Aamil Keeyan Khan, the screenwriter of ‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’, has opened up about creating the final chapter of the Hindi thriller franchise. He discussed the pressure of continuing a story that already has an established audience.In an interaction with The Free Press Journal, Aamil Keeyan Khan explained how the screenplay had to preserve the identity of the franchise. At the same time, it needed to give viewers something they had not experienced before.“It was an enormous mountain to climb. You have a beloved franchise, a family that the audiences have lived with for years, and the legacy of two hugely loved films sitting on your shoulders. And most importantly, how do you surprise an audience for the third time?In the first film, Vijay Salgaonkar is almost a blank slate. Now the audience knows him. They know how his mind works; they know he has tricks up his sleeve, and frankly, they’re suspicious of everything the poor man does.Then there was the challenge of writing an original screenplay while retaining the DNA of ‘Drishyam’. It still had to have humour, family, emotion, drama and thrills without any one ingredient swallowing the others. It was a very, very thin tightrope. Thankfully, none of us looked down.”

Aamil Keeyan Khan worked through over 100 drafts

Developing the screenplay involved an extensive rewriting process, with Aamil Keeyan Khan producing more than a hundred versions. The writer admitted that he eventually lost track of the exact count.“I have folders inside folders, drafts with dates, numbers, dates after numbers, and files called things like “FINAL”, “FINAL 2”, “FINAL FINAL” and presumably “FINAL PLEASE GOD”. I have genuinely lost count, but well over a hundred drafts in different forms. Easily.”

Climax details were shared only on a need-to-know basis

The makers also adopted strict measures to protect the film’s major twists. Aamil Keeyan Khan revealed that the climax was not shared with a large section of the cast and crew.“Abhishek basically ran the production like Vijay Salgaonkar would. The climax wasn’t given to a large part of the crew. People got information on a need-to-know basis. Sometimes a department only knew what it needed to execute a scene, not necessarily why it was executing it. A lot of actors and crew from the film, and my own friends and relatives, tried to bribe me for the ending. But like Gaitonde, I remained honest and loyal to the producers.“

‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’ crosses Rs 150 cr in three days

Ajay Devgn‘s ‘Drishyam 3: The Conclusion’ has also maintained a strong theatrical run. The film crossed the Rs 150 cr India net milestone within three days of its release.According to Sacnilk, the film collected Rs 61.00 cr net in India on Sunday, October 4. The latest figures took its India gross collection to Rs 211.80 cr. The film’s overseas gross stood at Rs 61.00 cr. Its worldwide gross collection subsequently reached Rs 272.80 cr.