Drishyam: The Conclusion writer Aamil Keeyan Khan has recalled the moment actor Akshaye Khanna walked out of the film just seven days before shooting was to begin, describing a team stunned into disbelief and praising director Abhishek Pathak for holding his nerve.
A last-minute casting crisis
In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama published on October 7, Khan said the production was jolted when Khanna — who had played IG Tarun Ahlawat in Drishyam 2 — quit the third instalment barely a week before cameras were to roll. The writer recalled the mood on the team in vivid terms, saying it felt as though a bomb had exploded among them.
With the set already built, actors' dates locked and a large crew assembled, stopping the shoot was not an option. The makers rewrote the character and brought in Jaideep Ahlawat, completing the recasting within about a week.
Praise for the director
Khan said Pathak handled the crisis with unusual calm. "Any other director would have panicked, but he remained calm," he told the portal, adding that the team's only choice was to keep the production moving.
Producer Kumar Mangat Pathak had earlier told PTI that the team had narrated the entire script to Khanna, who had liked it, signed the agreement and was paid the signing amount — and that the producer's father has since sent Khanna a legal notice for breach of agreement. The producers said the exit, communicated after the success of Khanna's film Dhurandhar, forced them to rewrite the part and introduce a new character just days before the shoot.
Khanna has not issued a public response to these claims in the published reports. Drishyam: The Conclusion, starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Shriya Saran, released on October 2.
Sources:
- EXCLUSIVE: Writer Aamil Keeyan Khan recalls Akshaye Khanna walking out — Bollywood Hungama
- Abhishek Pathak on Akshaye Khanna's Drishyam 3 exit — Hindustan Times
- Drishyam 3 director recalls Akshaye Khanna's last-minute exit — Indian Express
A last-minute casting crisis
In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama published on October 7, Khan said the production was jolted when Khanna — who had played IG Tarun Ahlawat in Drishyam 2 — quit the third instalment barely a week before cameras were to roll. The writer recalled the mood on the team in vivid terms, saying it felt as though a bomb had exploded among them.
With the set already built, actors' dates locked and a large crew assembled, stopping the shoot was not an option. The makers rewrote the character and brought in Jaideep Ahlawat, completing the recasting within about a week.
Praise for the director
Khan said Pathak handled the crisis with unusual calm. "Any other director would have panicked, but he remained calm," he told the portal, adding that the team's only choice was to keep the production moving.
Producer Kumar Mangat Pathak had earlier told PTI that the team had narrated the entire script to Khanna, who had liked it, signed the agreement and was paid the signing amount — and that the producer's father has since sent Khanna a legal notice for breach of agreement. The producers said the exit, communicated after the success of Khanna's film Dhurandhar, forced them to rewrite the part and introduce a new character just days before the shoot.
Khanna has not issued a public response to these claims in the published reports. Drishyam: The Conclusion, starring Ajay Devgn, Tabu and Shriya Saran, released on October 2.
Sources:
- EXCLUSIVE: Writer Aamil Keeyan Khan recalls Akshaye Khanna walking out — Bollywood Hungama
- Abhishek Pathak on Akshaye Khanna's Drishyam 3 exit — Hindustan Times
- Drishyam 3 director recalls Akshaye Khanna's last-minute exit — Indian Express
