Drishyam 3 Movie Review

The Drishyam film franchise is one of the very few in India that are widely popular among audiences across the country. Mohan Lal and the director, Jeethu Joseph, released the first instalment in the ‘Drishyam’ franchise in 2013 and it went on to become a huge success. The film was later remade in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Sinhala and Mandarin. After the phenomenal success of the first part, Jeethu Joseph, came up with ‘Drishyam 2’, with the same team in 2021. Due to the Covid lockdowns, the film skipped the theatrical release and opted for a direct digital release on Prime Video. The second part of the franchise also received immense viewership among the audience and raised the expectations for the third film in the franchise. After taking a gap of five years, Mohanlal and Jeethu Joseph, made the third film in the franchise with almost the same cast and released the film in the theatres today. Did Drishyam 3, live up to the immense expectations of the audience? Did the writer and the director, Jeethu Joseph, come up with a thrill-a-minute script yet again? Did Mohan Lal, score one more blockbuster at the box office? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

We know that Georgekutty(Mohan Lal), will go to any extent to protect his family. He successfully protected two times in the first two parts of the franchise. And now, Drishyam 3, is about a new challenge he and his family faced. How he saves his family yet again from trouble, is the core plot of the film. Why did a Kerala-born businessman based out of GCC, Avira(Nikhil Nair), want to marry, Georgekutty’s daughter, Anju George(Ansiba Hassan)? What happens when Anju and Avira get married? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Mohanlal in the role of Georgekutty is a treat to watch as always. He came up with a restrained performance throughout the film. He tried his best to lift the film, particularly during the final act, with his subtle and yet very effective performance. Meena in the role of Rani George, did a good job with her performance. Her subtle satires on the excessive usage of mobile phones by her family members, generated a few laughs.

Ansiba Hassan and Esther Anil in the roles of the daughters, delivered good performances. Particularly, Esther Anil the role of a firebrand daughter with a progressive thought process, made her presence felt with a confident performance. Kalabhavan Shajohn got a meaty role and he came up with a very good performance. The film had many notable actors in crucial roles and all of them came up with good performances. Like most of the Malayalam films, there’s nothing to complain about in the film when it comes to the performances of the actors.

Technicalities:

Satheesh Kurup’s cinematography is stunning and pleasant throughout the film. He managed to capture the beauty of rural Kerala very well with his camera. The film has no songs. The music director, Anil Johnson, came up with a good background score. He manages to create a tense atmosphere with his score but the not-so-effective writing, did not do justice to the background score. Editing by V. S. Vinayak, is good in the second half but his work could have been much better in the first half. Let’s discuss in detail the writer and the director, Jeethu Joseph, in the analysis section.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Mohan Lal’s Performance
2.⁠ ⁠Mildly Engaging Second Half

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Lethargic Writing
2.⁠ ⁠Predictable Screenplay
3.⁠ ⁠Leisurely Pace
4.⁠ ⁠Dragged Out First Half

Analysis:

What happens when a father attempts to protect his daughter and family from an unintentional murder committed by his wife and daughter? – Is the core plot of the ‘Drishyam’ film franchise as we are already aware. In the first two parts of the franchise, the lead character, Georgekutty, knows the people who may potentially try to punish his family legally. He comes up with plans to counter all those attempts and safeguard his family. At the end of part two, we were told the victim’s(Varun) parents aren’t going to seek justice anymore and the same was told at the start of part three as well. So, if not for Varun’s parents, who else is trying to take revenge on Georgekutty’s family? The ‘who else’ may have sounded exciting as an idea. But, this time around, the writer and the director, Jeethu Joseph, failed to come up with gripping writing which helped the ‘Drishyam’ franchise to gain an immense fan following across the country.

‘In the earlier instances, I know who can target my family and me. I was very much aware of their strengths and weaknesses. So, it was relatively easy for me to hatch counterplans to protect my family. Now, I can sense that someone is trying to sabotage the happiness of my family once again but I’m not sure who they are and why they seek revenge on us’, says Georgekutty, midway through ‘Drishyam 3’. We know how sharp Georgekutty’s mind worked in the first two parts. So, while watching the film, it’s not your fault if you expect Georgekutty, to come up with some brilliant plans yet again to protect his family. In ‘Drishyam 2’, we have seen how the writer blended a few seemingly irrelevant sequences in the first half, with perfect payoffs in the second half. So, while the first half of ‘Drishyam 3’ is being unfolded on screen, we as the audience excuse the slow pace and quite a few seemingly irrelevant sequences, by hoping for a thrill a minute second half with multiple payoffs. Unfortunately, it is not the case. None of the twists and turns in ‘Drishyam 3’, surprises the audience. All of those twists looked so forced and hardly had the potential to thrill the audience.

Yes, the audience cheered and clapped at a few places during the last thirty to forty minutes of the film. However, the cheers and claps are because of the emotional connection the audience established over the years with Georgekutty and his family but not because of the finesse in the writing and screenplay. It was surprising to see a writer of Jeethu Joseph’s calibre failing to come up with not even a single sequence throughout the film that thrills, surprises and shocks the audience. When the director introduces an investigative journalist into the proceedings in the first half, we expect the film to have a new perspective, premises and a new antagonist. But, it is not the case. As soon as the intent of the investigative journalist is revealed, we know how the rest of the film is going to be. Although a few sequences in the second half were decently engaging, most of them were very predictable.

Overall, right from the word go, everything in ‘Drishyam 3’, feels like a desperate attempt to cash in on the popularity of the franchise among the audience. It surely is a watchable film with a few engaging moments, especially during the second half, but the screenplay and the writing of the film stand miles away when compared to the initial two parts of the franchise. The loyal fanbase of the franchise may give it a try watching in theatres but keep your expectations in check. The Georgekutty in Drishyam 3, goes to any extent to protect his family as always but this time the sharpness in his brain slowed down and failed to thrill the audience. And, the director ended the film by giving a lead to the fourth film in the franchise. Hopefully, Jeethu Joseph, takes his time and comes up with better writing for the fourth part.

Final Verdict: Drishyam 3 – Lacks The ‘Thrills’

Rating – 2.25/5