Manichithrathazhu‘s first remake appeared in Karnataka, in 2004. Directed by P. Vasu, the movie became a phenomenal success among the Kannadigas. With a cast that included Vishnuvardhan, Soundarya and Ramesh Aravind, it raked in a collection of 45 crores – 40 crores more than it’s original. Vishnuvardhan played Mohanlal’s role of the madcap psychiatrist while Ramesh played his friend and unfortunate groom to Soundarya, who played Shobhana’s role of Ganga.

The story again revolves around the same theme of the couple who come and live in an ancient house and are burdened by the mysterious occurrences there. Ramesh aptly plays the role of the initially indignant and later helpless young husband. However, there are a few stark differences between Apthamithra and Manichithrathazhu, along with many more subtle ones. First of all, the climax scene  has been changed for this version. While in the Malayalam version Nagavalli seeks and finds her revenge by slitting her captor’s throat and drinking his blood, her Kannadiga counterpart is satisfied simply by watching him burn to his death from a distance.

The doctor in this version is much more of a warrior, with a fight sequence in the beginning of the movie serving as an introduction, in which he takes on a substantial number of bad guys to save the ladies in distress. These women turn out to be Ramesh’s relatives, to whose house he needs to go. Ganga’s inclination and curiosity to go into the room and explore it is shown much more dramatically in the Kannada version. Vishnuvardhan’s character was given a lot more importance than Mohanlal’s, with Vishnuvardhan’s version appearing in the beginning of the movie itself, as opposed to Mohanlal’s character appearing halfway through. Dr. Vijay(Vishnuvardhan’s character) is also given a very hero/demi-god – like aura in this movie, which is again absent in the original. The Kannadiga doctor is also given more screen time than his Malayalee counterpart, with entire scenes dedicated to his flirting and attempts to Ramesh’s cousin, Saumya, who is the supposedly mentally-unstable patient.

There is a scene in this movie in which Dr. Vijay refuses to allow Saumya to conduct dance classes outside the house, and which sparks up a fight and later romance between the two. This scene, which is repeated in the tamil version as well, is taken from another Malayalam movie starring Mohanlal and Manjuvaryar. There is a lot more dramatization of events in this version, as opposed to the more subtle occurrences in malayalam. For instance, as Ganga inserts the key into the lock and opens the forbidden locked door, simultaneously, Ramesh is almost run over by an out-of-control truck on his work site.

The priest appears much sooner than the doctor’s second arrival, and appears not to recognize him until he is almost kicked out of the house by an angry Ramesh on hearing the news of his wife’s madness. The priest then goes on to tell the members of the household and a stunned Ramesh how the doctor is the apprentice of a famous professor (Bradley) in the United States of America. He praises the doctor until everyone is convinced. Another twist in this movie is that Ganga believes the doctor to be the Rajah, and determines to take revenge on him, although it is the husband in Manichithrathazhu. Therefore the family members and Ramesh believe that the doctor is willing to give up his life for the sake of his friend’s wife, and he becomes the hero of the family.

This entire movie bends much more to the spiritual side of the science vs. religion debate. The priest talks of Dr. Vijay’s “thejus” , or enlightenment that could be seen on his face after he returns from his epiphany in which he discovers the true identity of his patient. The doctor himself accepts as fact that there is more than a mere mental disorder that is the root of these problems. He talks of how to appease Nagavalli, rather than of how to cure Ganga. He talks of possessions and other supernatural things, although he still clearly explains the phenomenon of Multiple Personality Disorder. There is a slight artificiality in between when they sit in a room that looks very much like an interrogation room within the house, with a light table set in the center and lamps set on all four sides.

The movie won the Filmfare awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress and went on to be a box-office hit, running for almost a year. It was such a success that a sequel was made, called Aptharakshaka. Oddly enough, the actress Soundarya, who played Ganga,  died immediately after Apthamithra, in a plane crash, making it her last movie. What adds to the mystery and intrigue is that the actor Vishnuvardhan also passed away after the sequel was made. Coincidence? You decide.