Amidst the ongoing Drishyam 3 controversy, filmmaker Manish Gupta has levelled serious accusations against actor Akshaye Khanna regarding their earlier collaboration on the 2019 legal thriller Section 375. Gupta, who was originally set to direct and write the film with producer Kumar Mangat, spoke to Bollywood Hungama about what he describes as unprofessional conduct by Khanna.
Gupta recalled that in 2017 Akshaye had formally signed on to Section 375 with his fee agreed at ₹2 crore. “His fee was fixed at Rs 2 crore. He took an advance of Rs 21 lakh, and he signed a contract with us,” Gupta said, emphasising that the actor had legally committed to the project.
However, the filmmaker claims the situation changed abruptly when Khanna allegedly gave up the dates he had promised to the Section 375 team and chose to work on another film, The Accidental Prime Minister, instead. “He gave away the dates he’d committed to us … and he flew off to London to shoot that movie, leaving me and my crew waiting idle for six months,” Gupta added.
Upon returning, Khanna is said to have sought a fee increase to ₹3.25 crore—far above the original agreement—leading Gupta to assert that the actor breached his contract. “He started demanding Rs 3.25 crore … He thus breached his contract,” he stated.
Gupta also alleged that Khanna attempted to exert creative control over the project, a demand he resisted. “He wanted to fully control the film … but I am not the sort of director who gives in to the whims of any actor,” he said, underlining that his refusal contributed to rising tensions on set.
According to Gupta, Khanna then pressured Mangat to remove him as director, leading to his replacement and the seizure of his script and pre-production materials. Gupta said he issued legal notices and was prepared to go to court before an out-of-court settlement was reached.
He pointedly linked these past disputes to the current Drishyam 3 legal action taken by Mangat against Khanna. At present, Khanna has not publicly responded to Gupta’s allegations.
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