‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’ has crossed the Rs 500 crore mark worldwide, adding to the success of the Hindi thriller starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Jaideep Ahlawat. In a recent interview, co-writer Aamil Keeyan Khan revealed that the writing team developed 15-20 versions of the ending and rewrote several portions of the screenplay to keep audiences guessing. He also opened up about Akshaye Khanna’s exit shortly before filming, the challenges of introducing Ahlawat’s character and the debate over how dark Vijay Salgaonkar could become.
Aamil Keeyan Khan on rewriting ‘Drishyam 3’ with ’15-20 versions of the ending’
The success of ‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’ reflects the risks taken by director Abhishek Pathak and his writing team. Unlike the first two Hindi instalments, which were based on the Malayalam franchise, the third film follows an original story developed for the Hindi adaptation.Speaking to Mid-Day, Aamil Keeyan Khan, who co-wrote the screenplay and penned the dialogues, credited Pathak’s vision and Ajay Devgn’s support for helping the team bring the story to the screen.“Ajay Sir stood behind us like a rock, supporting us in whatever we did. We narrated the first draft to him in April 2025, he loved it. After that, we made a lot of revisions and he was on board with everything,” Khan recalled.The writers faced the challenge of concluding the story of Vijay Salgaonkar and his family, who covered up an accidental murder in the first film. With audiences already familiar with the franchise’s twists and turns, the team had to find a way to deliver a fresh and unpredictable conclusion.Khan revealed that the ending went through numerous iterations as the writers attempted to stay ahead of audience expectations.“We had to set Jaideep sir’s character dynamics with other players, and we had to deliver in seven days! We wrote 100 drafts for some scenes. We even had 15-20 versions of the ending. It was a humongous challenge as people had seen the first two parts and we had to surprise them. A lot of [the script] was scrapped and rewritten in those seven days,” he said.
Akshaye Khanna’s exit created a seven-day writing challenge
The film’s development faced another major hurdle when Akshaye Khanna exited the project a week before filming began. The team had to rework the screenplay and establish new character dynamics after Jaideep Ahlawat came on board.According to Khan, introducing Ahlawat’s character required substantial changes to the script, with the writers working against a tight deadline.The team rewrote portions of the story in just seven days, revisiting scenes and exploring different possibilities to ensure the new character fitted into the existing narrative. Khan’s account highlights the scale of the last-minute adjustments required to keep the production moving without compromising the suspense at the heart of the franchise.The extensive rewriting also reflected the challenge of creating an original Hindi storyline while meeting audience expectations for a franchise known for its carefully constructed reveals.
‘Is that really Vijay?’: The writers debated how dark Ajay Devgn’s character could become
Beyond the ending and the changes to the screenplay, one question continued to shape the story: how far would Vijay Salgaonkar go to protect his family?Khan explained that the writers explored several versions in which Vijay became considerably darker before reconsidering whether those choices remained true to the character audiences had followed across the franchise.“Vijay is doing the wrong thing for the right cause. There were so many drafts where he has gone much darker and then we pulled ourselves back, thinking, ‘Is that really Vijay?’ We toyed with the idea of him going completely dark.”The moral conflict at the centre of Vijay’s character has been a defining element of the ‘Drishyam’ films. While his actions are driven by his determination to protect his family, the consequences of those decisions have repeatedly placed him in ethically complicated situations.For the third instalment, the writers had to balance that established characterisation with the need to raise the stakes and deliver an ending audiences would not easily anticipate.
‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’ box office collection
The film’s commercial performance has added another milestone to the franchise. By Day 12, ‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’s total domestic net collection is Rs 323.50 crore and India gross collection is Rs 387.80 crore. Overseas, the film’s worldwide overseas gross collection stands at Rs. 501.80 crore.Directed by Abhishek Pathak, ‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’ stars Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Jaideep Ahlawat, alongside Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta and other cast members. The film brings the Hindi franchise’s central mystery to a new chapter, with its box-office performance marking a significant milestone for the thriller.
