Drishyam The Conclusion Review: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Drishyam The Conclusion is a clever, entertaining thriller that keeps you invested throughout, but as the franchise’s promised final chapter, its climax never quite reaches the mic-drop moment fans were hoping for.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3/5)
Genre: Thriller
Director: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Jaideep Ahlawat, Shriya Saran, Prakash Raj
Vijay Salgaonkar has spent two films staying ten steps ahead of the law, constructing lies, planting evidence, and turning October 2nd into a piece of pop culture folklore. So when Drishyam: The Conclusion finally arrives four years after the second film, promising to close every loop, expectations are understandably sky-high.
Fans are not just hoping for another good thriller; they want to see Vijay’s elaborate game end with a twist that makes them sit up and applaud. Unfortunately, that exact moment never quite arrives. Drishyam 3 is genuinely good. It is clever, entertaining, and packed with enough twists to keep you hooked through most of its runtime.
Some moments make you smile, root hard for Vijay, and even wonder how he will possibly escape this time. But for a film marketed as the final chapter of one of Bollywood’s most beloved thriller franchises, it never quite reaches the heights of the films it is meant to conclude. It is not a bad film by any means; it simply is not the grand farewell many were hoping for.
The story picks up six months after the events of Drishyam 2, with Vijay and his family desperately trying to rebuild their lives while the shadow of the old case still looms over them. Enter Rajveer Singh Tomar, played by Jaideep Ahlawat, a police officer assigned to reopen the investigation, who wastes no time bringing fresh evidence that threatens to pull Vijay and his family right back into danger.
What follows is another elaborate cat-and-mouse game, except this time, the cat already knows exactly who the mouse is. There is a genuinely sharp line in the film where Murad, played by Saurabh Shukla, points out that Ravana had ten heads while Vijay has ten stories and that both share one thing in common: the hero never goes to jail.
It almost works as the franchise’s own thesis statement. Vijay is not a conventional hero, and yet audiences root for him anyway, fully aware that he and his family have killed someone and deliberately obstructed justice. That moral contradiction remains the real magic holding this franchise together.
This time around, the law genuinely feels like it is closing in. Prakash Raj joins as sharp lawyer Shetty, while Tabu’s character returns with a renewed hunger for revenge following her son’s death.
Without giving too much away, there are enough clever moments here to make longtime Drishyam fans cheer out loud. The film does occasionally get a little too indulgent with its dialogue, though, with several exchanges feeling like the writers are enjoying their own cleverness a bit too much.
What is most disappointing is the courtroom finale, which should have been where the film truly exploded with tension. Instead, despite shifting evidence and rising stakes, the pulsating drama you expect from a final confrontation simply never fully arrives.
Ajay Devgn is fantastic as Vijay Salgaonkar, eleven years into the role and completely owning it as his own distinct character. Jaideep Ahlawat makes a strong impression as the new face of opposition, bringing controlled swagger to Tomar, while Prakash Raj delivers some of the film’s funniest, sharpest moments. Tabu and Rajat Kapoor return with real conviction, even if their characters are not given quite enough to do this time around.
In the end, the twists impress, the plotting keeps you engaged, and Vijay’s ability to outsmart the system remains as fascinating as ever. But when the final curtain finally falls, you are left quietly thinking, was that really it, applauding politely rather than cheering wildly for the ending this franchise deserved.
Curious about what this grand finale cost to make and what the cast earned? Check out our breakdown of the Drishyam The Conclusion cast salaries and movie budget. And if you’re tracking how the film is performing, our Drishyam 3 box office collection report breaks down both the Malayalam and Hindi versions’ numbers.