Just when Drishyam The Conclusion was gearing up for a crucial stretch of filming, the team was forced into a major last-minute reset. Director Abhishek Pathak has now opened up about the disruption caused by Akshaye Khanna’s sudden exit, revealing that the makers had to rewrite parts of the script only days before an important scene with Ajay Devgn was set to be shot.
Pathak recalled the mood on the sets in blunt terms, saying, “I won’t say panic, but we were not happy with the whole idea. I thought, ‘Ye kya tareeka hua (What is this)?’” He added, “again we had to re-write the script.” The director’s comments underline just how close the production was to cameras rolling when the cast change happened.
Abhishek Pathak Details The Last-Minute Rewrite
The latest revelation adds a tense behind-the-scenes layer to one of the most awaited Hindi thrillers on the calendar. Pathak said the team was only about a week away from beginning work when Khanna exited the film, leaving the makers with no choice but to move fast. Instead of delaying the shoot, the production pressed ahead, recast the part and altered portions of the screenplay that had originally been built around Khanna.
That decision was especially significant because Drishyam The Conclusion is carrying forward one of Hindi cinema’s most tightly followed suspense franchises. The film is the Hindi remake continuation of the Drishyam series, with Ajay Devgn returning as Vijay Salgaonkar and Abhishek Pathak directing. Available cast listings for the 2026 Hindi film also place Tabu, Shriya Saran, Ishita Dutta, Rajat Kapoor, Jaideep Ahlawat and Prakash Raj in the ensemble.
What We Know About Drishyam The Conclusion
The film is slated for release on October 2, 2026. It is backed by Panorama Studios and Star Studio18, and continues the cat-and-mouse world that made the earlier Drishyam films major audience draws. The franchise revolves around Vijay Salgaonkar, an ordinary man who repeatedly finds himself pushed into extraordinary moral and legal battles to protect his family.
With the third chapter now deep into public conversation, Pathak’s account makes it clear that the production had to absorb a major jolt before finding its footing again. The rewrite, then, was not just a creative adjustment but a practical necessity to keep a high-stakes schedule intact.
Akshaye Khanna’s Recent And Upcoming Work
Akshaye Khanna was last seen in Chhaava in 2025, where he played Aurangzeb in the historical action drama led by Vicky Kaushal. Before that, one of his most visible releases remained Drishyam 2 in 2022, in which he played the investigating officer and emerged as a key force in the sequel’s face-off with Ajay Devgn’s character. His 2021 OTT release State of Siege: Temple Attack premiered on ZEE5 and marked one of his notable digital projects in recent years.
On the upcoming front, Khanna has also been linked with Dhurandhar, which has figured prominently in recent discussions around his career phase. His recent choices show a clear tilt toward intense, plot-driven parts rather than conventional mainstream leads.
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