Jeethu Joseph

His first script found no backers until his mother offered to co-produce it, and that is how the suspense thriller Detective (2007) became Jeethu Joseph's debut. The writer-director and producer was born on 10 November 1972 at Mutholapuram near Muvattupuzha in Ernakulam district, took an economics degree from Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha, and learned filmmaking as an assistant to director Jayaraj. Most of his work is in Malayalam, with films in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu as well. Next came Mummy & Me (2010), which he regards as a turning point, My Boss (2012) and the thriller Memories (2013). Drishyam (2013), starring Mohanlal, became the first Malayalam film to cross Rs 50 crore and stayed the industry's top grosser until 2016. It was remade in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada, and in Sinhalese and Mandarin Chinese. He directed the Tamil version himself: Papanasam (2015), with Kamal Haasan. His other films include Life of Josutty, Oozham, Aadhi, Neru (2023), Nunakkuzhi (2024) and Mirage (2025). The Body (2019) was his Hindi debut. Drushyam 2 (2021), his Telugu debut, remade Drishyam 2: The Resumption, which he wrote and directed for a 2021 streaming release. Drishyam 3 (2026), also written and directed by him, continues the series.