Drishyam 3 has arrived as the saga’s final chapter, and it is already flexing at the box office. The Abhishek Pathak-directed film, starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj, opened on October 2. Unlike the Mohanlal-led Malayalam version, the Hindi Drishyam 3 runs on an original script and gives Vijay Salgaonkar and his family a conclusion of its own.
The opening-day scale was big: 11,645 screens across India, ₹46.35 crore net by evening, and a ₹54.69 crore gross by 7 p.m. If that final chapter has left you with a twist hangover, the natural next move is to queue up thrillers that keep the same ‘what is really going on here?’ energy.
Five thrillers that earn their twists
These are not films that cheat. They plant small, seemingly irrelevant clues, then let those clues change meaning as the story opens up.
- Maharaja (2024) – Vijay Sethupathi plays a barber who reports a stolen metal dustbin, and the reason turns far darker. Where to watch: Netflix.
- Jaane Jaan (2023) – Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat and Vijay Varma in a Kalimpong-set battle of wits. Where to watch: Netflix.
- Andhadhun (2018) – Ayushmann Khurrana’s pretend-blind pianist walks into a murder and has to keep performing. Where to watch: JioHotstar.
- Kahaani (2012) – Vidya Balan’s search for her missing husband unspools during Durga Puja in Kolkata. Where to watch: Prime Video.
- Por Thozhil (2023) – A rookie and a veteran officer hunt a serial killer through procedure, not noise. Where to watch: SonyLIV.
If you want the closest Drishyam DNA
Start with Jaane Jaan. Sujoy Ghosh’s film adapts Keigo Higashino’s The Devotion of Suspect X, the same novel that inspired the original Drishyam. That means the pleasure is not about a random shock; it is about watching a perfectly rational cover-up get pressured until it cracks.
The twist should rewire what you already saw
Maharaja and Andhadhun are the double bill for that. Maharaja moves across timelines and makes ordinary objects carry hidden weight, while Andhadhun keeps changing direction just when you think you know the game. Both are rewatchable because the second viewing becomes a different film.
For a wider palette, Kahaani makes Kolkata’s festive crowds part of the mystery, and Por Thozhil keeps its focus on clues, behaviour and observation rather than action. Together, they cover the range from moody noir to procedural chill.
Source: Hindustan Times
