Manish Gupta alleges that Akshaye Khanna breached Section 375 contract

Manish Gupta accused Akshaye Khanna of unprofessional conduct during Section 375, alleging he breached the contract, delayed the shoot by six months, hiked his fee, and sought excessive creative control. Gupta linked the claims to Akshaye’s current Drishyam 3 controversy

Manish Gupta claims Akshaye Khanna breached Section 375 contract, raised fee to Rs 3.25 crore

Akshaye Khanna

Writer-director Manish Gupta, who was scheduled to work with Akshaye Khanna on the 2019 courtroom drama Section 375, accused the actor of acting unprofessionally during their previous association amid the Drishyam 3 controversy. For the unversed, Drishyam 3 producer Kumar Mangat accused Akshaye of leaving the movie abruptly just days before filming was supposed to start, putting him at the center of an escalating dispute. Additionally, Mangat claimed that Akshaye had left the project after accepting an advance payment.

Manish Gupta makes a shocking revelation

Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Manish recalled, "In 2017, Akshaye signed my film Section 375 with me as director-writer and Kumar Mangat as producer. His fee was fixed at Rs 2 crore. He took an advance of Rs 21 lakh, and he signed a contract with us."

However, Manish asserted that when Akshaye reportedly transferred the dates he had committed to Section 375 to another project, the matter took an unforeseen turn. "He gave away the dates he’d committed to us to another movie, The Accidental Prime Minister, and he flew off to London to shoot that movie, leaving me and my crew waiting idle for six months."

Manish further said that Akshaye tried to renegotiate his fee when he returned. "Instead of the Rs 2 crore he had signed in the contract, he began asking Rs 3.25 crore. As a result, he violated his contract.

Akshaye was also charged by the director with pursuing undue creative control. "He wanted everything done his way and to have complete control over the movie. However, I am not the kind of filmmaker who caves in to an actor's whims. I confronted Akshaye's irrational actions. But regrettably, most Bollywood filmmakers cater to every actor's desire," Manish continued.

Manish Gupta claims Akshaye Khanna allegedly put pressure

Manish claims that after Akshaye allegedly put pressure on producer Kumar Mangat to fire him from the project, “Since it was hurting Akshaye’s ego to take orders from an authoritarian director like me, he started pestering the producer Kumar Mangat to remove me as the director of the film and give the entire control of the film to him instead,” he said, tensions increased and that his script and pre-production materials were seized.

Additionally, Manish disclosed that he had sent legal warnings and was ready to file a lawsuit before an out-of-court settlement was made. He came to the conclusion, making a clear connection to the present dispute, “Today, ironically, when producer Kumar Mangat is facing the brunt of Akshaye’s unethical behaviour in the Ajay Devgn starrer film Drishyam 3, Mangat has taken legal action against Akshaye.”

Ajay Bahl later directed Section 375. Manish and Bahl wrote it. Meera Chopra and Richa Chadda also starred in the movie. Akshaye has not yet addressed these accusations. He is currently taking pleasure in Dhurandhar's success.