In Theatres This Friday: Papanasam

Drishyam stormed its way into our consciousness way back in 2013. Two years on, the Malayalam film has spawned many a remake – there’s even a Hindi version of it set to release pretty soon. Actors Venkatesh and V Ravichandran were quick to jump on the bandwagon – their versions were all widely celebrated, in their own way. Venkatesh gave his film some of his good ol’ boy shtick, Ravichandran…well, hammed his way out of the movie; and Ajay Devgn is apparently bringing his six packs along for the ride. All this notwithstanding, there’s no denying the fact that a lot more is expected from Papanasam  and rightly so, for this time, Kamal Haasan takes on the lead role. If the trailer’s any indication of the actual film, he handles it all like the pro that he is.

Also promising is the fact that Jeethu Joseph who conceived the original is at the helm of this project and brings with him a major chunk of his cast and crew – Esther Anil, Asha Sharath, Kalabhavan Mani, editor Ayoob Khan and cinematographer Sujith Vaassudev are all a part of this one. Ghibran hasn’t let the Kamal favourite tag deter him from making lovely music, as the success of Yeya En Kottikkara has proved. The trailer teases us with glimpses of his background score, sweeping yet serene. Also adding to the overall effect is the presence of yesteryear actress Gouthami, who brings her particular brand of charm to the proceedings.

Much has been said of Kamal’s ‘acting prowess and co-operation’ by Papanasam’s team (they’ve been on a slew of promotions recently), but it is only at the theatres this week that we will know if all of that translates into onscreen magic.

The way it did with Mohanlal.