For Samvedna Suwalka, the Drishyam franchise did not create a career overnight. It gave a visible payoff to a decade of theatre, indie films, OTT work and supporting roles. In an interview, she looked back at the Drishyam 2 monologue that earned a rare word from Ajay Devgn — and the larger courtroom part that followed in Drishyam The Conclusion.
A one-take monologue and a quiet star’s nod
In Drishyam 2, Suwalka played Gayathri Mohan, the lawyer whose courtroom monologue arrives at the climax. It was only her second meeting with Ajay Devgn, and she was struck that he remembered her name. As she told it, the moment made her think, “Arre he remembers me.” The actor was mostly reserved, but she felt his presence on set.
The monologue was cleared by director Abhishek Pathak in one take. When she asked if he wanted another, the answer was “Nahin, mil gaya.” At the lunch break, Ajay Devgn walked over, patted her back, smiled and said, “Well done,” before leaving. She calls it her first cherished memory of him.
From a small but important role to a meatier part
The Drishyam 2 audition was deliberately ordinary. In October 2021, as she returned from an ad shoot in Ukraine, a casting associate told her there was a small but important role. Her ad co-star Pushkaraj Chirputkar helped her rehearse lines on the flight. Roughly a week or ten days after she sent the audition, she was called in and offered the part.
For Drishyam The Conclusion, she was not sure her lawyer would return. She messaged writer Aamil Keeyan Khan, who replied, “All in good time.” At the reading, he told her to take it in because her life was going to change. She describes the present mood as “controlled delirium” — after 10-12 years, the work is finally showing results.
David vs Goliath in the courtroom
The third film turns the lawyer into a courtroom rival for Prakash Raj. Suwalka recalled the writers’ reasoning: if Gayathri Mohan won Vijay’s case in Drishyam 2, a middle-class Goa family would keep its own people. A powerful opposing lawyer would make it a David vs Goliath clash, and the female lawyer fighting for an underdog became an extension of that idea.
Between takes, the tension vanished. Prakash Raj would ask her to share food, and they ate together between scenes. She says working with veterans elevates you, because their craft makes everyone around them better.
Three takeaways from her run:
- The franchise kept its “small but significant” lawyer and gave her a bigger return.
- A decade of theatre, indie films and OTT roles prepared her for a major Hindi film platform.
- One well-prepared scene, cleared in a single take, can become an actor’s calling card.
Suwalka has already shot the Indo-British independent film DINK and Ribhu Dasgupta’s Guru with John Abraham. Next up is Manya, written and produced by Subhash Ghai and directed by Sameer Joshi. For fans, her Drishyam arc shows how the franchise rewards performers beyond the marquee names.
Source: Bollywood Hungama