''Papanasam'' () is a 2015 Indian
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
-language
crime thriller film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
directed by
Jeethu Joseph
Jeethu Joseph (born 10 November 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also worked in a few Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Jeethu made his directional debut with the ...
, a remake of his 2013
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...
film ''
Drishyam
''Drishyam'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal and Meena, with Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Roshan Basheer and N ...
'', which starred
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...
. The film was jointly produced by
Suresh Balaje
Suresh Balaji is an Indian film producer, primarily concentrating in Malayalam and Tamil language, Tamil films. He is the son of producer and actor K. Balaji. He has produced many successful ventures like ''Billa (1980 film), Billa'', ''Vazhvey ...
and Rajkumar Sethupathi. It stars
Kamal Haasan and
Gautami
Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films in addition to Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South India ...
, with
Esther Anil,
Asha Sarath
Asha Sharath (born 19 July 1974) is an Indian actress and classical dancer, who predominantly works in Malayalam films and television shows and also has a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu film credits.
Personal life
Asha is married to Sharath ...
and
Roshan Basheer
Roshan Basheer is an Indian film actor, who appears in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil language films.
Career
Roshan made his acting debut by playing one of the lead roles in the Malayalam coming-of-age film, '' Plus Two'' (2010). The relative co ...
reprising their roles from the original film.
Kalabhavan Mani
Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...
,
Nivetha Thomas
Nivetha Thomas (born 2 November 1995) is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil language films. She made her film debut as a child artist in the 2008 Malayalam film '' Veruthe Oru Bharya'', for which she won the Kerala Sta ...
and
M. S. Bhaskar appear in supporting roles.
The film tells the story of Suyambu, a middle-class cable TV operator, and his family. They come under suspicion when Varun, the son of the Inspector-general of police (IG), goes missing soon after sexually harassing Suyambu's elder daughter. The rest of the film reveals how Varun disappeared and what Suyambu does to keep his family from going to prison.
The production work of ''Papanasam'' was undertaken by Suresh Balaje and George Pious. Music for the film was composed by
Ghibran
Ghibran (often credited as M. Ghibran) is an Indian composer. He has composed music for Indian films, advertising films and television commercial jingles in different languages.
Early life
Ghibran was born and raised in Coimbatore. When he w ...
. The cinematography was led by
Sujith Vaassudev and the editing done by Ayoob Khan, who also worked for Jeethu's original counterpart film. Principal photography commenced on 25 August 2014 and lasted for seven months, with shooting held at
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...
,
Nanguneri
Nanguneri is a panchayat town in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Nanguneri is a Taluk Headquarters in the District of Tirunelveli situated at a distance of from the headquarters of the District. Vanamamalai Peruma ...
,
Tenkasi
Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...
,
Kuthukalvalasai, and
Thodupuzha
Thodupuzha (തൊടുപുഴ) is a municipal town located in Idukki district, Kerala, India, that covers an area of . It lies on the banks of Thodupuzha river, which merges with the Kaliyar and Kothamangalam rivers at Muvattupuzha to f ...
. The film released on 3 July 2015, and received positive reviews from critics.
Plot
Suyambulingam is an orphan who had dropped out of school after his 5th grade. In 2014, he is a businessman running a cable TV service in
Papanasam
Papanasam is a panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It is the suburban region ...
, a small town in the
Tirunelveli district of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
. He owns two buildings in the main part of the village, and a well built house in a garden of area 5 acres. He is married to Rani and they have two daughters, 16 year old Selvi and 10 year old Meena. His only interest apart from his family is watching films. He spends most of his night time in front of the TV in his small office.
During a nature camp, Selvi bathing is photographed in the bathroom by a hidden cell phone. The culprit, Varun, is the son of
Inspector General Geetha Prabhakar. Days later, Varun calls Selvi and blackmails her for sexual favours. He tells her to come to her house's garden shed at midnight. Selvi brings her mother along, and both beg for Varun to leave them alone. Varun asks Rani to replace Selvi in the deal. Enraged, Selvi hits the phone in Varun's hand with a metal rod, but the rod strikes Varun's head as well. Varun dies on the spot. Rani and Selvi bury his body in a
compost pit, which is witnessed from afar by Meena. The next morning, Rani tells Suyambulingam about the incident and he devises a way to save his family from the law. He removes Varun's broken cell phone, places the SIM card in another mobile phone which he throws it onto a National Permit lorry and disposes of Varun's yellow
Maruti Zen car, which is seen by Constable Perumal, who has a grudge against Suyambulingam. Suyambulingam takes his family out on a trip to
Tenkasi
Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...
to pray in a temple, watch a movie, stay in a hotel and eat at a restaurant. Geetha starts an investigation into her missing son.
