New directors always dream of doing something different. I tell them to just add freshness to tried and tested themes. Nagraj Manjule has done just that and how!

‘Papanasam’ is a faithful, if not better remake. It’s an exhilarating cocktail of family, emotions, crime and redemption. It’s not a whodunit or a ‘howdunit’ because we know both. It places the viewer in a moral dilemma. Jeethu Joseph’s watertight script would have got a nod of approval from Hitchcock. He may have found the filial sentiments silly but that’s Jeethu’s masterstroke.