Amid Prime Video row, Mohanlal’s Drishyam 3 bags Rs 100 cr investment from Pen Studios

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Drishyam 3’s Rs 350 crore deal

This is the second-largest deal that Aashirvad Cinemas is striking for Drishyam 3, after Panorama Studios, which is bankrolling the Hindi version of the franchise, acquired the theatrical, overseas, and digital rights for the Malayalam movie. While participating in a session at the second edition of Manorama Hortus last year, producer M Renjith of Rejaputhra Visual Media, which bankrolled Mohanlal’s 2025 blockbuster Thudarum, revealed that Drishyam 3 had garnered Rs 350 crore from pre-release distribution sales.

Nonetheless, the future of its digital deal will only become clear after the Delhi High Court issues a final decision on Amazon Prime Video’s petition. For the unversed, Drishyam 2 had a direct-to-OTT release during the Covid-19 era and debuted on Prime Video.

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Drishyam 3 vs Prime Video case

Recently, the court granted Amazon Prime Video interim protection, restraining Aashirvad Cinemas from transferring the Drishyam franchise’s OTT rights to any third party. The HC was hearing a petition filed by the streaming giant, reportedly contending that a 2020 contract guaranteed their ownership of all future instalments in the Drishyam movies. The matter will come up for further hearing on May 15.

Apparently, the contract between the two parties granted Prime Video exclusive negotiation rights for licensing any new instalments of the franchise. The clause also strictly barred the production house from considering outside offers during ongoing discussions between them. Aashirvad Cinemas purportedly violated this clause and attempted to secure a more lucrative deal with another party before the ongoing negotiations with Prime Video concluded, prompting the latter to file a lawsuit.

Also starring Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil, Asha Sharath, Siddique, Murali Gopy, and Saikumar, who all reprise their respective roles from earlier instalments, Drishyam 3 is scheduled for worldwide release on May 21, coinciding with Mohanlal’s 66th birthday.

Jeethu Joseph on Mohanlal’s Drishyam 3

Opening up about the movie, Jeethu Joseph had previously told Screen that he never tries to play to the gallery or make decisions to satisfy the hype. Instead, he stated that he follows the organic style that made the original Drishyam iconic.

“Many people, after Part 3 was announced, commented that, ‘Drishyam 2’s script was amazing, and we expect something better than that.’ I replied to such remarks in some interviews that I’m not consciously trying to write a ‘better-than-Drishyam 2’ script just for the sake of it. My focus is only on Georgekutty and his family, and on what could have happened in their lives over the six or seven years since Part 2,” he stated.

“For the Drishyam franchise, my approach is based on what could have happened within that family and their lives. You’ll understand that when Part 3 comes. Drishyam 2 wasn’t similar to Drishyam 1; and Drishyam 3 won’t be like Drishyam 2,” Jeethu added.