After a preliminary investigation, Geetha calls Suyambulingam and his family for questioning. Suyambulingam, who had predicted that this would happen, had already taught his family how to change their alibi at the time of murder. When questioned individually, they give the same replies. Suyambulingam also presents the bill of the restaurant, the hotel bill, the movie ticket and the bus tickets as proof of their alibi. Geetha questions the owners of the establishments they have been to and their statements prove Suyambulingam's alibi. However, Geetha subsequently realizes later that Suyambulingam had faked the evidence and established his alibi on the owners by going on a trip with his family to the same establishments later. Meanwhile, Suyambulingam tells his brother-in-law, Thangaraj that if they are ever taken away by the police, he has to call the media and report their unlawful arrests.
Geetha arrests Suyambulingam and his family and Perumal uses brute force to beat the truth out of them. Eventually, Meena gives in and reveals the place where the body is buried. After digging the compost pit, they find the carcass of a wild boar, indicating that Suyambulingam had moved the body. Meena reports to the media and complains against Perumal. The constable is suspended, all officers in the Papanasam station are transferred out of the district and Geetha resigns from her post. The district court prohibits the police from investigating Suyambulingam's family without their permission, in any case.
Later, Geetha and her husband Prabhakar meet Suyambulingam to ask forgiveness for their rude and violent behavior. Prabhakar then explains that they both plan to relocate to the US. Before leaving Prabhakar begs Suyambulingam to reveal what happened to Varun. Filled with guilt Suyumbulingam cryptically explained that Varun was killed by accident and apologizes. The scene moves back to the police station at the beginning. As Suyambulingam signs out, the station the new SI tells him that he will find Varun's body and warns him. As Suyambulingam leaves a flashback is shown of him burying something in the construction of the station. Implying that he has hidden Varun's body underneath the station and it will never be found due to the new construction.
Cast
*
Kamal Haasan as Suyambulingam
*
Gautami
Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films in addition to Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South India ...
as Rani Suyambulingam
*
Nivetha Thomas
Nivetha Thomas (born 2 November 1995) is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil language films. She made her film debut as a child artist in the 2008 Malayalam film '' Veruthe Oru Bharya'', for which she won the Kerala Sta ...
as Selvi Suyambulingam
*
Esther Anil as Meena Suyambulingam
*
Asha Sarath
Asha Sharath (born 19 July 1974) is an Indian actress and classical dancer, who predominantly works in Malayalam films and television shows and also has a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu film credits.
Personal life
Asha is married to Sharath ...
as IG Geetha Prabhakar
*
Kalabhavan Mani
Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...
as Constable Perumal
*
Anant Mahadevan
Anant Mahadevan (born 28 August 1950), also credited as Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, is an Indian screenwriter, actor, and film director of Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil films and television shows. Having been an integral part of the Indi ...
as Prabhakar
*
Roshan Basheer
Roshan Basheer is an Indian film actor, who appears in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil language films.
Career
Roshan made his acting debut by playing one of the lead roles in the Malayalam coming-of-age film, '' Plus Two'' (2010). The relative co ...
as Varun Prabhakar
*
Ilavarasu as Head Constable Shanmugam
*
Delhi Ganesh
Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Natak ...
as Vijayakumar, Rani's father
*
Shanthi Williams
Shanthi Williams is an Indian film and television actress who has played supporting roles in various Tamil and Malayalam movies and serials.
Career
Williams came into the industry as a child artist at the age of 12. Williams started her acting ...
as Radhika, Rani's mother
*
Charle as Kannan, Bus Conductor
*
Vaiyapuri
Vaiyapuri (born 23 October 1968 as Ramakrishnan) is an Indian actor who has worked in Tamil-language films. He rose to fame by appearing in supporting roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, often portraying supporting comedic characters. His ...
as Krishnaswamy, Hotel Owner
*
M. S. Bhaskar as Sulaiman Baai
*
Aruldoss
Aruldoss is an Indian actor who has appeared in supporting roles in predominantly Tamil language films. Prior to focusing on an acting career, he worked as a cinematographer for several films.
