In a surprising twist, renowned director Priyadarshan has come to the defense of Akshaye Khanna, dismissing rumors of the actor’s alleged unprofessionalism. He emphasized that throughout their six films together, Khanna consistently exhibited punctuality and a collaborative spirit. This remark follows Khanna’s reported exit from ‘Drishyam 3’ due to conflicting compensation negotiations, leading the producer to consider legal avenues.
Akshaye Khanna has been receiving praise for his performance as Rehman Dakait in the Aditya Dhar directorial, ‘Dhurandhar’. Amidst the reports of the actor being difficult to work with, filmmaker Priyadarshan has expressed that he never faced an issue during their collaboration. Let’s take a look at what the director has to say.
Priyadarshan says he never found Akshaye Khanna difficult to work with
In an interview with Mid-Day, Priyadarshan shared that everyone had advised him to cast Akshaye Khanna in his film ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhna’. He said, “In my first film with Akshaye Khanna, ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhna’ (1998), everybody had discouraged me from signing him on. They said he is difficult and moody.”The filmmaker further added that with him, Akshaye was quite cooperative. He said, “But I fell in love with him from the first film itself. I never found him difficult. If I called him at 5am, he would be there on time. He is a darling, and we’ve never had a bitter moment together in (the six films we did). He is least bothered by criticism.”Priyadarshan and Akshaye Khanna worked together in multiple films like ‘Doli Saja Ke Rakhna’, ‘Hulchul’, ‘Hungama’, and more.
More about Akshaye Khanna
The actor reportedly opted out from ‘Drishyam 3’ due to disagreements over remuneration between him and the makers. After his exit, several reports surfaced on the internet about the demands he made for the movie. Later the producer of the film, Kumar Mangat Pathak, expressed that the actor had left the film just a day before the release of ‘Dhurandhar’. He also added that they will be sending a legal notice to the actor over his actions.
More about ‘Dhurandhar’
Directed by Aditya Dhar, the film raked in over Rs 1200 crore at the global box office. The movie was released in theaters on December 5, 2025. The next part of the movie is slated to arrive in cinemas on March 19, 2026.
