Movie: Drishyam 3
Rating: 2.25/5
Banner: Aashirvad Cinemas
Cast: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Murali Gopy, Santhi Mayadevi, and others
Music Director: Anil Johnson
Producer: Antony Perumbavoor
Written and Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Release Date: May 21, 2026
After two blockbuster films in the franchise, “Drishyam 3” released in theaters today. While the first two parts were remade in Telugu with Venkatesh, this third installment has arrived as a dubbed version from Malayalam.
Let’s see whether it lives up to the brilliance of the earlier films.
Story:
Georgekutty (Mohanlal) has now become a film producer, and his debut production turns into a success. At the same time, he is trying to find a suitable alliance for his elder daughter Anu (Ansiba Hassan). However, every proposal gets cancelled at the last minute for one reason or another.
Finally, a match is fixed with an NRI named Avira, and George decides to conduct the wedding quickly and send her to Dubai.
Meanwhile, Prabhakar (Siddique), father of Varun whose death triggered the events of the franchise, still burns with revenge against George and his family.
As he attempts to disrupt Anu’s marriage, George realizes that the old case is once again being reopened. He now has to protect his daughter and family all over again.
Performances:
Mohanlal reprises Georgekutty in his trademark understated style. Unlike the earlier films where the character constantly stayed ahead with smart moves, here he mostly comes across as a concerned father eager to settle his daughter’s marriage. Nevertheless, Mohanlal carries the role effortlessly with his screen presence.
Meena gets limited scope and delivers a decent performance. Ansiba Hassan has a better role in the second half and performs well.
Siddique, Murali Gopy, Santhi Mayadevi and others do what is required. Surprisingly, Asha Sharath’s role as Varun’s mother has very little significance this time.
Esther Anil, playing the younger daughter, is let down by irritating scenes and dialogues.
Technical Aspects:
The biggest strength of the “Drishyam” franchise has always been Jeethu Joseph’s clever screenplay writing.
The twists, turns and layered narrative of the first two films kept audiences constantly engaged. Unfortunately, the writing in “Drishyam 3” feels ordinary and disappointingly weak.
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The screenplay lacks tension, thrill and smart detailing. The background score and cinematography are adequate, but the editing is poor and the pacing painfully slow.
The film feels unnecessarily stretched and could easily have been trimmed by at least 30 minutes.
Highlights:
Final 20 minutes
Mohanlal’s presense
Drawbacks:
No thrilling twists
Dull screenplay
Most boring first half in the franchise
Poor Telugu dubbing
Analysis:
“Drishyam 3” was expected to serve as a fitting conclusion to one of Indian cinema’s most celebrated thriller franchises. Instead, it turns out to be the weakest film in the series.
The first “Drishyam” worked because of the clever tactics Georgekutty used to save his family after Varun’s murder. The second part elevated the franchise further with brilliant twists involving the novel-writing angle and courtroom deception. In both films, the protagonist’s intelligence felt believable, thrilling and impossible to predict.
But in “Drishyam 3,” there is hardly any real thrill. Not a single sequence generates the excitement or admiration that the earlier films effortlessly created. The screenplay moves in an extremely predictable manner, and even the so-called interval block falls flat.
The only stretch that somewhat engages is the climax portion where Georgekutty reveals a twist. Even that revelation, however, is nowhere close to the brilliance of the earlier installments. The rest of the film drags endlessly with bland conversations and weak dramatic moments.
It almost feels as though the film exists only to prove once again that Georgekutty is clever, rather than because there was a genuinely compelling story left to tell. Neither Prabhakar’s revenge angle nor the police investigation creates any real tension. The only mildly engaging episode involves the bail application during the wedding sequence.
Overall, “Drishyam 3” feels like an unnecessary and forced sequel made purely to extend the franchise. There simply wasn’t enough story left after the second part to justify another installment. The poor Telugu dubbing and lack of native flavor further reduce the impact of this dubbed version. Fans of the franchise are better off revisiting the first two films instead.
Bottomline: Wasted effort
