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Jeethu Joseph

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jeethu Joseph
Jeethu Joseph in 2026
Born (1972-11-10) 10 November 1972 (age 53)
Muvattupuzha, Kerala, India
Occupations
  • Director
  • screenwriter
  • producer
Years active2007–present
SpouseLinta
Children2

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, Hindi and Telugu films, a few of which are remade from his own Malayalam films. He made his directional debut with the 2007 suspense thriller Detective. He is best known for directing the 2013 crime thriller Drishyam starring Mohanlal, which was the highest-grossing Malayalam film at the time of its release.[1] Its sequel Drishyam 2 (2021) was released on Amazon Prime Video, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like its prequel, it was highly acclaimed and appreciated worldwide.

His other works include Mummy & Me (2010), My Boss (2012),[2] Memories (2013),[3] Life of Josutty (2015), Oozham (2016), Aadhi (2018), Neru (2023), Nunakkuzhi (2024), and Mirage (2025). Jeethu made his Tamil debut with Papanasam (2015), a remake of his 2013 film Drishyam,[4][5] Hindi debut with The Body (2019),[6] and Telugu debut with Drushyam 2 (2021), a remake of Drishyam 2.

Early life

[edit]

Jeethu Joseph was born at Mutholapuram, a small village near Muvattupuzha in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. His father, V. V. Joseph, was a politician who belonged to the Kerala Congress (Joseph)[7][8] party and served as the MLA from Muvattupuzha Assembly constituency.[9]

Jeethu studied at Fatima Matha School in Piravom and then at St. Berchmans College, Changanassery, before completing his B.A. degree in Economics[10] from Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha.[11] During this time, he aspired to study at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, although his father wanted him to become an engineer.[12]

Career

[edit]

Jeethu Joseph started his career as an assistant director to Jayaraj. He got a chance to direct a film starring Dileep however it failed to materialize.[11] Meanwhile, Jeethu developed the one-line plot of Detective. After failing to find a producer, his mother Leelamma Joseph offered to co-produce the film, which became his directorial debut. A month into the project, a producer took interest and agreed to produce the film. Detective was released in 2007. The film fared well at the box-office.[11]

His next film, the comedy-drama Mummy & Me was a box-office success. Though it took close to three years in the making, Mummy & Me marked a turning point in his career as a director. "My first film was easy compared to the struggle I had to go through for my second, Mummy and Me." There were offers to make films like Detective, but Jeethu declined. "I wanted to do a different film" It was for this reason that, though he had one line scripts of Mummy and Me and Memories ready in 2008, he chose to make Mummy and Me.[11] His third film My Boss starring Dileep was also a commercial success. His fourth film, the slasher thriller Memories starring Prithviraj Sukumaran was released in 2013 and performed well at the box-office.

In 2013, he directed the crime thriller Drishyam starring Mohanlal, which was critically and commercially acclaimed. It was the highest-grossing Malayalam film, until 2016, and the first Malayalam film to cross the ₹50 crore mark at the box-office.[1][11][13] Drishyam has been remade into four regional languages including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, and Kannada, as well as internationally in Sinhalese and Mandarin Chinese.[13] In 2015, he directed Life of Josutty starring Dileep and Papanasam, the Tamil remake of Drishyam starring Kamal Haasan. His next directorial, Oozham (2016), starring Prithviraj was a commercial success. In 2018, he directed the action-thriller Aadhi which marked the acting of debut of Pranav Mohanlal. Aadhi received positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success at the box-office.

In 2021, he directed Drishyam 2, the sequel to his 2013 film Drishyam which released on Amazon Prime Video. Like its prequel, it was critically acclaimed by critics.[14] The third instalment in the franchise, Drishyam 3, was released on the 21st of May 2026. [15]

Personal life

[edit]

Jeethu is married to Linta. The couple has two daughters, Catherine Ann and Katina Ann. Linta is a costume designer who has worked on several of his films.

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Credited as Language Notes
Director Screenwriter
2007 Detective Yes Yes Malayalam
2010 Mummy & Me Yes Yes
2012 My Boss Yes Yes
2013 Memories Yes Yes
Drishyam Yes Yes
2015 Papanasam Yes Yes Tamil Remake of Drishyam
Life of Josutty Yes No Malayalam
2016 Oozham Yes Yes
2017 Lakshyam No Yes
2018 Aadhi Yes Yes
2019 Mr. & Ms. Rowdy Yes Yes [16]
The Body Yes Yes Hindi Based on The Body
Thambi Yes Screenplay Tamil
2021 Drishyam 2 Yes Yes Malayalam
Drushyam 2 Yes Yes Telugu Remake of Drishyam 2
2022 12th Man Yes No Malayalam Disney+ Hotstar release; voiceover for Merin's brother
Kooman Yes No
2023 Neru Yes Yes
2024 Nunakkuzhi Yes No [17]
2025 Mirage Yes Yes [18]
2026 Valathu Vashathe Kallan Yes No [19]
Drishyam 3 Yes Yes [20][21]
TBA Untitled Fahadh Faasil Project † Yes No [22]
TBA Ram † Yes Yes

