Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey: Basil Joseph, Darshana Rajendran-starrer was initially written as 'a serious film'?

Basil Joseph and Darshana Rajendran’s Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey is running to packed houses since its release on October 28. The movie, which is helmed by Vipin Das, is a rollicking comedy that tackles a serious issue, but how the makers have packaged seems to be the true reason the film has worked with the audience.

Though the film tells the story of a woman, whose life has been decided by the men around her since the day she was born, and how she has to suffer a chauvinist husband and endure domestic violence, the makers ensured all this is told in the most engaging manner through comedy, some of which is over-the-top but for the right reasons.

Also read: Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey OTT release date: When and where to watch Basil Joseph, Darshana Rajendran’s entertainer 

In a recent interview with OTTplay, the movie’s director Vipin Das, who had previously helmed Gokul Suresh’s Mudhugauv and Saiju Kurup’s Antakshari, told us that the writers had initially written a totally different version of Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey.

“We initially did write it as a serious film and then felt like even we wouldn’t have watched that movie,” he said, adding that the screenplay was good but they didn’t believe it would attract the audience to come watch it in theatres, especially at a time when there are more than two releases on a Friday.

Vipin, who had co-written the script along with Nashid Muhammed Famy, said they then decided to use the same set of characters and the story but give it a hilarious twist instead. “We wrote every scene from scratch in the new version and that’s how it took this form of a comedy,” said the director.

Also read: Exclusive! Vipin Das: If it wasn’t for Darshana Rajendran, Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey would not have been like this 

In the second version, however, Basil’s character of Rajesh also gained in prominence, even though Darshana’s Jayabharathi was still the protagonist as the film is told through her character. “The reason Jaya’s character becomes greater is because of the person opposite to her,” said Vipin.

The film, which hit theatres on October 28, also has Azeez Nedumangad, Anand Manmadhan, Manju Pillai, Aju Varghese and Sudheer Paravoor in pivotal roles. The movie’s OTT rights have been bagged by Disney+ Hotstar.