Drishyam 3 (2026) Review: Mohanlal Returns, But Does Georgekutty’s Third Act Live Up to the Legacy?

Director: Jeethu Joseph | Cast: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Murali Gopy | Genre: Crime Thriller | Runtime: 2h 39m | Language: Malayalam | Release Date: May 21, 2026

Quick note before we dive in: there are two versions of Drishyam 3 — the original Malayalam film covered in this review, already released and streaming, and a separate Hindi remake starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu, directed by Abhishek Pathak, which is scheduled for a theatrical release on October 2, 2026. We’ll cover the Hindi version separately once it’s out.

Plot Overview

Five years after the events of Drishyam 2, Georgekutty (Mohanlal) appears to have moved on — he’s even adapted the story of his past into a successful film within the film, and continues building a stable life with his family. But the past refuses to stay buried, and Georgekutty finds himself facing a fresh psychological battle: lingering fear, invisible threats, and the constant uncertainty of whether the murder case that has haunted his family since the first film could still be reopened. Unlike the previous two installments, Drishyam 3 shifts its focus away from the cat-and-mouse procedural thrills that defined the franchise and toward the emotional and psychological toll of years spent living under that threat.

Performances

Mohanlal’s performance is the one element nearly every review agrees on, even those otherwise critical of the film — his rendering of Georgekutty’s dialogue-heavy, emotionally exposed moments has been called effortlessly natural, and critics noted he brings a genuine vulnerability to the character that’s new for the franchise. Meena continues her established chemistry as Rani, and Ansiba Hassan and Esther Anil (as daughters Anju and Anu) both got positive notices, with Esther Anil in particular praised for scenes strong enough to suggest she could headline projects on her own in future. One consistent criticism, however, is Asha Sharath’s reduced screen time as the family’s longtime antagonist — several reviews noted her absence for much of the runtime noticeably weakens the hero-villain tension that powered the earlier films.

Critical Reception

Drishyam 3 has landed to genuinely mixed reviews — this is not a case of critics disagreeing on quality so much as agreeing on the film’s core problem while differing on how much it matters. The most common critique, repeated across multiple reviews, is that the film’s screenplay leans too heavily on setup: a slow-burning first half that re-establishes characters and mood at the cost of the propulsive tension the franchise built its reputation on, followed by a climax that several critics felt lacks the “clap-worthy,” satisfying payoff of the first two films’ twist endings. One reviewer went as far as calling it “the least effective of the three films,” while a widely shared social media review argued the last 20 minutes specifically don’t match the writing sharpness of Drishyam 2‘s ending.

That said, several reviews pushed back against reading this as a simple decline in quality, framing it instead as a deliberate change in intent. One in-depth review argued that Jeethu Joseph consciously avoided repeating the “Georgekutty outsmarts everyone” formula, choosing instead to explore the psyche of a father contending with guilt and self-doubt rather than delivering another triumphant twist — calling the film’s final emotional beat a genuine shock rather than the expected franchise “whistle moment.” Viewers who went in expecting another puzzle-box thriller were more likely to come away disappointed; those more interested in the emotional and psychological dimension of Georgekutty’s story generally found more to like. Visual style also drew some criticism, with one review calling the film’s visual language surprisingly amateurish for a production of this scale.

Our Verdict

Drishyam 3 is a film clearly more interested in its central character’s inner life than in engineering another airtight twist, and that trade-off will land differently depending on what you want from a Drishyam film. Mohanlal’s performance alone makes it worth watching, and the emotional shift in the final act is genuinely different from anything the franchise has done before. But the slower, setup-heavy first half and a climax that several critics found underwhelming compared to Drishyam 2 mean this doesn’t quite reach the heights of the earlier installments. A good film, held back by a legacy it doesn’t quite live up to.

Rating: 3/5 — Emotionally rich and superbly acted, but noticeably less gripping than its predecessors.

Where to Watch Drishyam 3

The Malayalam original is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video, where it premiered on June 18, 2026 — Prime Video holds the sole post-theatrical streaming rights, confirmed directly by the platform. Watch here: primevideo.com

The Hindi remake, starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, and Jaideep Ahlawat, is a separate production directed by Abhishek Pathak and is scheduled for a theatrical release on October 2, 2026 — no OTT date exists for that version yet, as it hasn’t released. We’ll cover it in full closer to release.

Quick Facts

• Box office: Grossed approximately ₹248.74 crore worldwide, making it the highest-grossing installment in the Drishyam franchise and one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films ever made
• Release was postponed from its original April 2, 2026 date due to the Iran war, before landing on May 21 — coinciding with Mohanlal’s birthday
• Director Jeethu Joseph has said he’s now open to a potential Drishyam 4, though he’s clarified the post-credit scene wasn’t meant as a confirmed announcement
• Simultaneous productions: The Malayalam and Hindi versions were made as separate simultaneous productions rather than a delayed remake