20 July,2025 08:49 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Mohanlal and Ajay Devgn
Filmmaker Jeethu Joseph and actor Mohanlal have officially confirmed that they will reunite for Drishyam 3, the much-anticipated sequel in the hit investigative thriller franchise. Drishyam remains one of the most widely remade Indian films, with successful adaptations in multiple languages including a Hindi version led by Ajay Devgn.
Now, Jeethu Joseph has revealed that there were attempts to begin production on the Hindi version of Drishyam 3 even before the Malayalam original went on floors.
Jeethu stated that he had to shut down those efforts by threatening legal action. Speaking to Mathrubhumi, the filmmaker said, "There were attempts to begin the Hindi version before the Malayalam one, but when they were warned of possible legal complications, they had to step back."
He added that the Hindi makers are currently in touch with him and are waiting for the final draft of the script. "There was a demand to begin shooting in Malayalam and Hindi simultaneously, but no decision has been made on that yet. The script is still being written, and we hope to start filming by mid-September," Jeethu said.
Recently, while speaking at a college event in Kerala, Jeethu Joseph confirmed that he has completed the first draft of the upcoming Mohanlal-starrer. He shared that he had been under immense mental pressure and finally felt a sense of relief after finishing it.
"Last night, I wrote and completed the climax of Drishyam 3. The first draft is now done. I had been under a lot of tension all this while," he admitted.
Joseph, who is also juggling multiple other projects, revealed that he would wake up at 3:30 AM every morning to write Drishyam 3.
"Yesterday, I finally felt that relief. While music played at the college, my mind wandered through Drishyam 1, Drishyam 2, and now Drishyam 3. That was such a powerful feeling," he said, visibly emotional.
Drishyam ran in theatres for more than 150 days. It also became the longest-running film in the United Arab Emirates, running for 125 days. The film remained the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time until it was surpassed by Pulimurugan in 2016. It remained among the top 10 List of highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time for a decade until it was broken by Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph's Neru.
The film was later remade in Hindi with the same title, and featured Bollywood superstar Ajay Devgn in the lead role.
In fact, the film has been remade into several languages including four regional languages of India, Drishya (2014) in Kannada, Drushyam (2014) in Telugu, Papanasam (2015) in Tamil and Drishyam (2015) in Hindi.
Internationally, it was remade in Sinhala language as Dharmayuddhaya and in Chinese as Sheep Without a Shepherd. Other remakes were also announced in Indonesian, and Korean, making it the first Indian film to be remade in both languages.
A sequel titled Drishyam 2 was released in 2021.
