It has been claimed that Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna has quit Drishyam 3 just a few days after the filmmakers had already made public the date when the movie is going to be released. It was reported by the sources that the decision was made because of unresolved salary matters.

The third part of the famous and popular crime thriller series will be released in theatres all around the world on October 2, 2026; this date was conceded by the leading actor Ajay Devgn himself earlier in the week.

Akshaye Khanna became a part of the Drishyam series with the film Drishyam 2 (2022) where he took on the role of IG Tarun Ahlawat who is a sharp and determined police officer. His character was seen as close to Meera Deshmukh, who is played by Tabu and among the others, his character was highly praised for giving more tension to the story.

Up until now, neither the actor nor the producers of the movie have made any official declaration regarding the speaking of his exit from the film.

On the other hand, 2025 has been a very successful year for Akshaye Khanna and it is characterized by his having had a series of box-office hits. He started the year off with the movie Chhaava in which he played Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor, to Vicky Kaushal’s Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. Later on, he was both critically and commercially acknowledged for his portrayal of gangster Rehman Dakait in the filme Dhurandhar, one of the highest Indian films of the year based on gross box office collections.

Akshaye Khanna will soon be making his debut in Telugu films with Mahakali, a superhero project penned by Prasanth Varma and directed by Puja Aparna Kolluru. He will be performing the role of Asuraguru Shukracharya while Bhoomi Shetty will be seen as Goddess Kali.