Abhishek Pathak, director of “Drishyam: The Conclusion,” says the Hindi franchise’s third installment tells an entirely new story unconnected to the Malayalam original, with Ajay Devgn returning as Vijay Salgaonkar for what Pathak calls the character’s darkest chapter yet.
The “Drishyam” franchise centers on a family man who covers up an accidental killing to protect his wife and daughters, then finds himself locked in a battle of wits with the police officer investigating the case.
“It’s completely different. It’s a new story. It’s nothing to do with Malayalam. It’s a very different film altogether,” Pathak tells Variety of the Hindi-language film film, which departs from Jeethu Joseph’s Malayalam “Drishyam 3” after the point where both franchises’ second installments ended.
Pathak, who produced the first Hindi “Drishyam” and directed “Drishyam 2,” says the new title signals a definitive ending rather than a setup for a fourth film, even though the Malayalam version left that door open. “This is where I’m ending the film beautifully, where all the resolution comes to an end eventually,” he says, adding he has not written a story that would extend the franchise further, though he stops short of ruling it out entirely.
