The ongoing fallout between Ranveer Singh and Farhan Akhtar over Don 3 has continued to trigger intense discussions within the Hindi film industry. While the Federation of Western India Cine Employees recently withdrew its non-cooperation directive against Ranveer, the controversy has also reignited conversations around actors exiting projects midway through production.
Fresh details have now surfaced regarding the private mediation sessions held between the two sides in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
According to Variety, the matter was discussed during several closed-door meetings attended by some of Bollywood’s biggest names. After initially staying away from the discussions, Ranveer Singh eventually joined later sessions to present his side of the conflict.
The report states that Farhan Akhtar first approached the Producers Guild of India last year, following which informal mediation talks were organized outside the guild’s official dispute-resolution structure. Nearly 25 senior industry personalities reportedly participated in the discussions.
Several high-profile names, including Salman Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt, were said to be part of the conversations. However, Ranveer allegedly did not attend the initial rounds.
A later meeting reportedly brought together key industry figures such as Aamir Khan, Anil Kapoor, Rohit Shetty, Rajkumar Hirani, Ashutosh Gowariker, producer Siddharth Roy Kapur and Viacom18 studio head Ajit Andhare.
During that session, Ranveer reportedly listed four key reasons behind his decision to walk away from the film. He is said to have expressed dissatisfaction with the script, claiming it never evolved into a version he felt confident about. The actor also reportedly questioned Farhan Akhtar’s availability, alleging the filmmaker was occupied with concerts and other commitments.
Ranveer further claimed that his remuneration for the project had been renegotiated and reduced. He also allegedly argued that the film’s budget had been drastically lowered from the initially discussed ₹300–350 crore range to nearly ₹150 crore.
According to the report, the actor additionally denied receiving any signing amount for Don 3.
Farhan Akhtar and producer Ritesh Sidhwani reportedly pushed back against those allegations during the discussions. The producers are said to have presented WhatsApp conversations that allegedly showed Ranveer positively responding to various versions of the script over time. They also denied claims that the actor’s fee had been cut after agreements had already been finalised.
One of the most striking moments from the mediation reportedly came when Ritesh Sidhwani directly asked Ranveer whether he would still have exited Don 3 if his film Dhurandhar had not become successful. According to the report, Ranveer admitted that he likely would not have left the project if Dhurandhar had failed commercially.
The financial disagreement between the two parties also appears to remain unresolved. Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani are reportedly seeking around ₹45 crore from Ranveer Singh towards expenses incurred during Don 3’s pre-production process.
Ranveer, meanwhile, is said to have offered ₹10 crore as an immediate settlement during the meeting. He also reportedly proposed a 25 percent reduction in his fee for any future collaboration with Excel Entertainment.
However, the producers allegedly rejected the proposal, reportedly stating that the suggested discount held no value because they no longer intended to work with the actor in the future.
