The film was produced by Antony Perumbavoor for Aashirvad Cinemas. It follows the struggle of Georgekutty and his family, who come under suspicion when Varun Prabhakar, the son of the Inspector-general of police, goes missing.
Drishyam - 2013 Indian Malayalam-language crime thriller film
The film began principal photography in the first week of October 2013 at Thodupuzha in Kerala, where the film was extensively shot. Filming was completed in 44 days which was originally scheduled for 52 days. The cinematography was done by Sujith Vaassudev and was edited by Ayoob Khan. The soundtrack of the film was composed by Anil Johnson and Vinu Thomas.
Released on 19 December 2013 in Kerala, Drishyam received widespread critical acclaim with critics praising the screenplay, the performances and direction. It was the first Malayalam film to collect ₹50 crore from the box office. The film grossed over ₹75 crore worldwide and ran for more than 150 days in theatres.
It remained the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time until it was surpassed by Pulimurugan in 2016. It also became the longest-running film in the United Arab Emirates, running 125 days.
- Drishyam won numerous accolades, including the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value and the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Malayalam and screened at the 45th International Film Festival of India and the 8th Asian Film Festival. It was remade into four other Indian languages: Drishya (2014) in Kannada, Drushyam (2014) in Telugu, Papanasam (2015) in Tamil and Drishyam (2015) in Hindi.
- It was also remade in Sinhala language as Dharmayuddhaya (2017) and in Chinese as Sheep Without a Shepherd (2019) thereby becoming the first Indian film to be remade in Chinese language. The Indonesian remake was announced in September 2021 making it the first Indian movie to be remade in Indonesian and the first Indian movie to be remade in three foreign languages. It will also be the fourth Indian movie to be remade in seven languages after Anuraga Aralithu, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana and U Turn. A sequel Drishyam 2 was released in 2021.
- Jeethu wrote the script for Drishyam 2 when the production works of his another film Ram, got interrupted due to COVID-19 pandemic. After a formal announcement made on Mohanlal's 60th birthday, 21 May 2020, the principal photography began on 21 September and concluded on 6 November 2020, while adhering to safety precautions set for preventing the spread of COVID-19.
- Originally, the makers planned for a theatrical release, the producers later opted to release the film through the streaming service Amazon Prime Video. The film was released worldwide on 19 February 2021 to widespread critical acclaim, praising the narration style and performances (especially of Mohanlal). The film's remake in Telugu, titled as Drushyam 2, was released in November 2021.
After the release of Drishyam 2, producer Antony Perumbavoor commented that it is possible for a third film in the series, although Jeethu had neither confirmed nor denied it. Antony also said that Jeethu is researching on possible story arcs for Drishyam 3, and there had been discussions with Mohanlal. On 23 February 2021, Jeethu said in a press conference that he currently has figured out the climax for Drishyam 3, but the screenplay and production may take at least three years to materialise.