As producer

[edit]
Year Title Language Notes
2017 Lakshyam Malayalam
2019 Mr. & Ms. Rowdy
2022 Antakshari Presenter; SonyLIV release
2024 Level Cross Presenter[23]
2026 Secret Stories: Roslin Presenter; JioHotstar series[24]
Dridam Presenter[25]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Category Film Result Ref
2014 44th Kerala State Film Awards Best Popular Film Drishyam Won
Vanitha Film Awards Best Director Won [26][27]
Kerala Film Critics Association Awards Best Director Won [28][29]
Jaihind TV Film Awards Best Director Won
South Indian International Movie Awards Best Director Won
2016 63rd Filmfare Awards South Best Director Papanasam Nominated
2022 67th Filmfare Awards South Best Director Drishyam 2 Nominated
South Indian International Movie Awards Best Director Nominated
2025 South Indian International Movie Awards Best Director Neru Nominated
Filmfare Awards South Best Director Nominated

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Nambidi, Parvathy. "Jeethu Joseph Has Back to Back Projects in His Kitty, Post Drishyam". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 22 August 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "Mamta Mohandas to boss around Dileep". The Times of India. 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Prithviraj act as a drunkard in Memories". Asianetindia.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Kamal Haasan to don Mohanlal's role in Drishyam remake? Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. The New Indian Express. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Kamal Haasan to do Drishyam's Tamil version. Sify. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Emraan Hashmi announces his next, The Body, a suspense thriller with Rishi Kapoor, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Vedhika". Bollywood Hungama. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  7. ↑ Ragesh, G. (24 March 2026). "Kerala Assembly Elections 2026: In Muvattupuzha, Congress keen to buck the trend, saffron maths adds to poll game". The Hindu.
  8. ↑ "Members - Kerala Legislature". www.niyamasabha.org.
  9. ↑ "'Drishyam' both blessing and curse for me: Jeethu Joseph". Mathrubhumi. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  10. ↑ Desk, Entertainment (18 July 2025). "'Physically and mentally exhausted': Jeethu Joseph reveals struggle behind Drishyam 3 climax". @mathrubhumi. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 Shilpa Nair Anand (17 January 2014). "Bankable brand". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  12. ↑ TNIE, Team (19 April 2026). "INTERVIEW | 'There's no such thing as drishyam-model murder': Director Jeethu Joseph". The New Indian Express.
  13. 1 2 "My script for 'Drishyam' is original: Jeethu Joseph". Deccan Chronicle. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Kumar, P. K. Ajith (4 July 2020). "Jeethu Joseph on 'Drishyam 2': 'It is about how the family responds to life after the crisis'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  15. ↑ https://m.economictimes.com/news/new-updates/drishyam-3-release-postponed-mohanlal-announces-new-date-for-georgekuttys-return-ahead-of-ajay-devgns-hindi-version/amp_articleshow/129758033.cms
  16. ↑ "Mrs Jeethu Joseph turns screenwriter | Mrs Jeethu Joseph turns screenwriter". Deccan Choronicle. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  17. ↑ "Mohanlal To Unveil Jeethu Joseph's 'Nunakuzhi' First Look On THIS Date". The Times Of India. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  18. ↑ "Mirage, Asif Ali's film with Jeethu Joseph begins Shoot!". Times Now. 31 January 2025. Retrieved 1 April 2025.
  19. ↑ "Biju Menon–Joju George starrer 'Valathu Vashathe Kallan' gets release date". Onmanorama. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  20. ↑ "Drishyam 3 shooting begins with pooja in Kerala, Mohanlal shares new pics: 'Bringing Georgekutty's world alive'". Hindustan Times. 22 September 2025. Retrieved 22 September 2025.
  21. ↑ "Mohanlal felicitated on the set of 'Drishyam 3' after Dadasaheb Phalke Award win". Onmanorama. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
  22. ↑ "Fahadh Faasil joins hands with 'Drishyam' director Jeethu Joseph". The Hindu. 16 May 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  23. ↑ "Asif Ali, Amala Paul's 'Level Cross' to release in theatres on this date". The Hindu. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  24. ↑ "Director Jeethu Joseph to headline a Malayalam web series". Times Now.
  25. ↑ "Shane Nigam's next with Jeethu Joseph titled Dridam, first look out". The New Indian Express. 20 August 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  26. ↑ BreakingMovies (6 January 2014). "Breaking Movies : TTK Prestige – Vanitha Film Awards 2014 ~ Complete Winners List". Breakingmovies.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  27. ↑ "TTK Prestige-Vanitha Film Awards: Shobhana, Prithviraj win best actor, actress awards". Kerala9.com. 20 January 2014. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  28. ↑ Gayathry (30 January 2014). "Jeethu Joseph Bags Best Director Award – Oneindia Entertainment". Oneindia. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  29. ↑ "'Drishyam' Bags Kerala Film Critics Association Awards". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
[edit]
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