Drishyam 3 director wants rule to prevent actors from leaving films last minute, calls Akshaye Khanna's exit problematic

Director Abhishek Pathak talks about Akshaye Khanna's Drishyam 3 exit, seeks rules to prevent late exits of actors.

Drishyam 3 director Abhishek Pathak has sought a rule in the film industry that could prevent actors from leaving films at the very last minute. His comments came in the wake of Akshaye Khanna leaving his film just days before the shoot was to begin in December 2025. The Ajay Devgn-starrer is now ready for release.

Akshaye Khanna starred alongside Ajay Devgn in Drishyam 2.

Abhishek Pathak on Akshaye Khanna's exit

Akshaye Khanna played IG Tarun Ahlawat in Drishyam 2, and was set to reprise the role in part 3, officially titled Drishyam: The Conclusion. However, he walked out of the project just seven days before it went on floors, citing creative differences. The film's team replaced him with Jaideep Ahlawat.

In an interview with PTI, Abhishek said that actors abruptly leaving a film just before the shoot can disrupt the livelihoods of many crew members, who earn ₹2000 or 3000 per day. "Suddenly, you put their life at risk because they have planned their life accordingly. I think there has to be a certain rule about it where you cannot just step out once you wish because you didn't feel right about something. So, it's more about a solution has to come together, figure out a plan, a law, a rule," the director said.

The filmmaker then emphasised the need for an industry-wide system to prevent actors from walking out of films after contracts have been signed. "When you already have a creatively locked discussion, you've an agreement in place, you're doing a couple of readings, and you don't think about this, and suddenly one day someone can get up and say, 'I don't feel like this because this is my reason', whatever the reason may be," Abhishek added.

The filmmaker said that creative discussions about the character and plot cannot take place at that late stage, particularly when the finances have been settled. “You cannot start doing creative discussion after taking the payment and getting the contract signed. So, that's something that happened in a couple of films, and even in mine. That becomes too problematic for the producer. The producer might have an option of stopping the shoot, but that can affect a lot of people, a lot of crew members,” he said.

All about Drishyam: The Conclusion

Drishyam: The Conclusion sees Ajay Devgn reprise his role as Vijay Salgaonkar for one final time. The film also marks the return of Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Tabu, and Rajat Kapoor. Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj are the new entrants to the cast.

The film, presented by Star Studio18, and produced by Alok Jain, Ajit Andhare, Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek, is set to release in theatres on October 2.