Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Akshaye Khanna and Drishyam 3a recent interview with Section 375 writer Manish Gupta has come to light. In the interview, Manish accused Akshaye of “playing politics” to orchestrate his ouster as director.
Speaking on the Kosmic Connection podcast in September 2025, Manish said, “It took me 3 years to write Section 375. I sat in 160 court hearings. I did lots of research, met judges, lawyers and rape victims. I got the idea of the film from Shiney Ahuja’s case. When he was arrested, I was in Mumbai. I rushed to the Oshiwara with my friend and we questioned the police about his arrest. I was told the law is not like this.”
“Right and wrong come later… first, there will be an arrest. That’s how the law was back then”. I said to myself, ‘This is a very wrong thing’ and decided to make a movie,” he continued.
Manish elaborated on his role in assembling the film’s cast and managing pre-production. “I wrote the whole film. I did the entire pre-production. I even roped in Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha and Rahul Bhat and signed them. I am the director of the movie. But the producer and the lead actor played very dirty politics with me. I got credit only for writing. This is Bollywood.”
“Akshaye Khanna ki ego… Actor ka kya hai na…(Akshaye Khanna’s ego…With actors, the thing is..) We have made them gods. The public doesn’t care about the movie, but the actor. Akshaye is not a big star but we are being showered on our heads. Producer ke liye woh bhagwan jaisa tha (He was also given preferential treatment. For the producer, he was like a god). They don’t care who is the director,” Gupta said.
Reflecting on Akshaye’s working styleManish described the actor as difficult to collaborate with.
“He is the most difficult person I have ever worked with. He is whimsical and lazy. He creates such a difficult environment that…everything has to happen according to him. No one is listening. He insults everyone. Actor is good but there is a difference in being a good human being. No one wants to work with him (He creates such a difficult environment that… everything has to be according to his wishes. He doesn’t listen to anyone. He insults everyone. He’s a good actor, but there’s a difference between being a good actor and being a good person. Nobody wants to work with him) because they know how difficult he is to work with,” he said.
The writer added, “No one wants to give him the hero’s role. I gave him the role of hero. Gave such a good script. What are the ungrateful words of Abhi? Which film has come like this in which he is the only hero? He did this to me. He has done very bad things to me.. (I gave him the lead role. I gave him such a great script. Now, should I call him ungrateful or what? Which of his films has he starred in as the solo hero? He only did this to me. He has done something very despicable to me.)
“Akshaye and the producer, they did it together. The producer was under pressure from Akshaye. Actors want to control the movie. They want a puppet for a director,” he further continued.
Meanwhile, Drishyam 3 producer Kumar Mangat Pathak recently issued a legal notice to Akshaye Khanna. He alleged that the actor exited the film’s third and final instalment after accepting a signing amount and committing to specific dates for the project.
Despite the controversy, Akshaye Khanna is currently basking in the success of Dhurandhar.
– Ends
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