Drushyam 2

Drushyam 2 is a 2021 Telugu crime drama written and directed by Jeethu Joseph, his own remake of the Malayalam Drishyam 2 and the sequel to Drushyam (2014). Venkatesh and Meena return as Rambabu and Jyothi, with Kruthika Jayakumar, Esther Anil and Nadhiya, and Sampath Raj as a new police chief. Produced by D. Suresh Babu, Antony Perumbavoor and Rajkumar Sethupathi, it skipped cinemas and premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 25 November 2021.

What the story is about

Six years after the events of Drushyam, Rambabu’s family is living a semi-normal life. He has sold some land, owns a cinema and is producing a film with a well-known screenwriter, but his elder daughter Anju suffers from PTSD and seizures, and jealous villagers gossip endlessly about the family. Jyothi, feeling isolated, grows close to her new neighbour Saritha. Varun’s grieving parents still want his remains, and the police have not given up: a new inspector general, Gowtham Sahu, is determined to close the case, and an ex-convict who saw something on the night of 3 August 2014 is about to be released. How Rambabu responds is the film, and it is best seen unspoiled.

Cast and crew

• Venkatesh as Rambabu
• Meena as Jyothi
• Kruthika Jayakumar as Anju and Esther Anil as Anu
• Nadhiya as Geetha Prabhakar, Varun’s mother
• Naresh as Prabhakar, Varun’s father
• Sampath Raj as IG Gowtham Sahu
• Tanikella Bharani as Vinay Chandra, a screenwriter
• Poorna as Advocate Renuka

Writer and director: Jeethu Joseph. Producers: D. Suresh Babu, Antony Perumbavoor and Rajkumar Sethupathi (Suresh Productions, Aashirvad Cinemas, Rajkumar Theatres). Music: Anup Rubens, with Anil Johnson. Cinematography: Satheesh Kurup. Runtime: 154 minutes.

Making the film

After the Malayalam Drishyam 2 succeeded in February 2021, Jeethu Joseph announced he would direct the Telugu version himself, as The Hindu reported. The film was launched with a puja in Hyderabad on 1 March 2021, filming began on 5 March, and it wrapped in April after 50 days, with a final schedule in Kerala. Sampath Raj took the role Murali Gopy played in the original. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the makers opted in May 2021 for a direct streaming release, as the Malayalam film had done. Its one song, “Inka Ennaallu”, is sung by Shreya Ghoshal.

Reviews

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu noted that the remake is “unflinchingly loyal to the original”, leaving it to the actors to make it worthwhile for those who know the story, and found it watchable. Neeshita Nyayapati of The Times of India gave it three and a half out of five, calling it a “worthy sequel” to a “stellar film”. It was later dubbed into Hindi as Aankhen 2 in 2023.

Where to watch Drushyam 2

According to Wikipedia, Drushyam 2 premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 25 November 2021. We have not checked the current Prime Video listing, so availability in your region may differ.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Drushyam 2 and the reviews and reports it cites, linked above; our own cast and crew records.