Why Ranveer Singh exited Farhan Akhtar’s Don 3: Script disputes, slashed budget, Dhurandhar

While the exact date of when the contract was signed can’t be confirmed because the agreement hasn’t been made public yet, Ranveer got involved into the film’s pre-production last year. As per sources, he participated in action training and costume trials in November 2025, days before the theatrical release of his blockbuster, Aditya Dhar’s period spy thriller Dhurandhar, on December 5, 2025.

Contrary to popular belief, Ranveer didn’t communicate his exit from Don 3 immediately after the release of Dhurandhar. While he did cancel action rehearsals scheduled within the week after the film’s release, he did attend script-reading sessions with Farhan and principal cast members around 10 days after the release of Dhurandhar. Little did the director know that it would be the last time he’d meet Ranveer as his imminent collaborator.

The first indication of Ranveer’s possible exit came the next day when his look test got cancelled. It was around a couple of weeks after the release of Dhurandhar that the actor finally broke the news to Farhan on phone. By that time, Excel Entertainment had not only covered the charges for Ranveer’s action training and costume trials, but also spent a major chunk on multiple foreign recces and travel and stay bookings of over 200 cast and crew members at an overseas location for the first shooting schedule.

Ranveer Singh has not publicly responded to the specific claims regarding the script, budget, or timeline of his exit from Don 3.

Here’s exactly why Ranveer left Don 3

While it’s not known whether Ranveer communicated the reasons behind his exit to Farhan over the phone that day, but the subsequent mediation proceedings with members of the Producers Guild of India spelled out a few key reasons. Firstly, as hinted at by the FWICE, Ranveer didn’t approve of the final draft of the script, which was sent to him possibly months before shooting was scheduled to begin.

Secondly, the project, first announced in 2023, got delayed significantly as it was finally about to go on floors only over two years after the first announcement. While Ranveer was busy filming the Dhurandhar franchise meanwhile, he didn’t feel creatively aligned with Farhan, who was also busy at his end with his musical tour Farhan Live and his return to acting with the lead role in Razneesh Ghai’s military action thriller 21 Bahadur, which involved intense action training and a gruelling shooting schedule in Ladakh, before its theatrical release this past November. It’s only after the release that Farhan returned with full focus to Don 3, which was about to go on floors within less than a couple of months.

Thirdly, it’s believed that even the budget of Don 3 was halved since it was first proposed to Ranveer three years prior. As per Variety, the initially and verbally proposed budget was in the range of Rs 300 crore to Rs 350 crore, but by the time pre-production began on the film, the budget was slashed down to approximately Rs 150 crore.

In the process, even Ranveer’s fee was considerably reduced, even though he had just delivered a massive hit in Dhurandhar, which amassed over Rs 1300 crore at the worldwide box office. Additionally, since the relationship was initially operating on trust, Ranveer didn’t receive a signing amount from Excel Entertainment either.

What’s next for Ranveer, Excel Entertainment

After filing an official complaint with a film body, Excel Entertainment furnished proof of not only the expenses incurred, but also a response to Ranveer’s grievances which compelled him to exit Don 3. The FWICE, considering all those documents as evidence, and unable to get a desired response from Ranveer, decided to issue a “non-cooperation directive” against the actor last week.

Also Read — Ranveer Singh took smaller fee for Dhurandhar, earned more through backend deal: Producer

This implies the film body has asked its 4 lakh plus members to not collaborate with Ranveer in any professional capacity, which could potentially hamper the actor’s future commitments and work opportunities. In turn, Ranveer’s representative has written to the FWICE that the film body doesn’t have the jurisdiction over the matter, which is between an actor and a producer. The FWICE is expected to announce the next steps today.