Jeethu Joseph

Indian film director (born 1972)

In this Indian name, the name Joseph is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Jeethu.

Jeethu Joseph

Jeethu Joseph in 2021

Born|  (1972-11-10) 10 November 1972 (age 52)

Muvattupuzha, Kerala, India

Alma mater|

* St Berchmans College, Changanassery
* Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha

Occupations|

* Director
* screenwriter
* producer

Years active| 2007–present
Spouse| Linta Jeethu
Children| 2

Jeethu Joseph (born 10 November 1972) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema.[1] He has also worked in a few Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. Jeethu made his directional debut with the 2007 police procedural, Detective. He is best known for creating the Drishyam franchise.[2] Drishyam became the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever, at its time of release. It was the first Malayalam film to cross the ₹50 crore mark, at the box office.[3] Drishyam 2 was released directly through Amazon Prime Video, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the prequel, it was highly acclaimed and appreciated, worldwide.

His other works include Mummy & Me (2010), My Boss (2012),[4] Life of Josutty (2015), Memories (2013),[5] Oozham (2016), Aadhi (2018) and Neru (2023). Jeethu made his Tamil debut with Papanasam (2015) which is a remake of his 2013 film Drishyam,[6][7] Hindi debut with The Body (2019),[8] and Telugu debut with Drushyam 2 (2021), which is a remake of his own directional Malayalam film of the same name.

## Early life

[edit]

Jeethu Joseph was born in a Syro-Malabar Catholic family in Mutholapuram, Muvattupuzha taluk to Leelamma and V. Joseph, ex-MLA of Muvattupuzha. Jeethu wanted to attend the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) although his father wanted him to become an engineer. He attended Fathima Matha English Medium School and completed his pre degree from famous SB College Changanassery[9] and later graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from Nirmala College, Muvattupuzha.[10]

## Career

[edit]

### Early works

[edit]

Jeethu Joseph started as an assistant director to Jayaraj in the film Bheebhathsam. After that, he got a chance to direct a film starring Dileep but it did not materialize and he was back where he started.[10] Meanwhile, Jeethu developed the one-line plot of Detective. But after failing to find any producers, his mother Leelamma Joseph offered to co-produce the film, which became his debut directorial. A month into the project, a producer evinced interest and took on the production. Detective was released in 2007. The film fared well at the box-office.[10]

His next film Mummy & Me was a success at the box-office. Mummy and Me, although it took close to three years in the making, marked a turning point in his career as 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.[10]

His third film My Boss was also a success in theatres. Jeethu's fourth movie Memories, a suspense thriller, was released in 2013 which did well in box office.[11][12]

### Post Drishyam

[edit]

Towards the end of 2013, the drama-thriller Drishyam starring Mohanlal was released, which was well received critically and commercially. It was the highest-grossing Malayalam film, until 2016, and the first Malayalam film to cross ₹50 crore mark at the box office.[3][10][13][14] Drishyam was remade in Tamil by Jeethu with Kamal Haasan enacting Mohanlal's role. It was also remade to Telugu, Kannada and Hindi by other directors.[13] Jeethu then directed Dileep-starrer Life of Josutty.

## Personal life

[edit]

Jeethu married Linta and they have two children. Linta is a costume designer in Malayalam cinema.

## Filmography

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Credited as  | Language  | Notes

|
|
|
|

Director  | Writer  | Producer
2007 | Detective | Yes | Yes | No  | Malayalam |
2010 | Mummy & Me | Yes | Yes | No |
2012 | My Boss | Yes | Yes | No |
2013 | Memories | Yes | Yes | No |
Drishyam | Yes | Yes | No |
2015 | Papanasam | Yes | Yes | No  | Tamil | Remake of Drishyam
Life of Josutty | Yes | No | No  | Malayalam |
2016 | Oozham | Yes | Yes | No |
2017 | Lakshyam | No | Yes | Yes |
2018 | Aadhi | Yes | Yes | No |
2019 | Mr. & Ms. Rowdy | Yes | No | Yes |
The Body | Yes | No | No  | Hindi |
Thambi | Yes | Yes | No  | Tamil |
2021 | Drishyam 2 | Yes | Yes | No  | Malayalam |
Drushyam 2 | Yes | Yes | No  | Telugu | Remake of Drishyam 2
2022 | Anthakshari | No | No | Presenter  | Malayalam |
12th Man | Yes | No | No | Also as Merin's brother (voice only)[15]
Kooman | Yes | No | No |
2023 | Neru | Yes | Yes | No | [16]
2024 | Level Cross | No | No | Presenter | [17]
Nunakkuzhi | Yes | No | No | [18]
TBA | Ram: Part 1 † | Yes | Yes | No | Filming