Career
After completing school, Aruldoss worked a ...
as Sub-Inspector Suresh Babu
*
Sree Raam as Cheramadurai
*
Abhishek Vinod as Thangaraj
*Cheran Raj as Sub-Inspector Boominathan
*Madhan Gopal as Karuppu
*Kavi Periya Thambi as Mariappan
*Jayamani as Bus Conductor
*Hello Kandasamy as Cinema Operator
*
Nellai Siva
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British Raj, British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian ...
as neighbour of Suyambulingam
Production
Development
After the commercial and critical success of the 2013 Malayalam film ''
Drishyam
''Drishyam'' () is a 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film written and directed by Jeethu Joseph. It stars Mohanlal and Meena, with Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Kalabhavan Shajohn, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Roshan Basheer and N ...
'' directed by
Jeethu Joseph
Jeethu Joseph (born 10 November 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. He has also worked in a few Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. Jeethu made his directional debut with the ...
and starring
Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically app ...
, several regional producers approached the makers for remake rights. A Tamil version was planned to be jointly produced by
Suresh Balaje
Suresh Balaji is an Indian film producer, primarily concentrating in Malayalam and Tamil language, Tamil films. He is the son of producer and actor K. Balaji. He has produced many successful ventures like ''Billa (1980 film), Billa'', ''Vazhvey ...
, George Pius of Wide Angle Creations,
Rajkumar Sethupathi
Rajkumar Sethupathy is an Indian actor who acts predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. He has acted in 50 movies in both Malayalam and Tamil films. He started his film career in the Tamil film ''Soolam'', directed by M. Bhaskar, then with ...
and
Sripriya Rajkumar of Raj Kumar Theatre. The team subsequently signed on
Kamal Haasan in late January 2014, to enact the leading role after successful negotiations, with Jeethu Joseph choosing to direct the Tamil version himself. Jeethu said that
Rajinikanth was initially approached to do the lead role and although he was interested to take up the role, he had doubts regarding a few scenes and how they would appeal to his fans.
[Kurian, Shiba (1 February 2014)]
Kamal Haasan to act in Drishyam's Tamil remake
''The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
''. Retrieved 27 August 2014. The pair then chose to alter the storyline to feature a Hindu family from
Papanasam
Papanasam is a panchayat town in Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Kumbakonam. The name literally translates to "Destruction of Sins" in the Tamil language. It is the suburban region ...
instead of Christian Keralite's, to make it familiar with Tamil audiences.
Jeethu further said that the Tamil version had been made "more emotional" since Kamal Haasan felt that Tamil audiences like to be "emotionally piqued". In August 2014, the film was reported to be titled ''Papanasam''.
Pranav Mohanlal
Pranav Mohanlal (born 13 July 1990) is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films. The son of actor Mohanlal, began his acting career as a child artist in '' Onnaman'' (2002) with his father in the lead role, and won the Kerala State Film Awa ...
joined the team as an assistant director during the film's first schedule.
Jeyamohan
Bahuleyan Jeyamohan (born 22 April 1962) is an Indian Tamil and Malayalam language writer and literary critic from Nagercoil in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
His best-known and most critically acclaimed work is ''Vishnupuram'', a fantasy ...
was selected to write the dialogues for the film. Noted writer/ director Sukawho is known for his characteristic Tirunelveli based short story series called 'Moongil Moochu' that was published in
Ananda Vikatan
''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India.
History and profile
''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
trained Kamal Hassan to speak in Tirunelveli accent.
Casting
Several actresses were considered and approached for the leading female roles, before the team made a final decision.
Simran
Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...
was reported to have signed the film, though she later stated that she was not working in the film.
Nadhiya,
Sridevi, and
Abhirami were also considered for roles in the film. Joseph confirmed that Sridevi was not part of the project and that the team would make the official announcements as soon as the cast and crew were finalized. Kamal Haasan's partner
Gautami
Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films in addition to Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South India ...
was later confirmed to play Meena's role from the original in June 2014, marking her comeback to acting after a sixteen-year sabbatical.
