Drishyam 3, officially titled Drishyam: The Conclusion, is in cinemas today, October 2, 2026, with Ajay Devgn returning as Vijay Salgaonkar for the final chapter of the Hindi thriller franchise. Directed by Abhishek Pathak, the film also stars Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Mrunal Jadhav and Rajat Kapoor, with Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj joining as new faces. It runs 150 minutes with a U/A 16+ certificate, and early live estimates put its opening day above Rs 50 crore net, with final figures expected on October 3. Below is the full cast with character names, what the story is about, early reviews and answers to the questions people are asking most.
Searching for “Dhrishyam 3”? It is the same film as Drishyam 3 and Drishyam: The Conclusion. Box office figures on this page are provisional and reflect the evening of October 2, with final numbers due the next morning.
Six of the main players return from the earlier films, and two high-profile actors join the cast. Here is who plays whom:
| Actor | Character | Role in the story |
|---|---|---|
| Ajay Devgn | Vijay Salgaonkar | The Goa cable operator and family man at the center of the case (returning) |
| Tabu | Meera Deshmukh | Former IG of police and Sameer’s mother (returning) |
| Jaideep Ahlawat | SP Rajveer Singh Tomar, IPS | The police officer who reopens the case with new evidence (new) |
| Prakash Raj | Indrajith Shetty | Public prosecutor (new) |
| Shriya Saran | Nandini Salgaonkar | Vijay’s wife (returning) |
| Ishita Dutta | Anju Salgaonkar | Vijay’s elder daughter (returning) |
| Mrunal Jadhav | Anu Salgaonkar | Vijay’s younger daughter (returning) |
| Rajat Kapoor | Mahesh Deshmukh | Meera’s husband and Sameer’s father (returning) |
Kamlesh Sawant is also listed in the film’s ensemble. Akshaye Khanna, who played IG Tarun Ahlawat in Drishyam 2, is not part of this film (more on that in the FAQ below).
The story picks up years after Sameer Deshmukh’s disappearance, the incident that has hung over the Salgaonkar family since the first film. SP Rajveer Singh Tomar, played by Jaideep Ahlawat, reopens the case with fresh evidence, and Vijay Salgaonkar has to protect his family once again, this time with an entirely new approach. Prakash Raj joins the film as public prosecutor Indrajith Shetty. This section stays spoiler-free on purpose.
If you want a refresher before heading in, our Drishyam 2 story setup from 2022 recaps where the family stood at the end of the second film. One more thing worth knowing: the Hindi film has its own story and is not narratively connected to the Malayalam Drishyam 3, according to Wikipedia and early reviews, which is a break from the earlier Hindi entries that followed the Malayalam originals.
Opening-day numbers were still moving at the time of writing. India TV’s early estimate at 5:28 p.m. IST was Rs 36.70 crore net, and live figures from Sacnilk, reported by ETV Bharat later in the evening, put the film at Rs 56.04 crore net in India (Rs 66.13 crore gross). If that holds, it would be the second-biggest Hindi opening of 2026, behind Dhurandhar: The Revenge. Occupancy was reported at roughly 50 to 55 percent nationwide, with several smaller cities running higher. Treat every figure here as provisional until the final numbers land on October 3.
The film arrived with strong momentum. Koimoi counted about Rs 27.92 crore gross in opening-day advance sales, the fifth-highest pre-sale in Bollywood history, behind Dhurandhar 2, Jawan, Animal and Pathaan and ahead of Adipurush. For context, Drishyam 2 earned about Rs 342 crore worldwide in 2022, and you can see where that sits among the Bollywood films that crossed Rs 1000 crore.
Early reviews lean positive. The Week gave the film 4 out of 5, calling it a far better take than the Malayalam third film and singling out Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj, while praising how quickly the story gets down to business. India TV was more measured with 3 out of 5, saying Ajay Devgn remains the strongest part of the franchise but that a final chapter could have done more. A wider roundup of reviews ran from 3.5 to 4.5 stars, with praise for the screenplay, the courtroom face-offs and the finale, and a few critics finding parts of it predictable.
Ahlawat, who also starred in Jaane Jaan alongside Kareena Kapoor and Vijay Varma, is the performance most reviewers are talking about.
Netflix holds the streaming rights to the Hindi film, but no OTT date has been announced. Based on the usual six to eight week gap between theaters and streaming, some outlets expect a mid or late November arrival, though that is an estimate and not a confirmed date.
The Hindi film, officially Drishyam: The Conclusion, released in theaters on October 2, 2026, which is also Gandhi Jayanti.
Ajay Devgn (Vijay Salgaonkar), Tabu (Meera Deshmukh), Shriya Saran (Nandini Salgaonkar), Ishita Dutta (Anju Salgaonkar), Mrunal Jadhav (Anu Salgaonkar) and Rajat Kapoor (Mahesh Deshmukh) return, joined by Jaideep Ahlawat (SP Rajveer Singh Tomar) and Prakash Raj (public prosecutor Indrajith Shetty).
Jaideep Ahlawat plays SP Rajveer Singh Tomar, the officer who reopens the case. Reviewers have singled him out as the film’s strongest addition.
No. Akshaye Khanna, who played IG Tarun Ahlawat in Drishyam 2, exited the project just days before shooting began. Director Abhishek Pathak has said he rewrote the part rather than simply recasting it, and Jaideep Ahlawat came on board for the reworked role.
No. Unlike the first two Hindi films, which followed the Malayalam originals, this one tells its own story and is not narratively connected to the Malayalam Drishyam 3 starring Mohanlal.
The runtime is 150 minutes (2 hours 30 minutes), ten minutes longer than Drishyam 2, and the CBFC passed it with a U/A 16+ certificate and zero cuts.
It is billed as the final chapter of the Hindi franchise, which is why it carries the subtitle “The Conclusion.”
Early live estimates reached about Rs 56 crore net in India on opening day, with final figures expected on October 3. The numbers will change, so check back for the confirmed total.
Netflix holds the streaming rights. No date is official yet, and a mid to late November arrival is only an expectation based on typical theatrical windows.
Yes. “Dhrishyam 3” is a common alternate spelling. Both refer to the Hindi film Drishyam: The Conclusion starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu.
Photo credits: cast portraits are cropped and resized from Wikimedia Commons files. Ajay Devgn by Becks pinto, Tabu by Verghese TK and Prakash Raj by Sreejithkoiloth are licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; Shriya Saran and Ishita Dutta by Bollywood Hungama are licensed CC BY 3.0; Rajat Kapoor by Laura Lee Dooley is licensed CC BY 2.0; Jaideep Ahlawat is courtesy of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India (GODL-India). Where a license requires it, our cropped versions are shared under the same license. If you are the rights holder of an image on this page and would like it removed or credited differently, see our Terms of Service or contact us and we will act promptly.
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