‘Well over a hundred drafts’: Drishyam 3 screenwriter reveals how the franchise’s ending was cracked

Drishyam 3 features an original storyline, diverging from previous remakes. The film is directed by Abhishek Pathak and stars Ajay Devgn in lead role.

Ajay Devgn-starrer Drishyam: The Conclusion has given the actor the biggest opening of his career. The film isn't just ruling the box office but has also received rave reviews from critics and audiences. Malayalam fans, too, are lauding the film's writing, with some even calling it better than the original Mohanlal-starrer Malayalam film. Now, the film's screenwriter Aamil Keeyan Khan has spoken about the writing process and revealed that it took him over 100 drafts to get the ending of Drishyam 3 right.

Drishyam 3 stars Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, and Jaideep Ahlawat. (HT_PRINT)

‘There was the challenge of writing an original screenplay’

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Aamil spoke about the big task of writing a new story for Drishyam 3 without borrowing from the original film, while keeping the essence of the popular franchise alive.

He said, "It was an enormous mountain to climb. You have a beloved franchise, a family that the audiences have lived with for years, and the legacy of two hugely loved films sitting on your shoulders. And most importantly, how do you surprise an audience for the third time? There was the challenge of writing an original screenplay while retaining the DNA of Drishyam. It still had to have humour, family, emotion, drama and thrills without any one ingredient swallowing the others. It was a very, very thin tightrope. Thankfully, none of us looked down."

'Wrote well over a hundred drafts'

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How many drafts did Aamil Keeyan Khan write for Drishyam 3?

What challenges did the screenwriter face while writing Drishyam 3?

What is the significance of Drishyam 3's story compared to the previous films?

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The screenwriter shared that the task of doing justice to Drishyam 3 wasn't easy and revealed that he went through more than 100 drafts to get the franchise's ending right.

He said, "I have folders inside folders, drafts with dates, numbers, dates after numbers, and files called things like “FINAL”, “FINAL 2”, “FINAL FINAL” and presumably “FINAL PLEASE GOD”. I have genuinely lost count, but well over a hundred drafts in different forms. Easily."

About Drishyam: The Conclusion

Drishyam: The Conclusion marks a major departure for the Hindi franchise as it has an original story and ending. The first two Hindi films were direct remakes of Mohanlal's Malayalam Drishyam films, while the third instalment takes the story of Vijay Salgaonkar and his family in a new direction.

Directed by Abhishek Pathak, the film brings back Ajay Devgn as Vijay Salgaonkar, along with Shriya Saran, Tabu, Ishita Dutta and Mrunal Jadhav. Jaideep Ahlawat, Rajat Kapoor and Prakash Raj are also part of the cast.