Basil Joseph suggested Darshana Rajendran’s name for Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey: Vipin Das

Darshana Rajendran essayed the titular role of Jayabharathi in the superhit film, which has already crossed Rs 15 crore at the box office

Basil Joseph and Darshana Rajendran in Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey poster

Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey director Vipin Das revealed that Basil Joseph was not just an actor in the film but had a huge role to play in terms of how the movie, which has Darshana Rajendran as the female protagonist, shaped up.

The film, which hit theatres on October 28, is still going strong in the Kerala box office and has raked in over Rs 15 crore since its release. The movie is now gearing up for its release in other centres across the country on November 11.

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

Vipin, who had previously helmed Gokul Suresh’s Muddhugauv and Saiju Kurup’s OTT thriller Antakshari, recently opened up about the casting of the family entertainer, which revolves around the life of its protagonist Jayabharathi in a patriarchal society.

The filmmaker said that the first person the team had cast for the role was Basil. Vipin said he knew the actor-director could pull off the sequences in the first half because of his performance in Joji, but they were more keen on him as they required someone to ensure that the comedy in the second half worked. Basil fit the bill perfectly, said Vipin.

Also read: Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey review: Darshana Rajendran, Basil Joseph kick it out of the park in this hilarious comedy

The director also explained that it was Basil, who had suggested Darshana’s name for the titular character, and he was also the one who had guided the team to contact the film’s producers. Basil had previously worked with the producers in the film Jan-e-Man, which was also a superhit.

In an earlier interview with OTTplay, Vipin said that if it wasn’t for Darshana's effort, the movie wouldn’t have turned out the way it did. “She didn’t even use the caravan and used to be around us all the time. There was a day when she had changed costumes 22 times. No other artiste would have done it. Also, the movie needed an actor who didn’t wear make-up and also had to do physical acts. She was game for all of that,” said Vipin.

Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey’s OTT rights have been bagged by Disney+ Hotstar. The film is expected to release on the platform by the end of this month.

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