‘Drishyam 3 won’t be like Drishyam 1 or 2,’ reveals Jeethu Joseph; opens up about his approach to creating the franchise: ‘My focus is only on…’

While there have been many instances when sequels did not live up to expectations or matched the quality of their predecessors, resulting in the franchises themselves losing their reputation, Jeethu Joseph has so far managed to safeguard Drishyam’s good name. One major reason behind this may be his reluctance to play to the gallery or make decisions aimed merely at satisfying the hype. Instead, he seems always determined to tune out such noises and follow the organic style that made the OG Drishyam iconic.

Director Jeethu Joseph with Mohanlal during the puja ceremony of Drishyam 3. (Credit: Facebook/@JeethuJosephOnline)

“I’ve created only one franchise so far, that’s Drishyam. Nonetheless, it’s an organic approach that I have used there. That was the case with Part 2, and it will be the same with Drishyam 3 as well,” he shares during an exclusive interview with SCREEN.

He adds, “Many people, after Part 3 was announced, commented that, ‘Drishyam 2’s script was amazing, and we expect something better than that.’ I replied to such remarks in some interviews that I’m not consciously trying to write a ‘better-than-Drishyam 2’ script just for the sake of it. My focus is only on Georgekutty and his family, and on what could have happened in their lives over the six or seven years since Part 2.”

Watch SCREEN’s exclusive interview with Jeethu Joseph here:

Attesting that, much like the previous instalments, he developed Part 3 also organically, Jeethu states, “In that, I’ve obviously retained some of Georgekutty’s fundamental character traits. Those are essential because Georgekutty has certain peculiarities. If we don’t maintain that, the character will be lost. The case is the same for everyone. Rani (Meena) has her own character, and so do the kids, Anju (Ansiba) and Anu (Esther). However, the children’s characters are the ones that keep evolving. Anu was just a child when the incident (the murder of Varun Prabhakar) occurred, but now she has grown up.”

Offering more glimpses into how he developed even the world around Georgekutty and his family naturally, giving the people also a progressing arc, Jeethu Joseph brings our attention to how the same locals who once supported them gradually grew envious — as shown in Part 2 — as time passed and the family began to build stable lives. “The surroundings and the people have changed, too. In the first part, the people around him believed Georgekutty was innocent. In Part 2, however, many of them were like, ‘No, there’s something else.’ Their view changed. I have employed a similar organic approach in Part 3 as well. It was never like, ‘Since Part 2 became a hit, I’ll do so and so to make Part 3 a hit.’ For the Drishyam franchise, my approach is based on what could have happened within that family and their lives. You’ll understand that when Part 3 comes. Drishyam 2 wasn’t similar to Drishyam 1; and Drishyam 3 won’t be like Drishyam 2,” he adds.