On the day of its release, director of Papanasam, Jeethu Joseph responds to your call in a calm voice. It becomes obvious that he is neither concerned about breaking box office records nor apprehensive about the critics. He is quietly confident that he has made a good film. “We do not expect a hit. Even with Drishyam, we knew Mohanlal would be big factor for its success. But, we never expected the blockbuster it turned out to be.” But, a few hours after a special critics’ show of Papanasam in Mumbai, Jeethu’s friends told him that some critics were impressed. “Now it is up to the audience.” Papanasam is a Tamil remake of the Mohanlal starrer Drishyam. Kamal Haasan and Gautami are in the lead. Drishyam was the biggest hit of Malayalam cinema in 2013. The film was about George Kutty, a cable television operator, who protects his family from a disaster. The Tamil remake sticks to the original plotline except for a few changes in the characterisation of the lead character, says Jeethu. “You cannot play with the script too much. The hall mark of Drishyam is its script. We have not touched it.”
Suyambu Lingam, played by Kamal, has been changed only to suit the cultural differences. George Kutty is a Thodupuzha Christian, while Suyambu is from the Nadar community. “He is also stingy like George Kutty. But there are certain behavioural features that are typical to him. For instance, his yellow bag, always tucked under his arm, his habit of jotting down accounts behind cigarette packets… But the defining feature is, he is an emotional being.”
Working with two super stars of the South Indian film industry was special. Says Jeethu, “They are two living legends of Indian cinema. Lal sir is a totally director’s actor and very easy to handle. I had heard many stories of Kamal sir. Many of my friends warned me that he would interfere. But, he proved all those rumours wrong. After his shot, he would withdraw to his room and listen to Carnatic music. On the third day, I showed him a few shots on the monitor. All he said to me was, ‘That’s your job’ and left me to my work.”
About Ghibran the music director, Jeethu says, “He is a great person to work with. He is young, ready to change things and has no ego.”
The film has been shot in scenic locations of South India like Kutralam, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and also Thodupuzha. “Finally, we came back to the same house where we had shot Drishyam. It was tough to find a similar one anywhere else.”
Even though it’s a remake, Jeethu has taken care of minute details that make the characters look real; even the bike on which Suyambu travels. Suyambu zips through the city with his entire family riding pillion. “Entire families travelling on a two wheeler is a common sight in Tamil Nadu. We wanted to capture that.”
The common man interests Jeethu greatly, he says. “I am a farmer’s son. Ours is also by and large a middle class family. That's why, family is another pet theme. Memories, my previous film, was based on a mother-son relationship. I strongly believe in family. If there is no family, there is no society. There was a period in Malayalam cinema, when scripts revolved around the hero, heroine and comedians. I wanted to bring back the family to the screen.”
As a filmmaker, he wants to impress both the critics and the audience. “I call myself a story-teller. I want to tell different kinds of stories without boring the audience, preferably with a social message. And I want my film to be enjoyed by the majority in the cinema hall.”
So does he have faith in the Tamil audience? “I will tell you by today evening,” he laughs. “All I know is, it is a universal subject. It is about a father who wants to protect his family. These are universal feelings. I believe that audience here will accept the film. I believe that good cinema will be appreciated.”
