Drishyam 3 director reveals how Ajay Devgn reacted to Akshaye Khanna’s exit, says fee was revisited: ‘He is on a different planet after Dhurandhar’

The filmmaker also spoke about how the film’s lead actor, Ajay Devgn, reacted to Khanna’s exit and how he left the decision entirely to the director. “He left it to me completely,” he said.

Khanna left the film 5 days before the shoot

Pathak further shared that the film’s contract was signed in November but accused Akshaye Khanna of leaving the project just five days before it was scheduled to go on floors. He said that the look was locked, costumes were getting made, the narration had happened and he loved the story but later decided to exit.

‘Khanna wanted to wear a wig’

During the interaction, Pathak also revealed that Akshaye Khanna had expressed his wish to wear a wig in the film. However, since Drishyam 3 is set in continuity with Drishyam 2, in which Khanna sported a bald look, the director felt it would not look convincing if the actor suddenly appeared with hair.

He said Drishyam 3 starts from the point where the last film ended. He could not be seen in the courtroom in the afternoon and in the evening Akshaye comes back with hair. The director said he xplained this to Akshaye and convinced him. A few days later, this came up again.

Also Read: Akshaye Khanna was told he’s ‘not successful’, he smiled and responded: ‘Everyone is ahead, I am the last one in the race’

Did Akshaye ask for Rs 21 crore as fees?

Pathak shared that Akshaye left the film a day before Dhurandhar’s release, stressing that it was not due to money-related issues.

When asked if Akshaye demanded Rs 21 crore as his fees for the film, the director refused to share the exact figure but admitted that the actor’s remuneration was renegotiated. He said the commercials were revisited, but we somehow worked it out and reached a figure that was mutually agreed upon. Then the contract was signed and after that, “all this drama started”.

‘Akshaye is being influenced by people around him’

Pathak also shared that he believes Akshaye is being influenced by people around him who are telling him that “he will become a superstar” and that he should “do something which is all about him”. “I would say – try to do a solo film now,” Pathak said.

Abhishek further revealed that he eventually stopped trying to resolve the issue, as he felt there was no point talking “to this person right now.” “He’s on some other planet,” Abhishek said. The director also described the success of Akshaye’s latest film Dhurandhar as a “team effort”. “It’s not about one person,” he added.