Malayalam filmmaker Jeetu Joseph has threatened legal action against the producers of Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 3, seeking to prevent the shooting of the Hindi film before the original Malayalam version is shot starring Mohanlal.
This move follows rumours the Hindi adaptation was set to begin its production ahead of the Malayalam film. Joseph said that there were discussions to film both Malayalam and Hindi versions simultaneously. However, no concrete decision was made and plans to shoot the Hindi version first were abandoned after hints of a legal tussle.
Joseph has been under a lot of pressure to finish the screenplay, adding that he finished the ending of the script last night. He said he has managed to shape Drishyam 3 while handling other projects like Mirage and Valathu Vashathe Kallan, with Nunakkuzhi his most recent work.
Reports meanwhile said Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 3 was to start shooting on October 2, 2025, a date quite significant to the franchise. The Hindi version was planning a three-month-long marathon schedule across Maharashtra. However, Joseph’s recent comments confirm that the Malayalam version is now expected to roll first in October 2025, with the Hindi adaptation following after.
The Drishyam franchise began with the Malayalam film in 2013, quickly gaining popularity and leading to remakes in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Sinhala, and Chinese. International remakes in Indonesian and Korean are also currently in development. The Kannada version stars V Ravichandran, while the Telugu version was led by Venkatesh, both in 2014. The 2015 Tamil version had Kamal Haasan as the lead.
Drishyam is a crime thriller franchise that follows the journey of George Kutty, a middle-class man who works as a cable TV operator. His peaceful life with his wife and two daughters is disrupted when he gets entangled in the disappearance of a young boy named Varun Prabhakar. In 2021, the film’s sequel was loved by fans as it showcased the Kutty’s fight for his loved ones.