Farhan Akhtar demands Rs 40 crore from Ranveer Singh for walking out of Don 3: report | Bollywood News
3 min readNew DelhiFeb 9, 2026 07:21 PM IST
Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment has reportedly demanded Rs 40 crore in damages from Ranveer Singh, following the actor’s alleged exit from the much-anticipated project Don 3 in December. The fallout between the two is said to have begun after Ranveer backed out of the film, prompting the production house to cite significant financial losses.
According to reports, Excel Entertainment has sought compensation for sunk development costs, along with delays related to scheduling, planning, and other associated commitments. A letter accessed by Variety India reportedly states that the production house has been forced to let go of several departments, asking heads of departments (HODs) to look for work outside the project.
Citing these losses, Farhan Akhtar’s team believes Ranveer Singh should compensate the company for the damages incurred.
A source told Variety, “Ranveer claims he exited the project because he was unhappy with the script. He repeatedly requested changes and was dissatisfied with the final draft. Excel, on the other hand, maintains that it moved ahead with pre-production only after Singh gave his approval.”
The report further states that Ranveer Singh and Excel Entertainment held a two-hour-long meeting on Friday, which reportedly did not yield any resolution. Both parties are said to have gone back and forth over accountability and financial responsibility, but no concrete outcome emerged.
With the dispute intensifying, the Producers Guild of India has now stepped in to mediate, attempting to find common ground and prevent the matter from escalating further.
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The issue has sparked widespread discussion on social media, particularly on Reddit, where many users appeared to side with Ranveer Singh. One user wrote, “If they don’t have anything from Ranveer Singh in writing, they don’t have any case.” Another commented, “If Ranveer took a signing amount, he should return only that amount, deducting whatever he spent time on for the teaser. Other than that, why would he pay anything else? He backed out before the filming schedule was even ready.”
Another user questioned the scale of the alleged losses, writing, “₹40 crore is a massive amount, even by big-budget film standards. Pre-production usually involves screenplay development, casting, location scouting, crew hiring, budgeting, storyboarding, and production design. Spending ₹40 crore at this stage sounds excessive. How did they land in such a situation?”
Some users even accused Excel Entertainment of attempting to pressure the actor. “Excel has had several financially underperforming films in recent years. They’re pinning the blame on Ranveer Singh after he exited the repeatedly delayed Don 3, possibly to force him back or extract money under the guise of contractual losses,” one comment read.
Earlier, multiple reports had suggested that Don 3 was pushed to the backburner after the makers failed to find a suitable replacement for Ranveer Singh. The film was formally announced by Farhan Akhtar in 2023 with a special teaser featuring Ranveer. However, the movie never materialised.
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As of now, neither Ranveer Singh nor Excel Entertainment has issued an official statement on the matter.
