Sunny Deol’s upcoming crime thriller Suryaa: Ant Se Aarambh Tak will bring the Malayalam hit Joseph to Hindi-speaking audiences, but director M Padmakumar says the adaptation was never conceived as a shot-by-shot recreation.
Padmakumar, who directed the 2018 original and is making his Hindi debut with Suryaa, told ETV Bharat that the Hindi version keeps the foundation of Joseph while changing how the material is presented.
“Suryaa is not a carbon copy of Joseph,” he said.
A fresh film, not a carbon copy
The clearest instruction came from Sunny Deol, who is both the film’s producer and lead actor. Padmakumar recalled that Deol told him to put the Malayalam original aside: “They wanted a fresh product.”
That means the central story and characters remain, but the setting, characterisation, presentation and narrative pace have been developed differently. The protagonist’s appearance, demeanour and age are close to the retired officer played by Joju George in the original, though Padmakumar said the treatment makes the experience distinct.
- Stays the same: the central story and characters, built around a retired police officer’s investigation into a dark organ-harvesting racket.
- Changes: setting, characterisation, presentation and narrative pace, shaped for a Hindi-speaking audience.
Padmakumar added that even viewers who have watched Joseph several times should not find Suryaa repetitive, and he cautioned against comparing the two lead performances too closely.
The original that set the benchmark
Joseph released in November 2018 and became a turning point for Joju George, who had been a familiar supporting face before playing the retired officer at its centre. Written by former police officer Shahi Kabir, the crime thriller leaned on procedural realism; Anil Johnson’s score helped set its mood.
The film is reported to have earned Rs 28 crore against a budget of around Rs 3 crore and ran in theatres for more than 100 days. Joju George won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Character Actor and a Special Mention at the National Film Awards.
Judged on its own terms
For Padmakumar, Suryaa is also a step beyond Malayalam cinema. He said he found considerable freedom and respect in the Hindi industry, where he believes filmmakers from Kerala are valued for a commitment to authentic storytelling.
He praised Sunny Deol’s contribution during production, saying the actor performed in his own signature style and that there were many moments where he surprised the unit. Comparisons with Joseph may be inevitable, Padmakumar acknowledged, but he hopes audiences will approach the new film as its own work.
Suryaa: Ant Se Aarambh Tak is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release on November 20, 2026.
Source: ETV Bharat National
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