The original Malayalam Drishyam – the film that launched a franchise of remakes across India – is rooted in the hills of Kerala. Georgekutty’s cable-TV shop, his family home and the tense small-town world of the story all belong to the Idukki district, where the green Western Ghats do as much acting as the cast.
Where was Drishyam filmed?
Drishyam was shot in Kerala, India, in and around the Idukki district – the town of Thodupuzha and nearby villages such as Rajakkadu, Kanjiramattom and Vazhithala. The film’s fictional Rajakkadu is a real place, and the production stayed close to the region it depicts.
That highland setting matters to the story: the misty roads, rubber plantations and tight-knit villages of Idukki give the film its sense of a community where everyone knows everyone – and where a family’s secret is hard to keep.
Every Drishyam location, explained
Thodupuzha and Rajakkadu – the family’s world
The heart of the film is the area around Thodupuzha in Idukki, with the Rajakkadu-Ponmudi hill road and the Main Eastern Highway around Kanjiramattom supplying the everyday exteriors of Georgekutty’s town.
Vazhithala – the hospital
Key scenes were shot around Vazhithala, including the local hospital on the Kolani-Vazhithala road, grounding the drama in recognisable rural Kerala institutions.
The Idukki landscape
Throughout, the Western Ghats scenery of Idukki – hill highways, plantations and river valleys – frames the story, giving the tense plot its calm, green backdrop.
Planning a visit
Idukki is one of Kerala’s most scenic districts, and Thodupuzha makes a practical base for exploring the hill country of the Western Ghats – waterfalls, spice plantations and the roads that appear throughout Drishyam. It’s an easy add-on to a wider Kerala trip taking in Munnar and the backwaters.
