Drishyam: The Conclusion

Six months after the events of Drishyam 2, the Salgaonkar case has been officially closed due to the lack of sufficient evidence against Vijay Salgaonkar and his family. Although Meera Deshmukh possesses considerable authority and resources, she remains devastated by her inability to prove Vijay's guilt or obtain justice for her deceased son, Sameer Deshmukh. Her husband, Mahesh Deshmukh, becomes increasingly concerned about her deteriorating mental state. Although Mahesh had previously refused to pursue the case when S.P. Rajveer Singh Tomar of the Crime Branch wanted to reopen it immediately after the events of the second film, he eventually changes his mind and personally asks Tomar to reinvestigate the case in the hope of finding new evidence.

Unknown to the Deshmukhs, Tomar already has a potential lead. Although the skeleton recovered in the second film was determined through DNA testing not to belong to Sameer, Tomar believes that the police station where the skeleton was originally stored continues to retain its DNA records and forensic samples. Tomar begins to suspect that Vijay may have replaced Sameer's skeleton shortly before the court proceedings in the previous case. He and Gaitonde quietly resume the investigation, focusing on Vijay's movements around the time of the alleged exchange.

During their surveillance, Tomar and Gaitonde discover that Vijay frequently visits a church that he has attended for several years. They also learn that Vijay has developed a friendship with Raghu, a security guard at Andrews College, the same institution where the forensic team had temporarily stored the skeleton. After locating and questioning Raghu, the investigators learn that Vijay visited the college with him on July 23, the day before the crucial court hearing. Raghu explains that the two men spent the evening drinking together until they became intoxicated and eventually passed out. Because the medical college had no functioning CCTV system covering the evidence room, Tomar concludes that Vijay could have taken advantage of the situation to secretly exchange Sameer's skeleton with another skeleton.

Tomar then begins investigating the origin of the unidentified skeleton that Vijay allegedly used in the exchange. The team searches records involving young men between approximately fifteen and twenty years old who had died from severe head trauma and eventually identifies the skeleton as belonging to Christopher Pinto. Their investigation leads them to Christopher's grave and to Savio D'Souza, the caretaker who originally buried him. Tomar attempts to locate Savio, but discovers that he has mysteriously disappeared.

Meanwhile, Vijay has maintained an apparently respectable public image. For the past four years, he has regularly attended a local church and become one of its frequent donors, earning the trust of many members of the community. At the same time, he continues working on the production of his upcoming film. Dissatisfied with the quality of the props being produced, Vijay personally works with a prop artist to create a highly realistic prop that he intends to use in the film.

Vijay is also attempting to arrange a suitable marriage for his elder daughter, Anju. Still deeply concerned about the possibility of the Salgaonkar case being reopened, Anju remains reluctant to fully move on with her life. Vijay reassures her that the family has already filed a petition in the High Court seeking to permanently close the case and that he expects the petition to be accepted within the following month. Convinced by her father's assurance, Anju finally agrees to meet a prospective family.

Tomar and Gaitonde continue searching for Savio while investigating Vijay's connection to Christopher's grave. Their investigation eventually leads them to Vijay's house. Coincidentally, they arrive on the same day that a matchmaker has brought a prospective groom and his family to meet Anju. The meeting is interrupted when Tomar and Gaitonde confront Vijay in front of the visitors. The confrontation quickly becomes hostile, causing the prospective family to leave reluctantly. Tomar openly threatens Vijay and his entire family, promising that he will eventually put them behind bars. Vijay calmly responds that as long as he is alive, Tomar will never succeed.

Savio is eventually located by the police and brought in for questioning. Under pressure, he initially agrees to testify against Vijay and provides a written statement implicating him in the disappearance and replacement of Christopher's skeleton. Meera and Mahesh subsequently hire prominent lawyer Indrajith Shetty to represent them against Vijay and the Salgaonkar family.

At the next court hearing, Raghu remains consistent with his original statement and testifies that Vijay was with him at Andrews College on the night of July 23. Savio, however, unexpectedly retracts his statement and claims that the police threatened him and forced him to testify against Vijay. Shetty argues that the conflicting testimony warrants further investigation. He asks the court to order the excavation of Christopher Pinto's grave to determine whether Christopher's skeleton is actually still buried there. Despite objections from Vijay's defense, the court grants the request and orders the police to immediately search the grave.

