As Ajay Devgn‘s crime franchise heads into its final chapter with ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’, here’s a refresher on how ‘Drishyam 2’ ended, along with everything else you need to know about the highly anticipated third film. From the CBFC’s clean censor pass to the last-minute Akshaye Khanna-Jaideep Ahlawat casting drama and record-breaking advance bookings, ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ is gearing up for a massive Gandhi Jayanti release on October 2.
‘Drishyam 2’ ending explained: Vijay Salgaonkar’s biggest trick
‘Drishyam 2’ picks up seven years after Vijay and his family covered up the accidental killing of Sameer Deshmukh. Vijay has become more successful and even owns a cinema hall, but his past continues to hang over the family. The police eventually get a crucial lead when David, a witness who had seen Vijay burying the body, comes forward. His testimony, combined with Nandini’s interaction with the police, appears to give the investigators the breakthrough they have been waiting for.His obsession with cinema becomes the foundation of another elaborate cover-up. Vijay commissions screenwriter Murad Ali to develop a film based on the events of the first Drishyam, but with a crucial alteration to the ending. He also uses the screenplay and its publication to create a narrative that can later be used to challenge the police investigation.The most important part of the ending involves the DNA evidence. Vijay obtains the skeletal remains of another young man who had died from a similar head injury. He then manages to replace the remains recovered by the police with those bones before the forensic examination can establish their identity.The DNA test consequently fails to establish that the remains belong to Sameer. This gives Vijay’s lawyers an opportunity to question the police case and suggest that the investigation has been influenced by the fictional story that Vijay had previously helped create. With the forensic evidence compromised, the case against the Salgaonkars loses its strongest link to Sameer.
Does Vijay get away with the murder in ‘Drishyam 2’?
Yes, in practical terms, Vijay manages to protect himself and his family once again. However, the ending deliberately avoids presenting his victory as entirely triumphant. Vijay knows that a young man died and that his family remains connected to what happened. The film underlines this moral ambiguity when Vijay leaves Sameer’s remains at the Deshmukh family’s doorstep. The gesture allows Sameer’s family to finally perform his last rites and gives the victim a final goodbye.
Where to watch ‘Drishyam’ and ‘Drishyam 2’ on OTT?
The first installment of the franchise can be accessed on Prime Video and JioHotstar, while the second installment can be viewed on Prime Video only.
What is ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ about and its cast
The Hindi franchise is now moving into a third chapter with ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’. The new film is directed by Abhishek Pathak, who also helmed ‘Drishyam 2’. The story continues the Salgaonkar family’s journey but introduces a fresh mystery and another police officer who puts renewed pressure on Vijay.Ajay Devgn returns as Vijay Salgaonkar, while Tabu and Shriya Saran reprise their respective roles as Meera Deshmukh and Nandini Salgaonkar. The film also features Ishita Dutta as Anju Salgaonkar, Mrunal Jadhav as Anu Salgaonkar and Rajat Kapoor as Mahesh Deshmukh.Jaideep Ahlawat plays SP Crime Branch Rajveer Singh Tomar. Importantly, Ahlawat has clarified that his character is not a replacement for Akshaye Khanna’s character from ‘Drishyam 2’. He described Tomar as a new character with his own storyline. Another new face in the final chapter of the franchise is Prakash Raj as Indrajith Shetty. The film also stars Saurabh Shukla as Murad Ali, Kamlesh Sawant as Inspector Laxmikant Gaitonde, Sharad Bhutadiya as Martin and Yogesh Soman as Inspector Vinayak Sawant.
‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ CBFC rating
‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ has cleared the censor board without a single cut or modification, receiving a U/A 16+ certificate from the CBFC on September 28. The film’s runtime has been locked at 150 minutes, making it 8 minutes longer than ‘Drishyam 2’ and the second-longest film in the franchise after the 2015 original, which ran 162 minutes. Notably, the makers weren’t asked to make any of the standard additions the CBFC sometimes requires, such as anti-drug disclaimers or language-specific credits, making it the second major Hindi release in recent weeks, after ‘The Vvaan’, to be cleared entirely cut-free.
Why did Akshaye Khanna leave ‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’?
Akshaye Khanna, who played IG Tarun Ahlawat in ‘Drishyam 2’, was initially associated with the third film but eventually exited the project shortly before filming began.Director Abhishek Pathak later revealed that the departure came only seven days before a crucial sequence involving Ajay Devgn was scheduled to be filmed. The team decided against postponing production and instead rewrote the character before bringing Jaideep Ahlawat on board. Pathak said the process of changing the character and getting Ahlawat involved happened within roughly five to six days.There were reports about disagreements surrounding Khanna’s exit, including claims related to remuneration and creative matters, following Khanna’s fame with Aditya Dhar’s ‘Dhurandhar’.
‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ advance booking
The film has already generated substantial pre-release activity at the ticket counters. According to the latest Sacnilk data, ‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’ is demonstrating immense early momentum at the box office, generating Rs. 40.83 crore in total advance booking sales across six show dates. Stripping away block seats, the trade collection stands at a solid Rs. 31.25 crore. Looking ahead to Day 5 (Tuesday, October 6), the thriller has already locked in Rs. 56.01 lakh in advance sales, with Junagadh emerging as the top-performing territory after contributing Rs. 6.91 lakh to the day’s total.
‘Drishyam: The Conclusion’ advance booking report
The immediate benchmark is the opening weekend. The reported trade projection of more than ₹40 crore net for Day 1 gives an indication of the scale expected from the film, but the actual opening will only be known once theatrical collections are reported after release.Beyond the opening, the film’s ability to sustain collections through the extended holiday weekend and subsequent weekdays will determine how quickly it builds its lifetime India net.