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

* 2013 – 44th Kerala State Film Awards \- Best Popular Film \- Drishyam
* 2013 – Vanitha Film Awards – Best Director – Drishyam[19][20]
* 2013 – Kerala Film Critics Association Awards – Best Director – Drishyam[21][22]
* 2013 – Jaihind TV Film Awards – Best Director – Drishyam
* 2013 - South Indian International Movie Awards \- Best Director - Drishyam

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Detective – A clueless suspense thriller". IndiaGlitz. 19 February 2007. Archived from the original on 6 February 2007.
2. ^ Gayathry (19 December 2013). "Mohanlal's Drishyam Releasing Today in 133 Theatres – Oneindia Entertainment". Entertainment.oneindia.in. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
3. ^ a b 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.
4. ^ "Mamta Mohandas to boss around Dileep". The Times of India. 7 October 2011. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013.
5. ^ "Prithviraj act as a drunkard in Memories". Asianetindia.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ Kamal Haasan to do Drishyam`s Tamil version. Sify. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
8. ^ "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.
9. ^ Reddy, Bhargav (2 December 2022). "Jeethu Joseph Wiki, Biography, Age, Wife, Family, Education, Height, Weight, Movies List, Career, Profession, Net Worth". Retrieved 12 November 2024.
10. ^ a b c d e Shilpa Nair Anand (17 January 2014). "Bankable brand". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
11. ^ "Manorama Online - Home". Malayala Manorama. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
12. ^ "Memories movie review: Wallpaper, Story, Trailer at Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
13. ^ a b "My script for 'Drishyam' is original: Jeethu Joseph". Deccan Chronicle. 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
14. ^ "Drishyam movie review: Wallpaper, Story, Trailer at Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
15. ^ "അടച്ചിട്ടൊരു മുറിയിലെ ത്രില്ലർ; ട്വൽത് മാൻ റിവ്യു". ManoramaOnline (in Malayalam). Retrieved 20 May 2022.
16. ^ "Filming of Mohanlal's Neru wraps up". Cinema Express. 5 October 2023. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
17. ^ "Asif Ali, Amala Paul's 'Level Cross' to release in theatres on this date". The Hindu. 13 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
18. ^ "Mohanlal To Unveil Jeethu Joseph's 'Nunakuzhi' First Look On THIS Date". The Times Of India. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
19. ^ BreakingMovies (6 January 2014). "Breaking Movies : TTK Prestige – Vanitha Film Awards 2014 ~ Complete Winners List". Breakingmovies.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
20. ^ "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.
21. ^ Gayathry (30 January 2014). "Jeethu Joseph Bags Best Director Award – Oneindia Entertainment". Entertainment.oneindia.in. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
22. ^ "'Drishyam' Bags Kerala Film Critics Association Awards". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Jeethu Joseph at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Jeethu Joseph

* Detective (2007)
* Mummy & Me (2010)
* My Boss (2012)
* Memories (2013)
* Drishyam (2013)
* Papanasam (2015)
* Life of Josutty (2015)
* Oozham (2016)
* Aadhi (2018)
* Mr. & Ms. Rowdy (2019)
* Thambi (2019)
* The Body (2019)
* Drishyam 2 (2021)
* Drushyam 2 (2021)
* 12th Man (2022)
* Kooman (2022)
* Neru (2023)
* Nunakuzhi (2024)
* Ram (upcoming)

*[TBA]: To be announced
*[†]: Film has not yet been released
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template