Introduction

Vijay Salgaonkar is an orphan who dropped out of school at the fourth grade. He then becomes a businessman in Goa. He is married to Nandini and has two daughters; Anju, his adopted elder daughter and Anu, his youngest daughter. His only interest, apart from his family, is watching films.

Plot

During camp, an MMS of Anju gets recorded. The culprit, Sameer ''Sam'' Deshmukh, is the son of the Inspector-general of police Meera Deshmukh. When Sam meets Anju, he tries to blackmail her for sexual favors. The same night, he turns up at her house and when Nandini arrives, she pleads with him to delete the video.

The Uninvited Incident

Nandini pleads Sam to leave Anju alone; he agrees on the condition that Nandini have sex with him. Anju strikes Sam with a rod, which accidentally kills him. Anju and Nandini bury Sam's dead body in a compost pit, which is seen by Anu. The next morning, when Vijay comes home, he is informed of the incident by Nandini and he devises a way to save his family from the police.

Drishyam Creation

He removes Sam's broken phone and disposes of his car, which is seen by Sub-inspector Laxmikant Gaitonde, who has a grudge against Vijay. The next day, Vijay takes his family out on a trip to attend a religious sermon in Panaji. Meera, realizing that her son has gone missing, starts an investigation. She begins to suspect Vijay and his family and they are called in for questioning. Having predicted that this would happen, Vijay coaches his family on how to change their alibis. When questioned individually, the family stick to their alibis. Meera questions the owners of the establishments that Vijay had met during his trip. Their statements prove Vijay's alibi. Meera deduces that Vijay had gotten acquainted with the owners, and manipulated them into lying.

Hussle-Tussle

Meera arrests the family and Gaitonde uses force to beat the truth out of them. Meera learns about the video that Sam made about Anju from Sam's friend Alex. After Gaitonde thrashes Anu, she discloses the truth. Anu reveals that she saw Anju and Nandini bury Sam's body in a compost pit. The police dig up the compost pit, only to find the remains of a calf. Vijay protests to the crowd that Gaitonde had thrashed Anu. Gaitonde attempts to attack Vijay, but is stopped by an angry mob who thrash him.

Epilogue

Following the incident, Gaitonde is suspended and Meera resigns. Meera and her husband, Mahesh summon Vijay where they ask for his forgiveness over Sam's perverted behavior. They also reveal that they are going to live with Meera's brother in London. They ask Vijay to disclose the truth behind their Sam's disappearance, to which he reveals to indirectly killing him. He reveals that he would go to any lengths to protect his family and asks them for forgiveness. In the present, Vijay is called to sign a register at the police station. While signing the register, the police inspector tells Vijay that the police are not fools and promises to one day find the body. Vijay replies by telling the officer that he respects the police and believes that the police will always be there to help the people. As he walks out of the station, flashbacks are shown of Vijay walking out of an unfinished police station, implying that he buried Sam's body beneath the police station.

Awards & Recognition

By the end of its first week, Drishyam had grossed approximately ₹463 million (US$5.5 million). The movie grossed ₹629 million (US$7.5 million) in 13 days at the domestic box office. By the end of its second week, the film had grossed about ₹64.17 crore (US$7.7 million). By the end of its third weekend, the film had grossed about ₹687 million (US$8.2 million). By the end of its fifth week, the film had grossed about ₹757 million (US$9.1 million). By the end of its sixth week, the film had grossed about ₹765 million (US$9.2 million). It attained a total gross of ₹91.97 crore (US$11 million) (India) in the Indian box office by the end of its run. Internationally, the film collected ₹155 million (US$1.9 million) in seven weeks and reached a combined worldwide total gross of ₹1.1 billion (US$13 million). In 2022 film was released in China earning 30k USD on day 1 and total $4.05 million in lifetime run making total worldwide total gross of ₹1.47 billion.