The 'Drishyam' franchise has gained popularity in Indian cinema, having been remade in various languages. Starting with Malayalam, it evolved into one of the most successful franchises in Hindi. The main character is Ajay Devgn as Vijay Salgaonkar, who defends his family against the consequences of a man's death case. The first film was released 11 years ago, and the third and final one in Hindi was presented on October 2nd.
Over the past decade, viewers have watched Vijay and his family face persecution from Mira and Mahesh Deshmukh, who seek revenge on the Salgaonkar family for the death of their son Sam. They use various tricks, but Vijay always stays one step ahead of all his adversaries. The question arises whether the third installment of the franchise maintained the same high quality.
Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) once again tries to live a peaceful life with his family. However, this time Mahesh (Rajit Kapoor), Mira's (Tabu) husband, manages to get Vijay into court, seeking revenge for his son's death. He wants the entire family to end up in prison. To achieve this, he involves SP Rajvir Singh Tomar (Jaydip Ahlawat) from the Criminal Investigation Department, who starts an investigation and brings Vijay's family to court. In this case, he is helped by one of the country's most famous lawyers, Indrajit Shetty (Prakash Raj).
This time, the police found not one, but two strong pieces of evidence against Vijay. The first piece of evidence relates to a man named Sevio and a forensic department guard who buried the body near a church and helped Vijay in exchanging Sam's skeleton. Can Vijay Salgaonkar and his family avoid punishment with such irrefutable evidence? Or is his game completely over? The audience will find out the answer after watching the film.
Those who watched 'Drishyam 3' featuring Mohanlal considered it one of the weakest parts of the franchise. They felt that this part had more family drama than suspense thriller, and the film lacked a strong hook to hold the viewer's attention. Nevertheless, the story of 'Drishyam 3' with Ajay Devgn is drastically different from the Mohanlal version; it is evident that this is not just a reboot.
Director Abhishek Patak, along with his team of writers, put a lot of effort into creating the film. The appeal of 'Drishyam' lies in its unpredictable plot and twists, which are preserved in this installment. The first half of 'Drishyam 3' builds the story, and the second concludes it at a high level. The film included good and unexpected twists that are difficult to foresee.
Although it is not a pure 'masala' film, the director added moments that elevate it to a new level. However, the biggest weakness of the picture is the lack of anything truly new or original; it gives the impression that the viewer is watching 'Drishyam 2' in a new packaging. Moreover, the 'Drishyam' story effectively concluded in the first or second part, and some scenes in this episode seemed drawn out. Simply put, the battle between the state and the family looks interesting, but it could have ended more harmoniously.
Ajay Devgn plays the main character Vijay Salgaonkar, and his acting performance justified expectations. Although his portrayal might resemble previous films, Ajay left a noticeable mark. He was successfully supported by Ishita Datta, Shriya Saran, and Mrinal Jadhav. Shriya Saran also got a chance to showcase her potential, and she handled it well.
The newcomers to the franchise—Jaydip Ahlawat and Prakash Raj—made the biggest impression, especially Prakash Raj. Prakash Raj played the role of lawyer Indrajit Shetty, which, although temporary, turned out to be very strong. His performance was quite convincing and amusing. Jaydip Ahlawat, who was brought into filming shortly before the start, also did well in his role. He tried to fill the gap left by Akshay Khanna but could not replace Akshay's masterful talent. It seemed the atmosphere would have been better if he were present.
As for Tabu, her goal in the series is merely to achieve justice for her character's son. As in the previous installment, she did not receive much special or unique material for development. It seems that Tabu's character received less attention compared to others, which is disappointing. Overall, 'Drishyam 3' or 'Drishyam: Conclusion' failed to surpass the previous installments of the franchise.
