The Delhi High Court has temporarily stopped Aashirvad Cinemas from selling the OTT rights of the upcoming Malayalam film Drishyam 3 to any other streaming platform. The order came after Amazon Prime Video approached the Court, claiming it has a legal right to get the first chance to buy or match any offer for the film’s digital rights.
The issue goes back to October 2020, when Amazon and Aashirvad Cinemas signed an agreement during the release of Drishyam 2. That film was released directly on Amazon Prime Video in 2021. According to Amazon, the agreement included a clause called the “Amazon Option,” which gave the platform the first right to negotiate for future films in the Drishyam franchise before the makers could talk to others.
Amazon told the Court that on March 3, 2026, Aashirvad informed it about an offer from another company for the OTT rights of Drishyam 3. Amazon said it used its right to match that offer within the allowed time. After that, both sides started exclusive talks and exchanged draft terms.
However, Aashirvad later sent an email saying the talks had failed and that it would move ahead with other offers. Amazon argued that this was against the agreement and could cause serious business loss if the rights were sold elsewhere.
The Court said Amazon had shown enough proof for temporary relief and noted that selling the rights now could create irreversible problems. For now, Aashirvad cannot create any third-party OTT deals for the film, including dubbed versions and remakes, until the next hearing.
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