Drishyam 3, the latest installment in the franchise, has been more than a decade in the making. The film, directed by Jeethu Joseph, follows Georgekutty (Mohanlal), a movie-obsessed cable operator who will do anything to protect his family. However, the film fails to deliver a poignant story of a father slowly unravelled by his paranoia.
Georgekutty leads an idyllic life with his wife, Rani (Meena), and their now-grown daughters, Anju (Ansiba) and Anu (Esther Anil). He wants a semblance of normalcy for his family, but his past comes back to haunt him. A reporter's renewed interest in the case threatens everything he built.
The film sees Georgekutty paranoid, constantly looking over his shoulder and fearful. He's not the hero everyone makes him out to be; he's a nightmare. Unfortunately, while all this sounds interesting on paper, Jeethu fails at bringing coherence.
Drishyam 3 takes its own sweet time to get into the thick of things, but by the time it does, the twist reveal before the interval is not as surprising. The film spends ample time on the banality of life, but you just know things are about to take a turn for the worse.
The main draw of the Drishyam franchise has always been its twists, but in Drishyam 3, Jeethu crams them all into the third act. Old foes come back with a vengeance, and somebody close to Georgekutty backstabs him, but all this is to be expected. Unfortunately, the director lets all this play out like something meant to pull the rug out from under you and Georgekutty.
In conclusion, Drishyam 3's focus is not on thrilling you with twists and turns, but on spotlighting Georgekutty and the fallout of his decisions. This makes it the least engaging film in the franchise because Jeethu never lets him falter, even when he resorts to violence.