Asha Sarath
Asha Sharath (born 19 July 1974) is an Indian actress and classical dancer, who predominantly works in Malayalam films and television shows and also has a few Tamil, Kannada and Telugu film credits.
Personal life
Asha is married to Sharath ...
was chosen to reprise her role as a police officer from the original version, while
Kalabhavan Mani
Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...
would portray
Kalabhavan Shajon
Shaji John, professionally credited by his stage name Kalabhavan Shajohn is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works primarily in Malayalam cinema. He started his career as a mimicry artist in Kalabhavan, Kochi. Making his debut in 199 ...
's role from the original.
Niveda Thomas
Nivetha Thomas (born 2 November 1995) is an Indian actress who appears in Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil language films. She made her film debut as a child artist in the 2008 Malayalam film '' Veruthe Oru Bharya'', for which she won the Kerala S ...
was signed on to play the elder daughter of the lead pair, while child artiste
Esther Anil was also added to the cast, reprising her role from the original as well.
Anant Mahadevan
Anant Mahadevan (born 28 August 1950), also credited as Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, is an Indian screenwriter, actor, and film director of Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil films and television shows. Having been an integral part of the Indi ...
was selected to play the role of
Siddique from the Malayalam version. Roshan Basheer was also selected to reprise his role as Varun from the original.
Filming
Jeethu Joseph confirmed that shooting for the film would commence from the second half of 2014. The film kick-started with a formal pooja on 16 July 2014.
[Nicy V. P. (23 August 2014)]
Kerala Court Halts 'Drishyam' Tamil Remake Starring Kamal Haasan over Copyright Issue
'' International Business Times''. Retrieved 27 August 2014. Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...
commenced on 25 August 2014.
[Kamal Haasan's Drishyam to roll out from August](_blank)
''The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
''. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014. with first schedule beginning in
Tirunelveli
Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tam ...
where scenes featuring Kamal Haasan and Gautami were initially shot. Shooting took place in
Nanguneri
Nanguneri is a panchayat town in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Nanguneri is a Taluk Headquarters in the District of Tirunelveli situated at a distance of from the headquarters of the District. Vanamamalai Peruma ...
and
Tenkasi
Tenkasi is a town and headquarters of the Tenkasi district in Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Being one of the most significant spiritual and cultural places in South Tamilnadu,Tenkasi houses The Kutraleeshwarar temple (Chitra Sabha), one of the ...
,
kuthukalvalasai, Mekkarai, a town in the
Tirunelveli district. Shooting also took place in
Thodupuzha
Thodupuzha (തൊടുപുഴ) is a municipal town located in Idukki district, Kerala, India, that covers an area of . It lies on the banks of Thodupuzha river, which merges with the Kaliyar and Kothamangalam rivers at Muvattupuzha to f ...
in the house originally used in the Malayalam version. The house underwent minor changes to look like a Tamil household. Working stills from the film were released on 11 September 2014. The shooting of the film was completed on 26 March 2015.
Alleged plagiarism
Sathish Paul, a Malayalam filmmaker-scriptwriter filed a petition with the
Ernakulam District Court asking to stop the Tamil remake of ''Drishyam'', alleging that the original film was a copy of his story published as a book in May 2013 called ''Oru Mazhakalathu''. Benoy Kadavan, Sathish's advocate, informed that his client was told by Jeethu that ''Drishyam'' was going to be a family drama, and not a thriller. But when the movie was released, he noted that it was an exact copy and that a notice was sent to Jeethu Joseph and both the Malayalam and the Tamil production houses asking for equal shares in the profits of the film. Jeethu clarified that his story might have had some similarities with the Japanese film, ''
Suspect X
is a 2008 Japanese mystery-thriller film based on the novel, ''The Devotion of Suspect X'', directed by Hiroshi Nishitani. The film was a continuation of the popular Japanese serial drama ''Galileo'' and included the same cast. It topped Japan's ...
'' (2008), but cited that it was not a copy of any other story and was willing to move to the high court to prove it.
In mid-March 2015, it was proved at the High Court that the allegation was false, with a verdict being passed confirming the film's originality.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack is composed by
Ghibran
Ghibran (often credited as M. Ghibran) is an Indian composer. He has composed music for Indian films, advertising films and television commercial jingles in different languages.
Early life
Ghibran was born and raised in Coimbatore. When he w ...
