2015 · Film
Drishyam
Nishikant Kamat's Hindi crime thriller in which a Goa cable operator, played by Ajay Devgn, tries to shield his family when a police chief's son goes missing.
Reviewed by Movie Mandala, Sun, 18 Oct, 2026
Where to watch
IndiaAs of 18 October 2026, Drishyam is streaming in India on Prime Video with a subscription.
With subscription
Checked Sun, 18 Oct, 2026Open ↗
The story
Vijay Salgaonkar left school after the fourth grade and now runs a small cable TV business in Goa. He lives with his wife Nandini and their two daughters, and his one passion besides his family is watching films. When the teenage son of Inspector General Meera Deshmukh disappears after a school camp, suspicion slowly turns towards Vijay's household. As Meera's investigation closes in, Vijay draws on everything he has learned from cinema to keep his family together and out of the police's grip.
Spoiler-free: only the set-up.
Who it suits
A slow-building family crime thriller for viewers who like cat-and-mouse investigations more than action. It is rated U/A and runs about two and three-quarter hours, with themes of blackmail, police brutality and a crime involving a teenager, so it is better for teens and adults than young children.
Curation to help you choose, not a review.
Background
Drishyam is a Hindi remake of Jeethu Joseph's 2013 Malayalam film of the same name, which starred Mohanlal. Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Panorama Studios produced this version, and Upendra Sidhaye wrote the screenplay. It is the first of three Hindi films about Vijay Salgaonkar, followed by Drishyam 2 (2022) and Drishyam: The Conclusion (2 October 2026), so start here.
The film opened in Indian cinemas on 31 July 2015. Wikipedia reports a domestic gross of ₹91.97 crore by the end of its run and a worldwide total of about ₹110 crore. It was released in China in 2022, where it earned about US$4.05 million, taking its worldwide gross to around ₹147 crore. Bollywood Hungama gave it four stars out of five, and Hindustan Times gave it three and a half. The Indian Express and Rediff each rated it two and a half stars.
The facts
- Language
- Hindi
- Hindi
- Hindi original
- Genre
- Crime thriller, Family drama
- Runtime
- 163 min
- Certificate
- U/A
- Director
- Nishikant Kamat
- Cast
- Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor
Questions people ask
- Where can I watch Drishyam in India?
- As of 18 October 2026, Drishyam is streaming in India on Prime Video with a subscription.
- Is Drishyam in Hindi?
- Yes. Drishyam is a Hindi-language film.
- Is Drishyam suitable for children?
- Drishyam has a CBFC U/A certificate, which means children under 12 should watch with a parent or guardian.
- How long is Drishyam?
- Drishyam runs for 2 hours 43 minutes (163 minutes).