This is the turning point of Drishyam 3—the moment that transforms a villain into a hero and shifts all the audience’s sympathies toward him.
What makes the Drishyam franchise so fascinating is its ability to make audiences emotionally support a character who, under ordinary circumstances, would be viewed as the wrongdoer. Vijay Salgaonkar is not a conventional hero. Yet, as the story unfolds, viewers find themselves standing firmly behind him.
An important aspect of Drishyam 3 is that its story is completely different from the Malayalam Drishyam 3. The rights holders of the Malayalam franchise reportedly did not grant Ajay Devgn the rights to adapt the third installment. As a result, the Hindi franchise has taken an original route, creating its own conclusion to Vijay Salgaonkar’s story.
The film revolves around Vijay, a family man who goes to extraordinary lengths to protect his family from a murder case. To save his daughter from facing the consequences of the crime, he constructs an elaborate web of lies and uses every possible means to keep the truth hidden.
This is what makes Drishyam unique. The audience knows that Vijay is concealing the truth, yet they continue to sympathize with him. The film cleverly turns the traditional hero-villain equation upside down.
Vijay repeatedly emphasizes an idea that lies at the heart of the franchise: people tend to believe the story you visualize and present to them. In other words, perception can become more powerful than reality.
Like the previous two installments, Drishyam 3 builds its narrative around logic, planning, and the weaknesses of the system. And that is perhaps its strongest point.
When the justice system fails to deliver what people consider to be justice, audiences often find themselves sympathizing with those who decide to take matters into their own hands. Vijay represents precisely that fantasy—an ordinary man who outsmarts a system that he believes has failed his family.
That emotional conflict is what makes the Drishyam franchise so compelling. Viewers may understand that Vijay has crossed legal and moral boundaries, but they also understand his motivation. The result is a rare cinematic experience in which the audience is not simply watching a crime thriller—they are emotionally invested in the man trying to get away with it.
And the box office numbers suggest that this formula continues to work.
According to reported figures, Drishyam 3 earned approximately ₹176 crore in India and ₹273 crore worldwide within its first three days, giving the film a powerful start at the box office.
Ultimately, the strength of Drishyam 3 lies not merely in its twists and suspense, but in the way it manipulates the audience’s emotions. It makes us question the difference between justice and revenge, truth and perception, and a villain and a hero.
And perhaps that is the biggest achievement of the Drishyam franchise: it doesn’t simply tell us Vijay’s story—it makes us want to believe his story.
