In an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak opened up about their expanding footprint in Malayalam cinema, their 10 years of collaboration with Mohanlal on Drishyam 3, and the ambitious slate being planned under Panorama Studios. The father-son duo confirmed that Panorama is aggressively investing in Malayalam cinema with 6 films planned this year and over 12 films lined up for next year. While the shoot of two films is complete, work on the remaining four is currently underway for this year. They also revealed that directors and talent for next year’s lineup have already been locked, along with a multi-film deal with Nivin Pauly.
How would you describe your collaboration with Mohanlal?
AP: “For the last 10 years, we have been associated with Drishyam. Finally, we have been presenting the film and distributing it worldwide. Mohanlal sir is a very humble, down-to-earth and sweet person. It has been a very interesting collaboration. There are certain things we are collaborating on, and they are currently in talks. He’s one of the biggest stars of Malayalam cinema, and working with him has been a whole new experience.”
What can viewers expect from Drishyam 3 in terms of scale, suspense and storytelling?
AP: “When people came to watch Drishyam 2, they didn’t expect the twists the film had. This time, expectations are already sky high and will take audience on a rollercoaster ride. By the end, they’ll wonder where the film has reached. But that’s the whole idea and fabric of Drishyam. Hopefully, people enjoy this experience in theatres just like they enjoyed the previous parts.”
Jeethu Joseph took his own time to crack the climax of Drishyam 3. What can audiences expect in theatres?
AP: “I had written a draft and he had written a draft. When you write Drishyam, you first need to crack the climax. When I wrote my version, I had one central idea, what if this happens, then what happens next? That’s the shock audiences will experience in theatres. Once that was cracked, I started writing the film backwards. You cannot write this story linearly. You first need to know the core plot and then build the flow around it.
There was a lot of collaboration between us. I read his draft, and he read mine. I liked his draft because it had stronger Malayalam drama elements, which is why we invested in that version. We believe it will work beautifully for Malayalam audiences. Then we developed the flow we wanted for our Hindi version and followed that direction.”
Have you ever thought about making a two-hero film with Ajay Devgn and Mohanlal together?
AP: “Time will tell if the collaboration will happen or not. Possibly, you never know. It’s possible that these two big stars come together in some film. But yes, that’s going to be a huge one if it happens.”
KM: “I want to work with him. He is such a humble person. I have met him many times and he speaks with so much warmth. He doesn’t behave like such a massive star. Normally, when you talk to stars, there’s hesitation. But with him, it feels very comfortable. If something happens in the future with Ajay sir and Mohanlal sir together, we would be very happy.”
What is the current status of Drishyam 3 in Hindi? Has the shoot been completed?
AP: “The shoot is done. We are currently working on some patchwork and will release it on October 2. There’s a lot of excitement around the film. What people are seeing right now in Malayalam Drishyam is different. For the Hindi audience, I have created a completely different track that will work beautifully here. The Malayalam version focuses more on family drama, while the Hindi version will lean more towards a family thriller. That’s the fabric of the film. When the trailer releases, audiences will see how different the two worlds are.”
What’s more in store with Mohanlal besides Drishyam?
AP: “We will definitely do something together in the future. The relationship is very strong now. There are certain collaborations under discussion and hopefully, we will announce something soon. Both sides are happy with the association, and it’s going to be exciting if things materialise.”
You have been actively associated with Malayalam cinema recently. Are there any new Malayalam films currently in development?
KM: “We are working on multiple different scripts and have discussed some with Nivin Pauly. We are trying to make sure that whatever content we make, we make it carefully because Hindi and Malayalam cinema content is different. We have done aggressive research into this market, set up our team there and now, practically, we are working with every actor, from small to big stars.”
