Mohanlal and ‘Drishyam 3’ star Meena has reportedly run into legal trouble ahead of the much-anticipated release.the director Jeethu JosephThe film is the third installment of one of Malayalam cinema’s most successful thriller franchises. The legal issue pertains to Telugu remake and adaptation rights.
Rajkumar Theatres Claims exclusive Telugu rights
According to a tweet by Ramesh Bala, Rajkumar Theaters Pvt. Ltd., headed by Sripriya Sethupathi and Rajkumar Sethupathi, has initiated legal proceedings to protect what it claims are the exclusive and sole rights to remake ‘Drishyam 3’ in Telugu.The company is said to have approached it Madras High Court seeking confirmation of its intellectual property rights. In its petition, the company has sought a permanent injunction to prevent any unauthorized Telugu adaptation or release of the film anywhere in the world.
The petition names the authors and production houses
According to reports in Filmibeat, the petition seeks to restrict Aashirvad Cinemas, which is represented by M. Antony, Jeethu Joseph, Panorama Studios and Pen Studios. It also includes their agents, employees, licensors and partners.Rajkumar Theaters claims that any Telugu remake, production or release adaptation rights without its approval would constitute an infringement of the claimed copyright over the rights.
The Madras High Court issues a warning
The matter is said to have been heard on May 20, 2026. After hearing the submissions, the Madras High Court issued notices to all the respondents and directed them to file their replies within three weeks.The court’s order means that any deal on Telugu adaptation rights will be subject to the final ruling.
The Malayalam release remains unaffected
As reported by Filmibeat Tamil, Rajkumar Theaters stated, “In view of the pending legal proceedings, if any person, company, producer, distributor, theater owner, OTT platform or any other party enters into any agreement, agreement or commercial arrangement related to the Telugu adaptation rights or the Telugu release rights of Drishyam 3, it will be at its own risk.” All such agreements shall be subject to the final judgment of the Madras High Court.“The dispute is limited to Telugu version and release rights. There are no indications that the original Malayalam release of ‘Drishyam 3’ will be affected.Disclaimer: The information in this report is based on a legal hearing reported by a third party source. The details given are allegations made by the parties involved and are not proven facts. The case continues, and a final verdict has not been reached. The publication does not claim that the allegations are true.
