Abhishek Pathak’s Drishyam The Conclusion has collected over Rs 560 crore worldwide, a total that gives the Hindi franchise a rare kind of exit: a final chapter written from scratch, not lifted from a predecessor. Pathak, who produced the first film and directed Drishyam 2, spent roughly two years on the screenplay so the third instalment could stand on its own.
Why this finale left the remake behind
In an interview with Screen, Pathak said the decision came after Drishyam 2. “After Drishyam 2, I thought of writing our own story and not remake the (Malayalam) film, even if it takes me long to write,” he said. The writing took about two years and produced a new story rather than a reassembled one.
Pathak was direct about the ambition: “I wanted to own the film.” He argued that the “remake” tag can overlook the craft of the people who actually made it. His reference point is Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, adapted from Infernal Affairs, where the conversation centred on the filmmaking rather than the origin.
The team was also clear that this chapter would not leave the story open. “We decided to wrap up the franchise and end it with a high,” Pathak said.
The one thing that never changed
A new plot did not mean a new emotional centre. Vijay Salgaonkar continues to bend rules because his wife and daughters are in danger. Pathak framed it as the franchise’s fixed point: a simple man doing everything he can to save his family.
“We stayed true to the fabric of Drishyam,” he said. “We wanted to do different things with the writing without moving away from the emotion of the film, which is centred around the family.”
That family logic also explains the film’s use of the line “hero jail nahin jata,” spoken by Saurabh Shukla’s character. Pathak does not read it as a comment on Hindi film convention. In Vijay’s story, jail means the family is finished, so he exhausts every trick to avoid it.
The room and the result
Working with Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran, Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj, Pathak said the directing task was less about managing actors and more about bringing everyone to the same objective. Experienced actors bring a lot to the table; once the intent is explained, they do the job they were hired to do.
Pathak also separates his two roles. As a director he stays inside the creative process; he wears the producer’s hat only when a decision demands it. That habit goes back to being a production intern on films such as Omkara and Pyaar Ka Punchnama, and to working with his father, producer Kumar Mangat Pathak.
What a strong finish asks for
- Keep the emotional promise fixed while the plot changes.
- Give the final script a real writing window—two years in this case.
- Close the franchise at a peak, not after the audience has moved on.
Pathak says he is “overwhelmed” by the commercial result and is taking a break after two years of writing and execution. He is experimenting with a few genres and expects to announce a new project in a couple of months.
Source: bollywoodHungama.com
Comments