In a career spanning over four decades and 340-plus movies, Mohanlal has given us so many memorable characters and cinematic moments. And still, he continues to surprise us every time. While there are hundreds of essays dissecting his acting methods, the man himself doesn’t seem to have a definite answer to his longevity and enduring appeal in movies. “I call it a blessing. I think some unknown energy is helping me,” he told indianexpress.com.

“I trust my directors, my scriptwriters and my colleagues and my fans. It is a blessing to be in this magic for the last 43 years. I think the kind of movies I do and the kind of directors I work with should be the secret of my success,” the actor added.

Mohanlal couldn’t have delivered such wonderful performances without inhabiting the minds of the various characters he has brought to life so far. But, for the first time, he claims that he has been unable to truly understand the character of Georgekutty in Drishyam. And that too despite playing the role for the second time in the upcoming sequel.

“Because it is hard to say what’s going on in his (Georgekutty) mind. He doesn’t show any emotions. He suppresses them,” explained Mohanlal.

The only trait of Georgekutty that Mohanlal could truly connect with and perhaps which informs his performance in the movie is the character’s willingness to go great lengths to protect his family. “It is every man’s right,” he remarked.

In the first film, Georgekutty successfully managed to spin a web of convoluted lies and manipulate the public opinion in his favour to get away with the murder. “But, a man who has been party to a crime will always have the fear of getting caught. Georgekutty and his family also have that fear and that’s why we made Drishyam 2,” he said.

The superstar also noted that Drishyam changed the way the Malayalam audience look at crime thrillers. And one of the primary reasons why it became such a massive hit was because “the film had love and family bonding in it.”

Director Jeethu Joseph recalled that he was confident that Drishyam would be a success. But, he never imagined the scale of its success. “I was in shock. We never expected Drishyam will go to this level. After its release, it took about a month for us to realize that this film was going beyond our imagination. And it was remade into other languages and everywhere the film repeated the same success. The real shock came from China, actually. We never expected that. We were all happy and it was a proud moment for Malayalam cinema,” added the filmmaker.

Drishyam inspired remake in all major Indian languages and was also remade in Chinese as Sheep Without a Shepherd, which was a commercial and critical hit.

Following the massive success of the film in 2013, Mohanlal and producer Antony Perumbavoor wanted to further expand the world of Drishyam. They wanted to explore the depths of hidden secrets in the mind of Georgekutty. Even though director Jeethu Joseph was initially hesitant about the idea of a sequel, it was too good an opportunity to let it slide.

“We had been planning to do Drishyam 2 (for a long time). It was in my mind, Antony Perumbavoor’s mind, and Jeethu’s mind. And suddenly it happened. When Drishyam 2 started rolling, we were all prepared. We weren’t sure when this film would happen. But, it had to happen. Georgekutty and his family should be remembered by the audience. Because it was such a cult film. Thanks to Jeethu for bringing out such an intelligent film,” Mohanlal concluded.

Drishyam 2 will start streaming on Amazon Prime Video from February 19.