The Most Controversial Don 3 Settlement Done?

Ranveer Singh is no shark. He began 2026 on a natural high after the mammoth success of Dhurandhar. And everyone was scrambling for a piece of him. But, like they say, fame and notoriety often walk side by side. If Dhurandhar won him accolades, Don 3, a film that he was meant to do, had people vilifying him. A segment of producers/people went all out to malign Ranveer, labelling him to be insensitive and unfair. And they succeeded to a certain extent. However, the truth is different.

Ranveer is neither a ‘cheat’ nor is he insensitive

Yes, the matter at hand is RS’ infamous walkout from Excel Entertainment’s Don 3, that was to be directed by actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar. It was said that after committing to do the film and participating in all the pre-production activities around Don 3, including some look tests of his co-stars, Ranveer, fresh from the blockbuster success of Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar, changed his mind. It was being suggested that he had taken a signing amount for the action-thriller. It was widely reported that the producers, Akhtar and Sidhwani, approached the Producers Guild of India to mediate and allow for a settlement between the biggest superstar on the block and themselves. It was rumoured that names like Karan Johar and Aamir Khan were also a part of this mediation. The disputed amount spent on pre-production was reportedly around ₹42-43 crore. And Excel apparently told the Producers Guild of India that Ranveer should compensate them to a certain extent because the so-called “creative differences” between Excel and him came after the production company had spent such a huge amount on the preparation.

All parties maintained a stoic silence

While both Farhan Akhtar and his partner Ritesh Sidhwani maintained a stoic silence on this subject in January 2026, at a press conference held at a five-star hotel in Mumbai, when they appeared together publicly to announce their deal with Universal Music India (UMI), which has acquired a 30% minority stake in Excel Entertainment for ₹2,400 crore ($285–290M), after a thorough evaluation, a lot of ‘slandering’ went on in industry circles about Singh.

And now for the climax

The Free Press Journal has learnt from reliable sources that Ranveer has gracefully agreed to return his signing amount, which was reportedly around ₹10 crore. And, to further compensate Excel, he has reportedly agreed to give them a ‘stake’ in his next film, tentatively being referred to as Pralaay. We are not reporting the exact percentage of the stake because everything on Pralaay, from the budget to when it is likely to go on the floors, is fluid at this juncture. However, just the fact that Ranveer has shown so much grace is good enough to make him a fair player in the industry. Like they say in fairy tales, all is well that ends well.