After Drishyam 3, Akshaye Khanna faces allegations of contract breach from Section 375 writer: 'He left us waiting for six months'

Akshaye Khanna has become the talk of the town post Dhurandhar release. His performance in Aditya Dhar's film has been getting praise, while on the other hand, he made headlines for some wrong reasons too. Akshaye reportedly left Ajay Devgn's Drishyam 3, which led the producer of the film send a legal notice to the actor, accusing him of abruptly leaving the film days before shooting. Now, Section 375’s writer, Manish Gupta accused Akshaye of breaching a contract. 

Akshaye Khanna kept Section 375 crew waiting for six months

Manish Gupta told Bollywood Hungama that in 2017, Akshaye Khanna signed his film Section 375 with him as director-writer and Kumar Mangat as producer. While signing the contract, his fee was fixed at Rs 2 crores, and he took an advance of Rs 21 lakhs. "But suddenly, he gave away the dates he’d committed to us to another movie, The Accidental Prime Minister, and he flew off to London to shoot that movie, leaving me and my crew waiting idle for six months!" Manish said. 

After completing the film, Akshaye returned and demanded Rs 3.25 crore instead of the Rs 2 crore signed in the contract and thus breached his contract. 

"Akshaye’s unreasonable demands did not end here. He wanted to fully control the film and wanted everything done his way. But I am not the sort of director who gives in to the whims of any actor. I stood up to Akshaye’s unreasonable behaviour. But sadly, in Bollywood, most directors bend to every wish of the actor," Manish added.

Manish also mentioned that taking orders from an authoritarian director like him hurt Akshaye's ego, so he started pestering producer Kumar Mangat to remove him from the director's post and give the entire control of the film to Akshaye instead. 

"Producer Kumar Mangat, instead of disciplining the actor’s unreasonable behaviour, made me a scapegoat and removed me as the director while seizing my fully-written bound script and the hard drive containing my three years of hard work on the pre-production," Manish shared. 

Also Read: Drishyam 3 controversy timeline: From legal notices to Akshaye Khanna's exit and Jaideep Ahlawat joining cast; everything you need to know

Continuing that, Manish said that he warned Akshaye that he would drag him to court, and sent two legal notices to producer Kumar Mangat. Manish's lawyers, Naik Naik & Co., were filing a case at Bombay High Court against both of them, but Kumar Mangat did an out-of-court settlement with Manish. 

"Today, ironically, when producer Kumar Mangat is facing the brunt of Akshaye’s unethical behaviour in the Ajay Devgn starrer film Drishyam 3, Mangat has taken legal action against Akshaye," he concluded.

Akshaye Khanna quits Drishyam 3

Following the blockbuster success of Dhurandhar, reports of Akshaye Khanna leaving Ajay Devgn's Drishyam 3 came out. The makers roped in Jaideep Ahlawat in the film. 

In an interview with ETimes, the filmmaker explained that everything happened while discussing Khanna's departure after the November contract signing. Just five days before the film's release, he decided to leave. He liked the story, the look was decided, the costumes were being finalised, and the narration was already done but he left.

Drishyam 3 FAQs:

Q: Why did Akshaye Khanna leave Drishyam 3?

A: Akshaye Khanna left Drishyam 3 due to a creative disagreement over his character's appearance. 

Q: Is Jaideep Ahlawat replacing Akshaye Khanna in Drishyam 3?

A: No, Jaideep Ahlawat is not replacing Akshaye Khanna. Director Abhishek Pathak has clarified that instead of reprising the same role, he is writing a completely new character for Ahlawat.

Q: When is Drishyam 3 releasing?

A: Ajay Devgn's Drishyam 3 will hit cinemas on October 2, 2026.