EXCLUSIVE: Drishyam The Conclusion writer Aamil Keeyan Khan reveals why Christopher Pinto dies on November 18 and the surprising Drishyam 2 connection; decodes the climax: "Vijay Salgaonkar ne kya kiya isn't the problem, kaise kiya gives audience the high"

Drishyam The Conclusion has emerged as a monstrous blockbuster, and a large part of the credit goes to its formidable writing team. Aamil Keeyan Khan has penned the dialogues and is also one of the screenplay writers, along with Parveez Shaikh and director Abhishek Pathak. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Aamil Keeyan Khan opened up about the challenge of writing the third and final chapter of the Drishyam series, living up to the massive expectations surrounding the franchise, cracking its all-important climax and a lot more.

How has your life been since the release of Drishyam The Conclusion? My phone hasn’t stopped ringing. I knew the film would do well, but I didn’t expect the response to be so overwhelmingly positive. I haven’t seen such a reaction before. So, it's very elating.

The grave of Christopher Pinto plays a crucial role in the film. He died on November 18. That’s incidentally your birthday! Drishyam 2 was also released on the same day... (Laughs) Yes. It was a call taken by the direction team, since the previous Drishyam had been released on November 18. In fact, Christopher Pinto’s birth date should actually have been July 1 instead of July 2. Had that happened, he would have shared his birthday with Abhishek!

Abhishek Pathak said that he started writing the film from the climax. What was the writing process like? With each part, it becomes even more difficult to surprise the audience because they are coming in with huge expectations. During the release of the first part, viewers didn’t know what to expect. The expectations were there for the second part, but with the third part, the audience is aware that Vijay will now have certain tricks up his sleeve. That made it difficult. Also, given the humongous popularity that the first two parts have enjoyed, the pressure was immense as to how crack an ending that really works.

First and foremost, we had to figure out the beginning and the end, that is, Vijay fasega kaise aur usme se niklega kaise! That was a time-consuming, yet very satisfying process.

Which was the most difficult scene to crack? That would be the climax, especially the last 30-40 minutes. In the Drishyam series, Vijay ne kya kiya is never the problem. Kaise kiya is what gives the audience a high. Viewers have a strong connection with Vijay Salgaonkar. They know ki kuch toh kar lega yeh. Kya karega aur kaise karega is the fun part.

Since the pressure was so immense, the biggest challenge was figuring out how to land the reveal - kis order mein revelations aayenge aur kaise aayenge. Once you know what he has done and what he hasn’t done, the question is how you layer all of it in the screenplay for maximum impact. Abhishek, Parveez Shaikh and I brainstormed a lot about that.

Interestingly, the monologue that came towards the end was one of the first things I wrote. We had gone to Goa to work on the film and were still figuring out how to approach the screenplay. I wrote the monologue to get a sense of the direction we wanted to take. Abhishek liked it, and after that, we kept discussing whether it should remain in the film or be dropped. Eventually, we decided to retain it.

Pav Bhaji has become synonymous with the Drishyam series. Audiences almost expect someone to mention the dish, and this time, it’s Gaitonde (Kamlesh Sawant) who does so, leading to a lot of laughs. What was the thought process behind organically weaving the Pav Bhaji reference into the film? That was Abhishek’s idea. Drishyam has a very strong pop-culture recall, and the Pav Bhaji memes are shared every year without fail on October 2. Abhishek asked me if there was a way we could weave that reference into the script. That’s where the idea came from, and with a twisted character like Gaitonde, it was quite easy to make him mouth that dialogue.

You have a cameo in the film (he’s the one who enters the green room and informs Raghu Nayak that Rajveer Singh Tomar is waiting to see him). Did the makers ask you to make the special appearance, or was it your wish to be on screen? I’ve always had the desire to act. In fact, I came to Mumbai to become an actor. What happened was that the actor who was supposed to play this part couldn’t make it that day. So, I was asked, ‘Yeh scene karega?’ I immediately said, ‘Of course!’

Dr Sharad Bhutadiya, who plays Martin Uncle, was missing this time. Were there any scenes featuring him that were eventually removed, or was he never a part of the third film? No, he wasn’t a part of it. While we were writing the film, Abhishek was very clear that he didn’t want any scenes that had no bearing on the main plot. Initially, a few scenes were supposed to be set at Martin’s Café, but we eventually shifted them to other locations. As a result, it didn’t make sense to force Martin Uncle into the story just for the sake of having him there.

The Drishyam series comes to and. How do you feel? I feel as relieved as Sam – now I can be at peace (laughs)! On a serious note, it's nice that the audience has responded so positively to it. But the story is complete here, and we should not even attempt to move forward. You should know when to leave the ring. So, it’s the correct decision. Also, from the start, we felt that if we write it with the intention of concluding the series, we will give it our all. Hence, we haven’t left any open endings. There’s a lot of chatter on the internet ki yeh kar sakte the aur woh kar sakte the. But if somebody sat down and debated with me, I can prove why it can’t be done and why this is the end of it.

You have written many of Ajay Devgn films in recent times and played a big role in his success… On the contrary, he has played a big role in my success. Ajay sir, along with the teams at Devgn Films and Panorama Studios, has been like family to me. They have treated me with a lot of warmth and kindness. Working with them feels almost like working on a home production (smiles). I hope I get to collaborate with Ajay sir on many more films. When you get to work with a great artist and a wonderful human being, who also happens to be a massive star, it’s a jackpot.

The fact that Kumar Mangat Pathak, Rohit Shetty and even you have worked with him repeatedly says a lot about the kind of person he is... Absolutely. You can see the loyalty that people around him have towards him. There are many actors who are stars, but not all of them inspire that kind of loyalty and genuine affection. Ajay sir does, and that says a lot about the person he is.

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