What makes it different from others?

Truly Dreadful Film

One of my all time favorites.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A great movie that keeps pricking at your morals and the extent to which you would go to your loved ones. It did bother me a little to realise what Kamal's family did was not a small affair and the guilt in itself would be something you can't live with. Also, can one really take laws in their own hands?...Apart from these philosophical questions that can arise, the movie has done a great job engaging the audience and the actors have been brilliant! Kamal has scored it, yet again! A must watch.. not to be missed! It is not often that you get movies like this - also family oriented and thoroughly engaging.

This is a rare instance where the remake surpasses the original. Not many remakes do that. But Tamil cinema has quite a few memorable instances like Ghilli and Vasoolraja MBBS that stepped above the remakes and became better films. Papanasam joins that list now. Kamal Haasan makes Mohanlal look so uninteresting, bland and inept. Yes, that final climax scene was slightly overdose of the melodramatic Kamal Haasan but that's his strength and that's why people love him. He comes from the Sivaji school of acting (his mentor is Sivaji Ganesan as said by him umpteen times).The film is so superbly blended into the Tamil nativity that a lot of effort and detail have been done by the makers to achieve this. The girl who plays the elder daughter is top notch, and so is the younger one. Gautami passes muster. Asha Sharrath (the cop) is as brilliant as she did in the original. Kalabhavan Mani goes one step above the original's actor to deliver a knockout performance. The music greatly aids the film with the haunting background score (very well done Ghibran). Overall, the Kamal Haasan factor lifts the film above the original easily. Note: I watched Drishyam (Malayalam) first, but now I regret it. I wish I watched Papanasam first. But out of the two, I will end up watching Papanasam again.

Yes it is remake, but that doesn't mean it's any lesser. In fact i believe making a remake is a difficult job. For all the people who say the original movie was better, of course you would believe that as this concept and movie did not exist before the original script so you will like it more. But now that you have a frame of reference, doing a remake of a successful movie is very difficult as you have cater to the demographic who know what the movie is about.Yes people might say it is hit only because of a remake, but i would strongly disagree, it is a delight to watch because the remake is done just right. Kadhalaku Mariydhai, Nanban are prime example.Leave aside all those controversies, from the premise till the end, this is one movie that paces really well. Though a simple concept of saving the family, the actors have brought their A-game, fantastic performances from everyone. Needless to say anything about Kamal Hassan, he makes everything looks so easy and so realistic, he has always been best in any role that he plays and even here he just steals the show. Having said that, it would be easy for the director to be tempted to keep Kamal in all frames and make the movie a success, but not to be. Everyone has been given a fair share of the screen space and they have given a scintillating act every time.Although i know the movie was long, i never felt bored at any point, a feel that i get from a Tarantino movie. The screenplay was perfect, the actors were placed in the right place at right time. The plot twists were great and just when you thought you know everything the movie creeps with something new, i really loved that.In a intriguing movie like this, you have to feel for the characters and you really do. That's a exceptional win-win for the actors in the movie. Even though ethically what they are doing are wrong, you understand what will happen if only you were truthful at all times, and you totally buy that. Frame by frame the movie passes with wonderful continuity and even when it ends, it just does not snap, it is a thorough and clear closure, which says a lot about the director It's easy for movies such as this to be absurdly stupid and leave many plot holes for the audience to explore but the director covers all plot syncs and when you backtrack what went on, you can easily connect the dots and agree to the fact though the hero is selfish, you have to be selfish at some times to survive in this world. What happened was a accident, but in a perfect world you could come out with the truth and people will look at 2 sides of a coin and take the right judgment, but we are not in a perfect world. At the end when Kamal explains what would happen if the tables were turned, it is a right explanation. How a Mother would handle would be different from what a Mother with power would handle a situation.A Small negative would be that the premise about the Hero could have been shortened a bit, maybe less 15 minutes, his love interest for his wife was totally unwarranted, looks like Kamal's personal choice than anything else. But that does not affect the movie in anyway and can be easily overlooked.You will like every character, you could relate to the fear in their eyes, the plot was simple and understandable, the connectors were very well used and screenplay was paced just right. A movie for everyone in the family and through entertainer

The movie's story is really good & no wonder the original movie Drishyam was a superhit. However this tamil version Papanasam is too long, especially in the 2nd half. I feel that the no. of interrogation scenes could have been reduced as several of them were redundant & pointlessly adding to the length of the movie. Secondly, the police brutality in the 2nd half was too excessive and uncalled for. I don't care if the Director wanted to portray the harsh reality of police torture, he should be knowing that this is a U-rated family drama that kids will also like to watch, unlike a violent action movie that you'll want them to avoid watching. I heard that the original Drishyam movie is not as violent as the Tamil version and not as long, hence in that aspect I would not rate Papanasam highly.