, continuing his association with
Kamal Haasan after ''
Uttama Villain
''Uttama Villain'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Ramesh Aravind and written by Kamal Haasan. The film was presented by N. Lingusamy in association with Kamal Haasan and produced by S. Chandrahasan for Raaj Ka ...
'' (2015). As similar to the
original counterpart, ''Papanasam'' features two songs which were written by lyricist
Na. Muthukumar.
[Kamal Haasan kick starts Drishyam remake](_blank)
''The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
''. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014. The official tracklist was released on 10 June 2015, which features six instrumental tracks from the score, performed by Sofia Session Orchestra and two karaoke tracks of the songs. The album was launched on 13 June 2015, at the
Suryan FM 93.5 radio station in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, with the presence of the film's cast and crew.
The album received positive reviews from music critics. ''Behindwoods'' gave the soundtrack a rating of 2.75 out of 5, and summarised "An OST driven album which will work better with visuals!" ''Indiaglitz'' gave the album 3.25 out of 5 stars. Vipin Nair of ''Music Aloud'' stated that the album "has some good music that will fit right into the movie's narrative", giving a rating of 7.5 out of 10. Karthik Srinivasan of ''Milliblog'' stated "Papanasam is a thematic work from Ghibran".
''Moviecrow'' gave the soundtrack 3.25 out of 5 and then summarised "Ghibran delivers brilliant soundscape which is required for the drama thriller movie and also only two vocal tracks in the album are also enjoyable within the limited framework required for the movies of this gen." Sharanya CR of ''
The Times of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'', praised the songs with mentioning "Yeya En Kottikara" as "soothing number", whilst also praising the efforts for the background score.
Release
Theatrical
Kamal Haasan planned to release the film, after completing the release plans of ''
Uttama Villain
''Uttama Villain'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Ramesh Aravind and written by Kamal Haasan. The film was presented by N. Lingusamy in association with Kamal Haasan and produced by S. Chandrahasan for Raaj Ka ...
''. But the delay in the latter's release, followed by the plagiarism allegation, against Jeethu Joseph, the director of the original, pushed its makers to release the film during the occasion of
Eid-Ul-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr (; ar, عيد الفطر, Eid al-Fiṭr, Holiday of Breaking the Fast, ) is the earlier of the two official Islamic holidays, holidays celebrated within Islam (the other being Eid al-Adha). The religious holiday is celebrated by Musli ...
(17 July 2015). The first look and the theatrical trailer was unveiled on 13 May 2015. On mid-June 2015, it was announced that the film will be released theatrically on 3 July 2015.
Home Media
The satellite rights of the film were sold to
Sun TV.
Reception
Critical response
The film receives highly positive reviews.
''
Hindustan Times
''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia.
It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' gave the film 4 out of 5 and stated "A must watch for those fans of Kamal who have been waiting to see him as an actor -- not just a star driven to stunts". ''
Deccan Chronicle
''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...
'' gave 4 stars as well and wrote, "Riffing a sophisticated mix of the human condition and a simplistic storyline, ''Papanasam'' is a movie that engages your senses while managing to dispel any misgivings on a timely basis...director Jeethu Joseph has recreated the original magic of ''Drishyam'' but with a more localized flavor to boot". ''Filmibeat'' rated the film 4.5 out of 5 and concluded "''Papanasam'' is a winning script and retaining Jeethu Joseph has helped immensely. But when a performer called Kamal Haasan takes up such a project, magic on screen is rest assured."
''
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
''wrote "the Tamil version is even tighter (than ''Drishyam'') and there is absolutely no room for error in the writing. Flawless is the word", going on to call the film "excellent". Writing for ''
Rediff
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
'', Sukanya Verma, while calling the film a "worthy remake of ''Drishyam'', stated, "I still like ''Drishyam'' better but ''Papanasam'' is a laudable runner up even if somewhat self-aware". Baradwaj Rangan of the Hindu wrote "A faithful remake, a solid thriller
"
Box office
The film collected on the first day of its release. Overall Box office collection is .
References
External links
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{{Drishyam
2010s Tamil-language films
2015 films
2015 crime thriller films
Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police
Films directed by Jeethu Joseph
Films scored by Mohamaad Ghibran
Films shot in Tirunelveli
Indian crime thriller films
Shot-for-shot remakes
Tamil remakes of Malayalam films