In a proud moment for India and its film fraternity, the Malayalam classic movie Drishyam is all set to be remade in Hollywood in the English language. Drishyam which has been made in multiple languages in India including one which featured Ajay Devgn was originally made by Jeetu Joseph in 2013 and starred Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba Hassan, and Esther Anil in the lead roles. Drishyam's Hindi remake was made in 2015 and starred Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Sharan, and more in the leading roles.
As per Variety, Panorama, which produced the Hindi version for Viacom18 Motion Pictures, has acquired the international remake rights to 'Drishyam 1 & 2' from the original producers, Aashirvad Cinemas, and is settling up multiple international versions. For the unversed, a Korean remake with Anthology Studios was announced in May last year, while Panorama stated that a development deal for a Spanish-language retread is also close to being finalized. "Sheep Without a Shepherd," a Chinese version, that did not involve Panorama, was released in 2019 and was a $200 million-grossing hit.
Kumar Mangat Pathak, Panorama’s chairman and MD, was quoted saying, " 'Drishyam’s' clever narrative has a universal appeal and we are keen to celebrate this story with audiences worldwide. After Korea and Hollywood, our mission is to produce ‘Drishyam’ in 10 countries in the next three to five years".
Film critic Ramesh Bala on his X handle wrote, "The cult franchise #Drishyam is all set to go global after garnering massive success in the India and China markets. Producers Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak announced the Korean remake of the thriller franchise at the Cannes Film Festival 2023, and now they announce the franchise’s new milestone. Panorama Studios have joined hands with Gulfstream Pictures and JOAT Films to make Drishyam in Hollywood, a first for an Indian film!"
Talking about Drishyam, when the Malayalam film released in 2013, it was massively successful with other filmmakers vying for remake rights. In 2014, the film was remade in Kannada as Drishya and in Telugu as Drushyam with Ravichandran and Venkatesh in the lead roles, respectively. In 2015, it was remade in Tamil as Papanasam and in Hindi as Drishyam with Kamal Haasan and Ajay Devgn, respectively.