Not on the big screen- the real drama of Don 3, is happening off it. Actor Ranveer Singh and filmmaker-actor Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment have been at loggerheads ever since Ranveer walked out of the third installment in the Don franchise in December 2025.

Farhan Akhtar, Ranveer SinghFarhan Akhtar, Ranveer Singh

One of the accusations levelled by Ranveer against Don 3’s makers has been that when his films weren’t working, they kept dillydallying the shoot. And allegedly, they approached Hrithik Roshan behind Ranveer’s back, to play the main role instead. It was only after Dhurandhar’s success, that they suddenly wanted Ranveer again, mention reports.

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However, when HT City reaches out to a source close to Hrithik, they completely deny it, “It is not true, Hrithik was not approached to star in Don 3 after Ranveer came on board.”

The history

Ranveer’s entry into the Don franchise was announced way back in 2023, when a teaser featuring him was launched on social media. Kriti Sanon was roped in to play a key role in the film too. A source confirms to HT City that the pre production on the film had begun, “Farhan was scouting locations actively in 2025, from the last week of August till early September.” However, the shoot didn’t begin.

And come December, post Dhurandhar’s release- Ranveer walked out of Don 3. According to a Pinkvilla report, a source revealed that he pre-poned the shoot of his next film, Pralay. Excel, according to Variety, is now demanding a compensation of ₹40 crores from the actor, as him quitting led to monetary losses due to pre production and planning. Allegedly, the production house has let go of various departments, asking people to look out for other jobs.

The Producers Guild of India has so far mediated two meetings between the warring parties. The second one, which took place on February 7 at the Taj Lands hotel in Mumbai, according to Bollywood Hungama, saw the presence of actors Aamir Khan, producer Sidharth Roy Kapur, filmmakers Ramesh and Kumar Taurani. Farhan and Ritesh Sidhwani were present to represent Excel.