'Kamal Haasan said his greatest challenge was that Mohanlal did the original'

'I thought either Rajnikanth or Kamal Haasan should do Papanasam.'

'Rajni sir liked it but was not sure about how his fans would accept certain scenes, if he were to do it. Like the scene where he is beaten up by a cop.'

'Kamal sir loved the film and agreed to do it.'

'Later, Rajni sir was willing to take it up but by then, the project was already on with Kamal sir.'

Director Jeethu Joseph discusses his well-reviewed film.

Malayalam filmmaker Jeethu Joseph's latest film Papanasam, starring Kamal Haasan, is getting rave reviews.

The film is the Tamil version of Mohanlal's Malayalam blockbuster Drishyam, directed by Jeethu himself.

In an exclusive interview with Rediff.com contributor Vijay George, the ace director talks about Papanasam and his forthcoming projects.

Image: Kamal Haasan and Gauthami in Papanasam

How is the reaction to Papanasam?

I am feeling very happy. If you ask me if such reviews were expected, I would say since there is a cultural difference, we were curious about how the viewers would react.

But the original had a fabulous run in Malayalam and receiving such a response from the Tamil audience is so exciting.

There are reports that Papanasam was rejected by Rajnikanth, before Kamal Haasan agreed to do it.

Not exactly. During the initial discussions, the producers asked about my favourite choices to play the lead in Tamil. I thought either Rajni sir or Kamal sir should do it. Both of them saw Drishyam.

Rajni sir liked it but he was not sure about how his fans would accept certain scenes, if he were to do it. Like the scene where he is beaten up by a cop.

Meanwhile, Kamal sir loved the film and agreed to do it.

Later, Rajni sir was willing to take it up but by then, the project was already on with Kamal sir. We conveyed it to Rajni sir and he was fine with it. 

You made the film in Malayalam and Tamil. Was the second experience any different?

I couldn't add more to the original beyond a point and obviously, the fun of creating something new was missing.