The Telugu-dubbed version of Malayalam film Drishyam 3 has run into legal trouble ahead of its scheduled OTT release after the Madras high court restrained the makers from releasing the film on streaming platforms.

According to reports, filmmaker Sripriya's production company, Rajkumar Theatre Pvt Ltd, moved the court seeking to prevent the release of the Telugu-dubbed version on OTT platforms.

The Telugu version of the film was slated to premiere on OTT on June 18. However, Justice K Kumaresh Babu passed an interim order restraining the release.

“It is to be noted that, in spite of service of private notice on them, none of the respondents has entered appearance or is present before this Court. Their names have also been printed in the cause list. In such view of the matter, there shall be an order of interim injunction, restraining the Respondents/Defendants, their servants, agents, employees, assignees, licensees and everyone claiming under or through the Respondents/Defendants from exploiting the copyrights of the applicant by releasing the same in the OTT Platform,” the court said.

Unlike the previous films in the franchise, which were remade in Telugu as Drushyam (2014) and Drushyam 2 (2021), Drishyam 3 was not remade in Telugu. Instead, the makers of the original Malayalam film opted to dub the film in Telugu and release it on OTT platforms.

Both Telugu remakes starred Venkatesh in the lead role. Director Sripriya, who helmed the first Telugu remake, has claimed ownership of the Telugu rights to the franchise.

Sripriya and Rajkumar Sethupathi subsequently filed a petition seeking a ban on the OTT release of the Telugu-dubbed version. Following the petition, the Madras High Court issued the interim injunction restraining its release.

Drishyam 3 is the third installment in the Malayalam thriller franchise and features Mohanlal reprising his role as Georgekutty. The cast also includes Meena, Ansiba Hassan, Esther Anil and Kalabhavan Shajon.

Directed by Jeethu Joseph, the film was released in theatres on May 21. It became officially available for streaming on Prime Video from June 18.

The Drishyam franchise has been adapted into several languages, including Hindi as Drishyam starring Ajay Devgn, Telugu as Drushyam with Venkatesh, and Tamil as Papanasam featuring Kamal Haasan.

The Hindi adaptation of Drishyam 3 is scheduled for release in October.