Farhan Akhtar reflects on the nightmare of actors quitting weeks before shoot, recalling how Saif Ali Khan nearly walked out of Dil Chahta Hai due to scheduling issues. Linking it to Ranveer Singh’s recent exit from Don 3, he calls such last‑minute departures a growing “pattern nowadays,” hinting at wider industry concerns over professionalism and mounting losses.
Actors walking away from a project weeks before production begins is a filmmaker’s ultimate nightmare. For Farhan Akhtar, it is a reality he almost experienced over two decades ago during his directorial debut Dil Chahta Hai — and one that resurfaced recently following Ranveer Singh’s high-profile departure from Don 3.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Akhtar recalled how Dil Chahta Hai hit a massive roadblock when Saif Ali Khan — who starred alongside Aamir Khan and Akshaye Khanna — almost exited the project due to a sudden scheduling conflict.
"The dates shifted, and he was kind of half in, half out on that. So he was in a bit of a spot, and he had to leave the film. And everybody tried to convince him, like, ‘Yaar, please.’ And for me, my head was destroyed. Because when we got, when I met him, when we got into it, there was nobody else who could have played that part. It was just impossible,” Akhtar said.
The actor said it was "too heartbreaking" for him to process and added, "I think it was maybe about a month away from filming, which seems to be a pattern nowadays. Not just with me. Aisa bhi hota hai," he added.
After the actor's much-publicised walkout from the project, Akhtar's Excel Entertainment had first approached the Producers Guild of India, claiming that Singh’s eleventh-hour exit resulted in heavy losses.
The actor, reportedly, accused the company of “unprofessionalism” and claimed that Akhtar focused on other commitments instead of Don 3. It was further claimed that the actor was only re-approached to build on the success of Dhurandhar.