The Drishyam 3 writer, Jeethu Joseph, says he rewrote the film’s script close to 100 times before locking the version that reached cinemas — and that friends repeatedly tried to pry the ending out of him, even offering money for it. That’s the short version. The longer one explains why a Malayalam thriller franchise now has Bollywood, and half of India’s film press, hanging on every comma of its script.
Key Takeaways
- The Drishyam 3 writer is Jeethu Joseph, who created, wrote and directed the original Malayalam franchise starring Mohanlal.
- He has said he went through dozens of script drafts — reportedly close to 100 — before settling on Drishyam 3’s final structure.
- Joseph claims friends and associates tried to bribe him for an early look at the ending, which he refused to reveal before release.
- Ajay Devgn is expected to headline the Hindi adaptation of Drishyam 3, continuing the format Bollywood has followed since the 2015 remake.
Who Is The Drishyam 3 Writer, And What Did He Actually Say?
Jeethu Joseph isn’t a hired-gun screenwriter brought in for one film. He’s the man who invented Drishyam as a concept back in 2013, wrote it, directed it, and has stayed attached to every sequel since — including the Hindi versions that made Ajay Devgn a franchise regular in India’s biggest market.
In interviews around the release of Drishyam 3, the Malayalam original starring Mohanlal, Joseph described a writing process that sounds less like inspiration and more like attrition. He said he kept discarding drafts because the plot’s central trick — how an ordinary family outsmarts the police — had to feel airtight, not clever for the sake of being clever.
How Many Versions Of The Script Did The Drishyam 3 Writer Really Write?
Joseph has put the number at close to 100 drafts, though he’s been candid that not all of these were full rewrites — some were course corrections to a single act, a changed clue, or a reworked final twenty minutes. Still, for a film that runs under two and a half hours, that’s an unusual amount of churn.
Compare that to how most Hindi thrillers are written. Industry estimates suggest a typical Bollywood suspense script goes through four to eight drafts before shooting begins. If Joseph’s count is accurate, the Drishyam 3 writer treated the screenplay less like a script and more like a puzzle box he kept resetting until no one — including, by his own admission, people close to him — could guess the solution.
- Drishyam (2013): Original Malayalam film, written and directed by Jeethu Joseph, starring Mohanlal.
- Drishyam (2015): Hindi remake starring Ajay Devgn, adapted from Joseph’s story.
- Drishyam 2 (2021): Malayalam sequel, again written and directed by Joseph.
- Drishyam 2 (2022): Hindi version with Devgn, directed by Abhishek Pathak.
- Drishyam 3 (2025): Malayalam threequel with Mohanlal, Joseph back at the writing desk.
- Drishyam 3 (Hindi, upcoming): Reportedly in development with Devgn expected to reprise his role.
Why Did Friends Try To Bribe The Drishyam 3 Writer For The Ending?
This is the detail that’s made the headlines, and it’s worth taking at face value rather than dismissing as promotional exaggeration. Joseph has said that people close to him — friends, not strangers — offered money or favours just to find out how the film ends before anyone else.
It tracks with how the franchise has always operated. Drishyam built its reputation on a twist that depends entirely on surprise; once you know it, a huge chunk of the tension evaporates on a rewatch. Film units have gone to unusual lengths before to guard endings — Avengers: Endgame‘s cast famously received fake scripts with altered dialogue to stop leaks — and Joseph’s approach seems to be a homegrown, lower-budget version of the same instinct: trust no one, not even the people who trust you.
In India, where WhatsApp forwards and pirated cam prints can spoil a film within hours of release, that paranoia isn’t eccentric. It’s arguably the only way a mystery-driven franchise like this survives three instalments without the plot leaking first.
The India Angle: Why Secrecy Sells Here
Indian audiences have shown, repeatedly, that they’ll show up for a thriller even after reviews are out — but only if the twist hasn’t already done the rounds on social media. Films like Andhadhun and Kahaani built word-of-mouth precisely because early viewers kept the ending to themselves out of genuine respect for the story. Drishyam’s writer treating his own friends as a leak risk fits that same culture: in a market this connected, silence has become part of the marketing plan, not an accident of it.
What Is Drishyam 3 About, And When Does Ajay Devgn’s Version Arrive?
Drishyam 3 continues the story of Georgekutty (Mohanlal in the Malayalam version, Vijay Salgaonkar played by Devgn in Hindi), the ordinary man who once covered up a crime to protect his family and has spent two films staying one step ahead of the law. The Malayalam Drishyam 3 released in 2025 to strong box-office numbers in Kerala and the wider south Indian circuit.
A Hindi adaptation with Devgn has been widely reported as the natural next step, following the pattern set by the first two films. No confirmed release date for the Hindi Drishyam 3 has been locked in publicly yet, and typically there’s a gap of one to two years between a Malayalam original and its Hindi remake reaching Indian multiplexes.
FAQ
Who is the Drishyam 3 writer?
Jeethu Joseph, who created the Drishyam franchise in Malayalam in 2013 and has written every film in the series, including the Hindi adaptations starring Ajay Devgn.
How many drafts did the Drishyam 3 writer go through?
Joseph has said the script went through close to 100 versions, counting both full rewrites and major revisions to specific portions of the story.
Is Ajay Devgn confirmed for the Hindi Drishyam 3?
Reports strongly suggest Devgn will reprise his role as Vijay Salgaonkar, continuing from Drishyam (2015) and Drishyam 2 (2022), though an official release date hasn’t been announced.
Why do people care so much about Drishyam’s ending staying secret?
The franchise’s appeal rests on its twist. Once the ending is known, repeat viewers and new audiences alike lose the central tension that makes the thriller work, which is why the Drishyam 3 writer has guarded it so tightly.
Is Drishyam 3 based on a true story?
No. It’s an original fictional thriller created by Jeethu Joseph, though its themes of ordinary people facing extraordinary legal trouble have made it feel grounded and relatable to Indian audiences.
Strip away the headline-friendly bribe anecdote, and what’s left is a fairly simple lesson: a good thriller’s reputation is built one guarded secret at a time. The Drishyam 3 writer’s obsessive redrafting is the actual reason the franchise keeps working, not an accident of good luck.