Abhishek Pathak Admits Drishyam 3 Crew Was 'Unhappy' After Akshaye Khanna Exit

The third installment of the Drishyam franchise was supposed to be a smooth sail into its final act. Then, Akshaye Khanna walked away. It happened in December 2025, mere days before the cameras were set to roll after Christmas. Reports pointed to creative and monetary frictions, but the exact reason remains murky. What wasn’t murky was the chaos it unleashed on the production floor.

Director Abhishek Pathak didn’t sugarcoat the mood in his office. “I won’t say panic, but we were not happy with the whole idea,” he told Hindustan Times. He recalled asking, “Ye kya tareeka hua?” (What is this?). The team had already announced the film. The sets were built. The actors were locked in. Pulling the plug or delaying the start would have been catastrophic for the 200-plus crew members relying on the project for their livelihoods.

So, Pathak made a call: hold the line. He told the team, “Don’t cancel anything. We will do it.” But saying it was easy; doing it was another beast. He had seven days to rewrite a role that had been crafted specifically for Khanna. He needed a new face, a new energy, and a new script in a week.

Enter Jaideep Ahlawat. Pathak called him, and the actor asked a sharp question: “Casting change or character change?” Pathak opted for the latter. He rewrote the character to fit Ahlawat’s persona. The actor read the new pages, found it fun, and said yes. The entire turnaround—from crisis to confirmed cast—happened within five to six days. It was a high-wire act involving Ajay Devgn’s scheduled scenes and a tight deadline.

Now, the gamble has to pay off. Drishyam 3, featuring Ajay Devgn, Shriya Saran, Tabu, and the newly cast Jaideep Ahlawat, hits theaters on October 2. Will the rushed rewrite hold up against the audience’s expectations for the franchise’s finale? The jury is out, but the box office will speak soon enough.