Drishyam 3 Review: No thrills, no clever twists, only disappointment

What’s Drishyam 3 about?

George (Mohanlal) is now a successful film producer after backing a movie titled “Drishyam,” inspired by his own story. As he busily prepares for the wedding of his elder daughter Anu (Ansiba Hassan), the shadows of his past begin to resurface once again.

Prabhakar (Siddique), still consumed by grief and vengeance over the death of his son Varun, is determined to stop Anu’s marriage and make George experience the same pain he endured. Armed with fresh evidence, he compels the police to reopen the case for a third time.

But George remains the fiercely protective father he has always been, willing to go to any extent to safeguard his family, especially his daughter. Sensing the looming threat, he quietly begins executing another calculated plan. Will George once again outsmart the system and protect his daughter, or will the long-buried case finally catch up with him?

Analysis

“Drishyam,” originally made in Malayalam with Mohanlal playing Georgekutty under the direction of Jeethu Joseph, emerged as a sensational blockbuster. The film went on to be remade in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Chinese and several other languages. Its sequel, which premiered directly on OTT, was equally successful and received widespread acclaim. For Telugu audiences in particular, the “Drishyam” franchise holds a special place, as both parts were successfully remade with Venkatesh reprising Mohanlal’s iconic role.

However, the third installment, once again written and directed by Jeethu Joseph, was not remade in Telugu. Instead, the Malayalam version has been dubbed and released directly in theaters today.
The original “Drishyam” worked brilliantly because Jeethu Joseph transformed the core premise of the Japanese novel “The Devotion of Suspect X” into an emotionally rooted Indian family thriller. The central hook involved the protagonist cleverly disposing of the body of a man who attempted to sexually assault his daughter, and then meticulously planning a step-by-step cover-up. The manipulation of dates to confuse the police investigation and the ingenious hiding place for the body created edge-of-the-seat thrills. More importantly, the film balanced emotional depth and suspense in equal measure.

The second part elevated the drama further by introducing another layer of deception involving a novel written by the protagonist, which once again kept audiences thoroughly engaged.
Unfortunately, “Drishyam 3” lacks the very element that made the first two films memorable: thrilling storytelling.

Georgekutty remains the same fiercely protective and intelligent man willing to go to any extent for his family. But the conflict this time feels repetitive because the people trying to implicate him have no substantial new angle or strong foundation. It simply comes across as another attempt to reopen the same case yet again, making the narrative feel stretched and uninspired.

When a thriller fails to generate thrills and a family drama keeps repeating the same emotional beats, the storytelling inevitably loses its impact. That is precisely what happens in this third and thankfully final chapter of the franchise.

Another major drawback is the underutilization of Asha Sharath’s character, who turns unusually passive this time, stripping the drama of much-needed emotional intensity.

The only stretch where the film truly becomes engaging is during the climax, when Mohanlal’s character unveils a final twist. However, by that point, the film has already exhausted the audience with its sluggish pacing.

Mohanlal once again delivers a convincing performance as Georgekutty, effortlessly slipping back into the role. Yet even the veteran actor is unable to bring any fresh dimension to the character this time. Among the supporting cast, Ansiba Hassan fares better with a more substantial role as Anu. Most of the other actors merely repeat familiar character beats from the earlier films.

Jeethu Joseph’s screenplay turns out to be the biggest disappointment. The writing feels unimaginative and lacks the sharpness and clever construction that defined the earlier installments. The background score is serviceable, while the cinematography remains neat. On the other hand, the Telugu dubbing and dialogue writing are downright poor and further dilute the experience.

Bottom line: “Drishyam 3” suffers from Jeethu Joseph’s unimaginative writing and lacks the cleverness that made the first two films so compelling. Except for the final 15 minutes, the film offers very little in terms of suspense or excitement. The franchise should ideally have concluded with the second part itself. The only consolation is that this chapter finally brings the series to an end.

Rating: 2.25/5

By Jalapathy Gudelli

Movie: Drishyam 3
Cast: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther, Asha Sharathat, Siddique, Murali Gopy, Santhi Mayadevi, and others
Music Director: Anil Johnson
DOP: Satheesh Kurup
Editor: V. S. Vinayak
Producer: Antony Perumbavoor
Written and Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Release Date: May 21, 2026