Drishyam 2 is a drama/thriller written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. The film is a sequel to the 2013 film Drishyam, and has Mohanlal in the lead role, while Meena, Esther Anil, Ansiba Haasan, Asha Sharath and others play crucial supporting roles. The film is bankrolled by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner Aashirvad Cinemas.

Drishyam released 2013, almost 8 years back. In between we've had Tamil films like A1, and Telugu films like Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya that had references to it. The film was then remade into Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Sinhalese and even Chinese. All this stands as a testament to the fact that this film has a cult status.

Now here's the tricky part. It is very easy to miss out a few elements here and there, while extending a film's plot and making a sequel out of it. One of the common hazards that could happen is force-fitting narratives and plot points, which kills the essence of the prequel. We've seen it in many films of the recent past.

However, Drishyam consciously manages to steer away from all those, and stays completely focussed till the end. There are no commercial compromises, to an extent where even a star like Mohanlal has literally zero mass scenes. Even towards the climax, we expect him to fold his dhoti into half and breed swagger as he walks towards the camera with a mass background score, but all we see is a superstar walking with his head bent down.

His acting is measured and subtle, in a way proving his understanding of characters and range of expressions. The film is a drama, and his subtle performance never crosses the line at any point to become melodramatic, which is a huge success. The supporting cast supports him and the film reasonably well, with Ansiba Haasan as Anju and Asha Sharath as Geetha Prabhakar standing out.

The film is set in 2019, six years after George Kutty (Mohanlal) and his family manage to wriggle out of the murder case involving Geetha's son Varun. The family is leading a happy life, until they realise that the police have been tracking them all this while in an attempt to close the case. When new hurdles arise, the plot focusses on how George Kutty saves his family this time.

Although the film begins on an ordinary note, a few minutes into the film you know there is a twist lurking somewhere near. We constantly keep looking for it, but the timing of the twists are impeccable that they pull the carpet under your feet most of the times. These twists are also aided by the writing which is organic. If that's not enough, watch out for the third act where all the magic happens. The way Jeethu Joseph has structured the film deserve loads of appreciation.

With Satheesh Kurup's camerawork aiding the film, and Anil Johnson replicating the quality of his work from the first installment, the film is technically sound. With proper writing and an engaging screenplay, the film works like a charm and ends up as a must watch. Despite the lack of action or slow-motion close-up shots, the film will be a delight for Mohanlal fans, because this superstar is much more than all this.