply buried secret (Pun!) and their eldest girl (Ansiba) unfortunately has developed psychological issues because of the fear of police. The youngest one (Esther Anil) has grown out of that trauma and is busy with her friends and college. 

The small town however hasn't forgotten. Jeethu sets up the seething hatred and jealousy of the townsfolk pretty nicely - a set of auto-drivers gossiping about the unsolved case and the rise of George Kutty. The grieving family (Siddique and Asha Latha) are yet to find peace. And worst of all, there is a new cop (Murali Gopi in fine fettle) in town, hell bent on framing George Kutty for this crime, however righteous it may have been. 

But all of this, we get to in a leisurely fashion as we see George Kutty a changed man ( in his wife's words). hell bent on throwing money after his life-long dreams of making a movie. For the first one hour and a half, literally, nothing much happens. Except for small hints. Like lot of things are moving in the periphery and we, as the audience know, it is the pawn chess pieces getting moved around for that checkmate move. We chew our nails down, tear our hair out, trying to piece together - what could possibly be the danger this time and will he, or won't he outwit the hunters, yet again. 

It falls together in place. And by the last forty-five minutes of the movie, we are glued to the screen to the unbelievable puzzle-box getting unravelled. I loved it totally - full marks again to Jeethu Joseph and of course to the masterclass of Mohanlal, the actor whom we cannot piece part from the character of George Kutty. Fabulous, flawless actingA man who is willing to go to any extent to protect his family, though in this sequel the amount of passion or warmth seen on screen was much lesser compared to the original. We missed the character of Sahadevan (Kalabhavan Shajon) whom we could spew our hatred for. 

This is a complete writer's movie. The plot wheels turning one after the other, as the director/writer brings in secondary characters whose selfish motives derail George Kutty's set life once again, was a master stroke. For fear of spoilers, I will not dwell any further  except to point out that from a plot/writing point of view, I loved this movie as much as I loved the first one. It's a worthy sequel and keeps you hooked on, as our favourite Family Man tries to set up his own traps and failsafe mechanisms in place as danger looms and the noose tightens around his precious family. Blockbuster guaranteed, must watch.