Drishyam 3 Had 20 Possible Endings, Akshaye Khanna’s Exit Created A Big Challenge

Drishyam 3: The Conclusion has crossed the Rs 500 crore mark worldwide, but its journey to the screen involved major last-minute changes. Co-writer Aamil Keeyan Khan has revealed that the team developed up to 20 versions of the ending and rewrote parts of the screenplay in just seven days after Akshaye Khanna exited the film.

The Hindi thriller, directed by Abhishek Pathak and led by Ajay Devgn, also stars Tabu and Jaideep Ahlawat. Unlike the first two Hindi films, which were based on the Malayalam franchise, the third instalment follows an original storyline. This put added pressure on the writers to deliver a fresh conclusion while meeting expectations for a franchise known for its suspense and twists. 

Speaking to Mid-Day, Khan explained that the team had to make substantial changes after Khanna left the project a week before filming began. Jaideep Ahlawat joined the cast, which meant the writers needed to establish his character’s relationships with the other players. The tight deadline pushed the team to revisit several scenes and reconsider how the story would unfold.

Khan also credited Devgn for supporting the writing process as the screenplay evolved. “Ajay Sir stood behind us like a rock, supporting us in whatever we did. We narrated the first draft to him in April 2025, he loved it. After that, we made a lot of revisions and he was on board with everything,” Khan recalled.

The last-minute changes required an intense writing effort. Khan said the team prepared 100 drafts for some scenes and explored 15–20 possible endings before settling on the final version.

He said, “We had to set Jaideep sir’s character dynamics with other players, and we had to deliver in seven days! We wrote 100 drafts for some scenes. We even had 15-20 versions of the ending. It was a humongous challenge as people had seen the first two parts and we had to surprise them. A lot of [the script] was scrapped and rewritten in those seven days."

The screenplay changes were not limited to the ending. The writers also debated how far Vijay Salgaonkar could go to protect his family without losing the qualities that define him. His decisions have always placed him in morally difficult situations, making his character’s limits an important part of the story.

Khan revealed that some drafts pushed Vijay towards a much darker path. However, the team reconsidered whether those choices felt right for the character.

“Vijay is doing the wrong thing for the right cause. There were so many drafts where he has gone much darker and then we pulled ourselves back, thinking, ‘Is that really Vijay?’ We toyed with the idea of him going completely dark.”

Meanwhile, Drishyam 3: The Conclusion reached another milestone at the box office. By Day 12, the film had collected Rs 323.50 crore net in India, with its domestic gross reaching Rs 387.80 crore. Its overseas gross stood at Rs 114 crore, taking its worldwide gross to Rs 501.80 crore, according to Sacnilk’s figures reported on October 14, 2026.