BY NAMITA DOGRA SUDAN*
Plot & Cast
- Director: Abhishek Pathak
- Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Jaideep Ahlawat, Rajat Kapoor, Prakash Raj, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta
- Runtime: 2 hours 20 minutes
The film opens with a quick, well-crafted recap of the previous two installments, refreshing viewers’ memories and drawing them straight back into the high-stakes narrative.
At its core, the franchise has always been a tragic battle between two families. On one side are Geetha Prabhakar (Tabu), a grieving former IPS officer, and her Harvard-educated husband, Mahesh Deshmukh (Rajat Kapoor), seeking justice for their son, Sameer. On the other is Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn), whose wife (Shriya Saran) and daughter (Ishita Dutta) were involved in Sameer’s accidental death after he attempted to harass and molest Vijay’s daughter.
What began as an accidental killing has turned into a desperate, unending battle between two sets of parents fighting to protect or avenge their children.
In this final chapter, Vijay, the uneducated, fourth-grade dropout and movie buff, finds himself pitted against some of the city’s best legal and investigative minds. Law enforcement makes one final push, bringing in a ruthless new investigator, Crime Branch SP Rajveer Singh Tomar (Jaideep Ahlawat), alongside a calculating top defense lawyer (Prakash Raj).
Unlike the previous installments, Drishyam 3 departs from its Malayalam counterpart, crafting an independent, original storyline and a brand-new finale specifically for Hindi audiences. Yet, despite all the legal firepower and high-stakes courtroom drama, the system loses once again.
The Positives
- Retains the Core Flavor: The movie stays true to the fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat thriller style that fans have grown to love.
- Strong Performances and Key Additions: The ensemble cast elevates the narrative. Ajay Devgn commands the screen with his usual stoic brilliance, while Tabu and Rajat Kapoor bring emotional depth to their roles. However, it is Jaideep Ahlawat’s entry as SP Rajveer Singh Tomar that adds a fresh layer of intensity. His high-stakes confrontation with Vijay keeps the tension soaring.
- The Climax and Unpredictability: Throughout the film, you genuinely feel that Geetha and her team have built an airtight case. Deep down, you know Vijay Salgaonkar will somehow find an escape route. He always does. But how he pulls it off keeps you guessing until the final stretch.
- Engaging Screenplay and Technical Polish: With a relatively crisp 2-hour, 20-minute runtime and atmospheric cinematography, the film manages to keep viewers engaged despite its structural flaws.
The Negatives
- Uneven Pacing and a One-Sided First Half: The signature cat-and-mouse dynamic of the previous films is largely absent here. For much of the runtime, Vijay appears completely backed into a corner, with no visible strategy to fight back. This makes the first half feel one-sided and, at times, downright boring. The real payoff arrives only in the climax.
- Incomplete Emotional Arc for the Grieving Parents: Across all three installments, the driving force behind the investigation has been Geetha and Mahesh’s desperate quest for justice. This time, Geetha is pushed to the brink, becoming suicidal and nearly losing her sanity. Yet their story ends abruptly, with the couple quietly accepting defeat. By failing to explain their final thought process, the director misses an opportunity to bring closure to the emotional journey that set the entire saga in motion.
- Glaring Plot Holes: The narrative occasionally stumbles over logic. Sister Pereira’s character feels disconnected from the main storyline. Meanwhile, the grave-digging sequence treats a spot excavated just six months earlier as though it had remained untouched for years, an inconsistency that could easily have been avoided by swapping the gravestones.
- Lacks the Earlier Films’ Masterstroke Intelligence: While engaging, the final revelations do not feel as sharp, mind-bending, or intellectually satisfying as the iconic twists in Parts 1 and 2.
- The Fast-Track Realism Gap: In a country where legal proceedings can drag on for years, even decades, watching such a complex case get wrapped up within 24 hours requires a considerable suspension of disbelief!
Box Office & Streaming Insight
Despite mixed critical reactions to its plot execution, Drishyam 3 is reportedly performing strongly at the box office. The film is said to have crossed ₹175 crore worldwide in its opening weekend alone. Internationally, it has reportedly drawn strong crowds, including in North American theaters, with overseas collections of approximately $4 million.
Netflix has reportedly acquired the film’s post-theatrical streaming rights, with its digital premiere expected after the theatrical window closes.
Final Verdict
Drishyam 3 may not match the brilliant writing or carefully balanced tension of its predecessors, but it still delivers an entertaining thriller with strong performances and an engaging climax. The uneven first half, occasional plot holes, and lack of emotional closure prevent it from reaching the heights of the earlier films.
Still, for fans of the franchise, there is enough suspense and intrigue to make it worth watching on the big screen. If you enjoy intelligent, largely non-violent family thrillers, this one deserves a place on your watchlist, whether in theaters or eventually on streaming.
Rating: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5 stars)
