How Drishyam 3 is rewriting biz rules
KOCHI: Filmmaker Jeethu Joseph still remembers the moment Antony Perumbavoor pulled him aside with startling news. Ive got an excellent offer -- and Im closing it, he told the filmmaker. The Rs 115-crore blockbuster of a deal from Mumbai-based Panorama Studios was finalised even before Drishyam 3 was wrapped up. For Mollywood, where rights sales typically happen after a film proves itself at the box office, this was nothing short of a revolution. Panoramas acquisition of the Malayalam rights is not about the number alone -- its about the timing, the confidence, and the structure. As Jeethu puts it, this is a first in Malayalam, if not in any regional language film industry in the country. Simply put: Antonys Aashirvad Cinemas has already pocketed the kind of profit usually made after a blockbuster run. Distribution remains with Antony, and the final say on the release date remains with the makers. But the producer is insulated the financial risk is gone. Hindi engine behind deal Why would a Bollywood studio shell out this kind of money? Partly because Panorama is also producing the Hindi iteration of Drishyam 3, featuring Ajay Devgn. But the Malayalam version will be the mothership. The agreement is clear -- the other-language versions will release only two months after the Malayalam release, Jeethu said, setting to rest speculation that the Hindi version will hit the screens first. The Hindi team is preparing to start shooting only after December 5, and Jeethu confirmed they will modify the script to suit their storytelling grammar. They cannot use several portions of the Malayalam script. They will rework itand they have sought our opinion on those changes. The deal, according to producer M Renjith, reflects the changed economics of Malayalam cinema. After L2: Empuraan, there was a realisation that a Malayalam film can collect the same money from a worldwide release as from the Indian market. That altered everything, he said. And Renjith should know. As producer of Thudarum, the Mohanlal-starrer that collected `150-crore-plus at the box office, he received only Rs 55 crore. The rest was divvied up between GST, entertainment tax, theatres share and distributors fees. Hindi studios, OTT giants, and distributors have been closely tracking Malayalam content for its novelty, realism, and high repeat value. The example he offers is telling: A small film like Eko, a mystery thriller, is now seeing reviews in Hindi media -- purely because word spread that the film was a sleeper hit. People across India are watching anything fresh and well-made. Thats our strength now, he said. Legal turning point Musthafa Zafeer O V, founder & chairman of Musthafa & Almana, a global law firm that now specialises in cinema law, said the deal also marks a legal and commercial shift. Earlier, a film had to be successful in Kerala first. Only then did Mumbai studios buy remake rights. Drishyam 3 has reversed that process. Even before shooting wrapped up, the Malayalam rights were sold for a huge amount, he said. And the most significant consequence? The Malayalam producer is now safe. The profit is locked in. They no longer have to worry about box-office performance. That headache is gone. An industry official summed it up. Malayalam cinema has become a market others study seriously. This deal proves it. The conversation at film festivals from Goas Indian Panorama to Hyderabads industry meets -- has shifted decisively towards Malayalam films, added Renjith. The road ahead With the shoot wrapped up and release plans to be announced shortly, Jeethu is careful about the speculation around Drishyam 4. Everything depends on how the audience receives the third film. Nothing is guaranteed, he said. But even before a single scene from Drishyam 3 reaches theatres, one thing is already certain: It has become the first Malayalam film to enter the Rs 350-crore club purely through rights valuation. And in doing so, it has pulled Mollywood into a new financial era one defined by national attention, aggressive buyouts, and deals once unimaginable in Keralas film industry.
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