Mumbai, India – Truth becomes a deceptive weapon in Drishyam The Conclusion. Its trigger rests ably in the heart and mind of simpleton cable operator Vijay Salgaonkar, whose helpless middle-class appeal extends into a mythical overlordship, as he brews a spectacle to shield his family from the badgering tenets of power. In a subversive role reversal, it is the common man here who channels his inner authority to trick multiple levels of state machinery in a language that it is known to regularly use to shield its violence. In the hands of Vijay, truth becomes corrosive and endlessly mutable.
Vijay is no collective saviour. All that matters to him is protecting the honour of his family. That is what led to the crime in the first place, as his wife Nandini (Shriya Saran) and daughter Anju (Ishita Dutta) murder Sameer Deshmukh, a top cop’s son, for his obsessive misdemeanours. It is an act of instinctive self-defence, but Vijay knows their reasoning would prove futile against the power-drenched reaches of Sameer’s family. At the heart of the story is a thoughtful reversal of the details of the crime. As opposed to stories of underdogs facing the system, the power resides here with the deceased, as his mother, IG Meera Deshmukh (Tabu), leads the investigation.
He does the same even in Drishyam The Conclusion as newer evidence reopens the case. However, the scope here is widened and the gaze deepened to let metaphors symbolise Vijay beyond the singular virtues of the case to signify a larger outcome. Invoking the nature of a shrewd politician, Vijay claims, “Kahani ka sach hona zaruri nahi, sach lagna zaroori hai.” Using this logic, Vijay narratises truth to protect his family. The extent of his manipulation extends to WhatsApp as he ably controls the minds of people with a constructed reality surrounding religion and chooses to channelise their artificial anger for his advantage.
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The circumstances arising out of his intricate planning of dissemination of false information offer astounding parallels to reality. The twists and turns, which slowly reveal his mind-blowing schemes, also encapsulate the underlying absurdity of his actions, whereby upon repeating a lie multiple times, it takes the shape of an undying truth. Beyond the spectacle of his actions, there lies an unrealised cautionary tale against authoritarianism in Drishyam The Conclusion, where Vijay becomes a subversive representation of the state, as he uses the same doctrine of mass control to forge a different reality. And that’s where the Hindi third part differs from the Malayalam version, as it ushers the legacy of Vijay’s memetic existence into a Bollywood entertainer. This Vijay is an icon for the post-truth world. Drishyam The Conclusion is currently running in theatres.
