Mumbai, Sept. 24 -- From a gripping crime thriller to a pop-culture phenomenon, the Drishyam franchise has built a strong and loyal audience around one of Hindi cinema's most recognisable characters, Vijay Salgaonkar. What began as a story of an ordinary family man trying to protect his loved ones has grown into a franchise where every date, alibi and carefully constructed lie has become part of popular culture.

The first Drishyam, released in 2015, established Vijay as the man who could stay several steps ahead of the system. His meticulous planning and presence of mind turned the character into someone audiences continued to root for. The film opened at around 5.8 crore in India and went on to collect approximately 67.13 crore domestic...