Akshaye Khanna’s ‘Drishyam 3’ Exit Put Abhishek Pathak Under ‘Immense Pressure’

Director Abhishek Pathak has opened up about the “immense pressure” he faced after Akshaye Khanna's sudden exit from ‘Drishyam 3’, saying the actor's departure just days before filming forced the team to completely rewrite his character and introduce a new one.

Khanna, who played IG Tarun Ahlawat in ‘Drishyam 2’, reportedly walked out of the third instalment seven days before shooting was scheduled to begin. The makers subsequently brought in Jaideep Ahlawat, who will play SP Crime Branch Rajveer Singh Tomar, the officer pursuing Vijay Salgaonkar (Ajay Devgn) and his family.

Pathak, who is directing, writing and producing ‘Drishyam 3’, said there was little room to delay the shoot because sets had already been constructed and actors' dates had been locked.

“Maybe an independent director on the film would have stepped back and said, ‘I can't do it, I need some time, I might have to push the shoot’,” Pathak told PTI. “But I told my team, ‘We’ve to do it, otherwise the film will get delayed’.”

The director said the team chose to rewrite the character completely rather than have Ahlawat replicate what another actor had done. “I told my team, let's rewrite the character completely and it was challenging. But at the same time, it's fun because a new playground is given,” he said.

The casting change had also triggered a legal dispute. Pathak's father and producer Kumar Mangat Pathak has sent a legal notice to Khanna for alleged breach of agreement. Mangat had earlier said Khanna had heard and liked the entire script, signed the agreement and received the signing amount before informing the makers by text that he did not want to continue.

Pathak has now called for an industry-wide system or rule governing such exits after contracts are signed and creative discussions are completed. He said abrupt departures can affect crew members who earn around Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 a day.

“Suddenly you put their life at risk because they have planned their life accordingly,” he said, arguing that creative differences should be resolved through discussions before contracts are finalised.

“You cannot start doing creative discussion after taking the payment and getting the contract signed,” Pathak said, adding that such situations become particularly difficult for producers because stopping a shoot can affect “so many livelihoods”.

‘Drishyam 3’, also starring Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Tabu and Rajat Kapoor, is scheduled to release in theatres on October 2. The film is presented by Star Studio18 and produced by Alok Jain, Ajit Andhare, Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak.