‘Akshaye Khanna got me removed as director, demanded fee hike’: Section 375 writer on ‘unprofessional’ Dhurandhar actor

He said that Akshaye Khanna took the signing amount for Section 375 and flew off to London on the committed shoot dates. “In 2017, Akshaye signed my film Section 375 with me as director-writer and Kumar Mangat as producer. His fee was fixed at Rs. 2 crores. He took an advance of Rs. 21 lakhs, and he signed a contract with us. 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 my crew waiting idle for six months!” Manishh Gupta told Bollywood Hungama in an interview.

Also Read: Drishyam 3 producer calls Akshaye Khanna ‘toxic, unprofessional’, says Dhurandhar success has ‘gone to his head’: ‘His solo film won’t make Rs 50 cr’

 

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He further added, “After finishing that movie, Akshaye came back and started demanding Rs. 3.25 crores. Instead of the Rs. 2 crores signed by him in the contract. He 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.”

Akshaye got me removed from the film as a director

Manish Gupta also recalled how, when he didn’t succumb to Akshaye Khanna’s demands, the actor pressured producer Kumar Mangat to remove him from the film. “Since it was hurting Akshaye’s ego to take orders from an authoritarian director like me, he started pestering the producer Kumar Mangat to remove me as the director of the film and give the entire control of the film to him (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.

He also revealed pursuing legal action against the actor, and said, “I warned Akshaye that I would drag him to court, and I sent two legal notices to producer Kumar Mangat. My lawyers, Naik Naik & Co., were filing a case at Bombay High Court against both of them, but Kumar Mangat promptly did an out-of-court settlement with me. Today, ironically, when producer Kumar Mangat is facing the brunt of Akshaye’s unethical behaviour in the Ajay Devgan starrer film Drishyam 3, Mangat has taken legal action against Akshaye.”

Manish on Akshaye Khanna’s performance in Dhurandhar

Manish Gupta also calls him a brilliant actor. However, he adds, “Akshaye is no doubt a brilliant actor. I am only pointing out his lack of ethics. Akshaye’s comeback film after a decade of anonymity was my film Section 375, but this is how he repaid me for giving him such a beautiful script. Anyway, Section 375’s credits carry my name as the solo writer of the ‘story, screenplay and dialogues’. So, the world knows that the film was solely my vision.”

Akshaye Khanna’s Drishyam 3 controversy

Earlier this week, Drishyam 3 producer Kumar Mangat Pathak slammed Akshaye Khanna for walking out of Drishyam 3 days before the film was scheduled to go on floors. Following this, Kumar Mangat Pathak called Akshaye Khanna toxic and unprofessional, and said in an interview, “There was a time when Akshaye was nothing. That’s when I made Section 375 (2019) with him. Even then, so many people told us not to work with him because of his unprofessional behaviour. His energy on set is absolutely toxic. Section 375 got him recognition. Later, I signed him in Drishyam 2 (2022). He has got all the big offers only after Drishyam 2.”

He also pointed out how Dhurandhar’s fame has gone to Akshaye’s head and said, “I have suffered losses because of his behaviour. I am going to take legal action. I have already sent him a legal notice; he’s yet to reply to it.” After Akshaye Khanna’s exit from the film, Jaideep Ahlawat has been brought on board.