When Tomar and his team arrive at the cemetery, they encounter a large group of members of the local Christian community protesting the excavation. They argue that disturbing a buried person's remains is deeply disrespectful and contrary to their religious traditions. The protesters refuse to allow the police to proceed, forcing Tomar to request reinforcements. After a confrontation, the police use force to disperse the crowd and begin excavating Christopher's grave.

To everyone's surprise, Christopher's skeleton is found inside the coffin.

At the same time, Shetty questions Nandini Salgaonkar about Vijay's whereabouts on the night of July 23. Nandini states that Vijay was at home that night. Shetty then requests that the court review audio recordings collected over the previous two and a half years by undercover officers Jenny and Shiv, who had purchased a property next to Vijay's house and secretly installed surveillance equipment. The audio recordings from July 23 appear to clearly capture Vijay inside his house, directly contradicting Raghu's testimony that Vijay was at Andrews College with him.

With the evidence apparently supporting both sides of the case, the court concludes that the prosecution cannot establish Vijay's presence at Andrews College beyond reasonable doubt. The court therefore declares the entire Salgaonkar family not guilty and permanently closes the case.

Following the hearing, Tomar, Meera, Mahesh, Shetty, Jenny and Shiv meet privately to review the investigation and determine how Vijay once again managed to outsmart the authorities. They eventually reconstruct the entire scheme.

Approximately two and a half years earlier, Jenny and Shiv had purchased a property next to Vijay's house while working undercover. Vijay initially refused to sell the property for less than ₹1.5 crore. Shiv immediately agreed to his asking price, which made Vijay suspicious of their intentions. Eventually, Vijay secretly investigated their property and discovered that Jenny and Shiv had installed listening devices throughout his house, allowing them to monitor his conversations.

Vijay therefore anticipated that his movements would be monitored 24/7. When he planned the skeleton exchange, he simultaneously devised a second deception designed specifically to fool the surveillance system. With the cooperation of his entire family, Vijay used a cassette player, a radio and prerecorded voice recordings of himself to stage an artificial conversation inside his house. The recording was played at the appropriate time, creating the illusion that Vijay was physically present at home while he was actually at Andrews College with Raghu.

The investigators then turn their attention to the protesters who prevented them from examining Christopher's grave. It is revealed that Vijay had been preparing this contingency for years. During his regular visits to the church, he secretly cultivated relationships with JCB operators and construction workers. He also gained access to the church's WhatsApp group through a fake identity, posing as "Sister Perera." On several occasions, Vijay used the identity to warn church members that the government was supposedly planning to demolish their church and cemetery. At the same time, he arranged for JCB operators and workers to appear as though preparations were being made to demolish the property.

Through these repeated incidents, Vijay gradually convinced the community that the government intended to destroy their church and cemetery. When the police finally arrived to excavate Christopher's grave, Vijay activated the same plan. The community members, believing that the government was once again attempting to interfere with their cemetery, organized a protest and prevented the police from carrying out a thorough examination.

Although Tomar and the investigation team successfully reconstruct Vijay's elaborate plan, they are left without any practical way to prove it in court. Christopher Pinto's skeleton is still inside his grave, the audio evidence appears to place Vijay inside his home, and the Christian community refuses to permit further disturbance of the grave. The court therefore has no grounds to reopen the case, and the Salgaonkar family's acquittal becomes permanent.

However, one question remains unresolved: if Christopher Pinto's skeleton is still in his grave, where is the skeleton that Vijay originally used to replace Sameer's?

The answer is revealed in the final act.

When Vijay meets Savio, it is revealed that Savio had expected Vijay to return Christopher's skeleton after using it to carry out the exchange. Vijay had promised that once his plan was complete, he would return the remains to Christopher's grave. However, because the skeleton was placed under strict security in the police evidence room, Vijay was unable to retrieve it. This leaves Savio unaware of how Vijay intends to complete his promise.

The final twist reveals the true purpose behind Vijay's months-long work with the prop artist. The supposedly ordinary prop being developed for Vijay's film is not merely an unusually realistic movie prop. It is a highly detailed replica of a real human skeleton.

Vijay obtains the replica and, with Savio's assistance, secretly places it inside Christopher Pinto's grave. The grave now contains what appears to be Christopher's skeleton, allowing the community and authorities to believe that the remains were never removed.

The film ends with Vijay successfully completing the final stage of his plan. Once again, every apparent piece of evidence that could have exposed him has been turned into part of his alibi, leaving the authorities with no legally usable evidence against him.