While Mohanlal remains formidable as Georgekutty, Drishyam 3 lacks the suspense, emotional depth, and narrative urgency that made the franchise a phenomenon
Dr Khusi Pattanayak
Drishyam 3 (Malayalam) opens with a flashback (of previous instalments) and spends next few minutes engaging in self-referentialmeta commentary about its origins, success, and epical journey of Georgekutty. As a Mohanlal and Drishyam franchise fan that was amusing.
The pre-interval scene is visually powerful and throws in a much necessary twist in the tale.There is another scene where the cops are looking for someone else and there emerges Gorgekutty; though not unexpected, it still lands effectively.
That is where it all ends. All the entertaining elements.
Georgekutty is getting old, his kids are growing up, the responsibilities are becoming harder to shoulder, and yet after so many years his family is still under threat. But at the same time Georgekutty is getting powerful both in terms of social and financial abilities, while his nemesis (and in some cases his friends) are waiting for their turn to set the story straight. The cops do not care about the case anymore (they have other cases to deal with) while the social media stir things up every now and then.
That makes the script even more complicated because Georgekutty is no longer the helpless man he once was, the one who outwitted the legal system. He is now affluent. His battle is that of equals. He has the audacity to threaten people in public and dictate punishment he expects. He is in a position to negotiate. He is not who he was – the everyman. He is more conniving than desperate. He is no longer the victim (there is a feeble attempt to prove otherwise but it is too lame a subplot), he is hoodwinking the system. It is difficult to empathise with someone so rich, so powerful, and so sly.
The other glaring problem of Drishyam 3 is that instead of its usual action driven narrative, it chooses to focus on the psychological journey of a man who is saving his family. The film chronicles Georgekutty’s inner tempest and his struggles to balance the world around him while being engulfed in grief and guilt. But the audience had already witnessed his dilemma in Drishyam 2. The makers did not have to unnecessarily stretch the film beyond its natural strength to create a part 3. This might have worked if the franchise was shaped differently. Here it feels cheated.
The first half of Drishyam 3 takes forever to get into action. The second half throws in too many elements in almost absolute randomness to justify its own existence.
The only reason Georgekutty became such a memorable character in Indian cinema was because he was a man with a family and limited means who decided to stand against the mighty and powerful to protect his blood against injustice. Georgekutty was a self -taught man who was resilient and his decision echoed the sentiments of an entire nation, turning the movie into a multi-lingual profitable franchise.
But that was the first Drishyam where Jeethu Joseph and his Georgekuttyblurred the binaries of good and evil, creating a moral puzzle, and unfolding an ethically complex world. The second instalment was probably necessary to bring in a spiritual closer. But third?
At the centre of Drishaym universe is Mohanlal and his presence is formidable. The rest of the cast reprise their roles most convincingly. The dialogues are more dramatic than memorable. The editing should have been tighter (especially the first half). The background music is average.
At some point in the movie Georgekutty insists let it end here. And it feels like he is probably saying that to the makers. But with characters still waiting to avenge and some escaping their punishments we have a part 4 lurking somewhere.
Drishyam series usually relies on Georgekutty’s abilities to survive in a world of oppression and manipulation with his wit and intelligence. But the third part has no such tricks on offer. It is lazy, boring, and unnecessary. The over-zealous Malayali trio sitting right in front of us had moved on to reels and pizzas long before the interval. That is how enchanting the crime thriller was!
(The author is an internationally published writer & corporate communication specialist. Views are personal.)