Jackson Anthony, Mohanlal and Ajay Devgan who played the lead roles in Sinhala, Malayalam and Hindi versions of Drishyam
Judging by the massive popularity of the Sinhala film Dharmayuddhaya with Jackson Anthony in the lead role, there will probably be a sequel as Drishyam 2 hit the theatres in South India a few days ago.
Dharmayuddhaya, the Sinhala version of Malayalam blockbuster Drishyam, was released in Sri Lanka in July 2017. Jackson Anthony played the role which Kerala superstar Mohan Lal brought to life in the original.
Encouraged by the tremendous response to the sequel of his 2013 Malayalam thriller Drishyam received after its release on Amazon Prime a couple of days ago, director Jeethu Joseph has begun work on remaking it into other languages. The first to go on floors will be the Telugu version.
“I will start the shoot of Drishyam 2 in Telugu in the first week of March,” Jeethu told The Hindu from Hyderabad on Saturday. “I also plan to direct the Tamil and Hindi versions as well.” So let us hope that there will be a Sinhala language version as well because Dharmayuddhaya became a massive box office in Sri Lanka.
The latest film, written and directed by Jeethu Joseph, stars all the lead cast members from the original version, including Meena as the leading lady.
In the original Mohanlal played a cable TV operator who deployed an elaborate ruse to save his family from a murder charge. One of the all-time box office champions in Malayalam, it spawned several remakes featuring major stars.
It was remade in the Kannada language as Drishya starring Ravichandran, in Telugu as Drushyam starring Venkatesh, in Hindi as Drishyam starring Ajay Devgan, in Tamil as Papanasam starring Kamal Haasan and in Sinhala, as Dharmayuddhaya starring Jackson Anthony in 2017.
The Sinhala version was directed by Cheyyar Ravi , who was known for two successful Tamil films and many acclaimed television serials. He passed away due to cardiac arrest in 2017 while directing a TV series. The Sinhala remake, also starred Dilhani Ekanayake, Roshan Pilapitiya, Kusum Renu and Douglas Ranasinghe.
The original Malayalam film made in 2013 emerged as a super hit, becoming the highest-grossing film in Kerala till Pulimurugan, also starring Mohanlal, broke its record in 2016. Drishyam won numerous accolades, including the Kerala State Film Award for Best Popular Film and the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Malayalam, and screened at the 45th International Film Festival of India 8th Asian Film Festival. – newstrails.com
