'Drishyam 3' — Mohanlal's Malayalam Original Keeps the Franchise Rolling

While Bollywood prepares to close its version of the story, the original Drishyam universe is still expanding. Drishyam 3, the third chapter of the Malayalam franchise that started it all, is on the way in 2026 — with Mohanlal returning to the role that made this saga a landmark of Indian cinema.

This is the franchise in its purest form. The Malayalam Drishyam films are where the entire phenomenon began, and Mohanlal's portrayal remains the definitive version of the character — the performance against which every remake is measured. A third chapter in the original continuity is a major event for Malayalam cinema and for thriller fans everywhere.

The Original Still Sets the Standard

Every version of Drishyam traces back to the Malayalam original, and there is a reason the remakes keep coming. The first film's construction — its patience, its misdirection, its devastating final act — is a masterclass in thriller writing that film schools could teach for semesters. The sequel proved the story had more to say, deepening the moral complexity rather than just repeating the trick.

That is the franchise's real achievement. Most thriller sequels either recycle the original's twists or abandon what worked entirely. The Malayalam Drishyam films found a third path: treating the characters as people whose past keeps evolving, whose buried secrets keep finding new ways to surface. It is character-driven suspense at its finest.

What a Third Chapter Demands

Drishyam 3 now faces the ultimate franchise question: what is left to reveal? The series has always been about the long shadow of a single buried secret, and each film has found new corners of that shadow to explore. A third film has to find new ground without betraying what made the first two work — a challenge, but one this franchise has navigated before with remarkable grace.

Mohanlal's presence is the anchor. His performance has always been the series' secret weapon — the ordinariness he brings to an extraordinary situation, the way he makes genius look like common sense. As long as he is at the center, the franchise has its foundation.

Two Endings, One Legacy

2026 is shaping up to be a landmark year for the Drishyam saga on both fronts: Bollywood's trilogy reaches its conclusion while the Malayalam original pushes forward into a third chapter. It is a rare situation — the remake concluding just as the original expands — and it speaks to how deeply this story has embedded itself in Indian cinema.

For purists, though, there is no debate. Mohanlal's Drishyam is the original, and Drishyam 3 is the chapter that matters most. 2026 can't come soon enough.