From Drishyam To Neru: How Jeethu Joseph Crafts His Protagonists
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In placing ordinary people at the heart of high-stakes situations, Jeethu gives us protagonists who feel both relatable and unforgettable, writes Neelima Menon.
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THOUGH Jeethu Joseph debuted with the murder mystery Detective and also found his biggest success in thrillers ( Memories and Drishyam), it is also true that his filmography resists easy categorisation. From the family drama Mummy & Me to the rom-com My Boss and the comedy-drama Life of Josutty, he has demonstrated a flair for shifting genres while maintaining certain constants. That includes his focus on family as an emotional anchor and his flawed, grounded, and deeply human protagonists. These characters rely on wit, resilience, and sheer resourcefulness to navigate extraordinary challenges. In placing ordinary people at the heart of high-stakes situations, Jeethu gives us protagonists who feel both relatable and unforgettable. Let's examine the four notable ones. Stream the latest Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada releases, with OTTplay Premium's Power Play monthly pack, for only Rs 149. |
Georgekutty | DRISHYAM: In hindsight, there is little about Georgekutty (Mohanlal) that makes him remarkable; if anything, he is almost painfully ordinary. At times, he even comes across as patriarchal and frugal to the point of stinginess. His wife openly resents his habit of spending long hours at his cable TV office, and she gently chastises him for skimping on family outings or even buying them new clothes. The rare moments he is present at home are largely motivated by carnal desire, details that the film deliberately tempers with humour so that his shortcomings remain palatable. Yet it is precisely this ordinariness that becomes his greatest strength. Because he feels so recognisably flawed that it is easier to believe in his transformation when extraordinary circumstances arise. When his daughter is implicated in a crime, his resilience and razor-sharp resourcefulness in protecting his family feel not like the feats of a cinematic “hero,” but the desperate ingenuity of a man who has everything to lose. ALSO READ | Jeethu Joseph on whether there will be Drishyam 4 with Mohanlal? |
Sam Alex | MEMORIES: When ASP Sam Alex loses his wife and child during a police operation, the tragedy doesn’t just break him personally — it corrodes his faith in the very system he once upheld. He numbs himself with alcohol, and even in his home, solace feels out of reach: a worried mother can’t draw him out, and a self-absorbed sibling only deepens his isolation. So when he is recalled to solve a series of murders, it isn’t the story of a man snapping back into action. Instead, Jeethu shows him stumbling forward — reluctant, still clinging to the bottle, yet bound by duty and a promise to his superior. What distinguishes Sam’s arc is the refusal to glamorise his return. His alcoholism shadows him even in the field — he falters while chasing a suspect, a moment that makes his vulnerability brutally apparent. But it is in these falterings that Jeethu grounds him: Sam’s progress is uneven, his resilience born out of necessity rather than cinematic heroism. Critically, this makes him one of Jeethu’s most convincing protagonists — flawed, human, and painfully aware of what he has lost, even as he fights to reclaim a sense of self. |
Sara | NERU: Given that Jeethu Joseph’s women are either dutiful wives, worried mothers, or foils to their male counterparts, it is remarkable that a character like Sara emerges from his filmography. A visually impaired sculptor, Sara (Anaswara Rajan), refuses to conform to the stereotype of the silenced or broken victim. After a brutal assault, she not only takes her perpetrator to court but also resists the easy narrative of self-victimisation. In fact, the courtroom scene further crystallises her strength—when cross-examined and slut-shamed, though we know that she is following her lawyer’s instructions, it becomes evident that her defiance stems from within. Unlike the wallowing, self-destructive figures so common in such narratives, Sara redefines resilience through clarity and conviction. In fact, her determination doesn’t just sustain her; it compels the initially reluctant lawyer, played by Mohanlal, to fight for her cause. In Sara, Jeethu crafts his most empowering female protagonist, one who embodies agency rather than endurance, and who shifts the moral axis of the film itself. |
Vijayamohan | NERU: When Advocate Vijayamohan (Mohanlal) is first approached to represent Sara (Anaswara Rajan), a visually impaired sculptor who has survived a brutal assault, he is hardly in a position to champion anyone. He is drifting through life in hibernation, weighed down by self-doubt and inertia. Even after agreeing to take up the case, his insecurities repeatedly get the better of him, allowing his wily senior and the opposing counsel (Siddique) to undercut him in court. Yet, as the case progresses, something in Sara’s conviction begins to stir him. Her courage doesn’t just inspire him to fight for her; it slowly teaches him to stand up for himself. Like Sam Alex in Memories, Vijayamohan must first wrestle with his own demons before he can confront the external ones. His transformation is not sudden or heroic but gradual, tentative, and deeply flawed, which is precisely why it feels convincing. By the time he finds his footing, we are not watching a miracle of a character but the slow, believable awakening of a man learning to reclaim himself. ALSO READ | Drishyam to Neru: Ranking Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph's Malayalam thrillers |
Bayaan: A Frustrating Reiteration Of India's Godmen Culture |
For the most part, Huma Qureshi-starrer Bayaan brims with possibilities. There is a constant hint of things falling into place, only for the film to culminate as a lost opportunity.
Ishita Sengupta reviews. |
IN INDIA, the concept of godmen — spiritual leaders elevated to the status of demigod — has spawned a series of narratives. Fiction (Aashram ) and non-fiction ( My Daughter Joined a Cult, Cult of Fear: Asaram Bapu, etc) alike have responded to the peculiarity of the culture. Bikas Ranjan Mishra’s new film, Bayaan, a loosely wound police procedural that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, is a frustrating reiteration of the template. To be fair, Bayaan is largely effective and well-made with slight exceptions. The plot is rooted in Rajasthan, where a godman, ‘Maharaj’ (Chandrachur Singh), runs an ashram full of young girls. When one of them tips off about his sexual abuse, a Delhi-based police officer, Roohi ( Huma Qureshi), is assigned to the case. She might be a novice, but she knows the way. Her father (Sachin Khedekar) has been in the profession for a long time and is celebrated by peers. Mishra’s film outlines the way in which an anonymous tip opens a can of worms for the godman, only for Roohi to realise that she, a privileged urban woman, inhabits a world as compliant as that of the rural women. Continue Reading. MORE FROM TIFF 2025 | Anurag Kashyap’s Monkey In A Cage Is A Thorny Post-MeToo Drama That Needlessly Provokes |
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