Ranveer Singh has been in the headlines since December 2025 with the Dhurandhar wave rewriting the record books of India's domestic and worldwide box office. With Dhurandhar 2 coming on March 19, 2026, Ranveer is expected to continue his juggernaut run that would put him right back in the race for superstardom.
However, his recent walkout from the Don 3 project has seen a major escalation with Excel Entertainment allegedly claiming a financial dispute worth Rs 40 crore against Ranveer for delaying the project. The Dhurandhar star hasn't backed down either, and has remained strong in his stance about being accused unfairly in the whole episode.
The Ranveer-Excel episode
Don 3 was supposed to start shoot in mid-2024. The announcement teaser was unveiled on August 9, 2023 and the promo announced Ranveer as the new face of the Don series. The teaser was met with largely negative reactions, which isn't surprising as the audience had gotten familiar to Shah Rukh Khan's presence as Don. Nevertheless, Ranveer had been locked as the new Don.
The Don 3 announcement came just a couple of weeks after Ranveer's Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani and the film didn't end up becoming the blockbuster that it was expected to be. It was a moderate success, no doubt, but was far from the comeback that Ranveer needed after successive box office disasters in Jayeshbhai Jordaar and Cirkus.
With the social media backlash also getting into full throttle, Farhan Akhtar was allegedly unsure. It also didn't help the film's cause that Ranveer had creative differences in the scripting. Ultimately, Ranveer waited for a long time before taking up Dhurandhar in the latter half of 2024. He had waited for a long time but saw no clarity from the Excel camp.
Once Dhurandhar became a historic box office success, we started getting the Don 3 updates that had been paused for a while. It was almost as if Excel and Farhan were keen to jump on Ranveer's new-found momentum. Whether that is true or not, Ranveer certainly didn't seem convinced with the project anymore and opted to walk out.
What happened between Shah Rukh and Excel?
In 2017-18, Shah Rukh Khan was close to starting Don 3 with Farhan. There were multiple talks but the project wasn't getting locked. Then, during December 2018, Excel distributed the Hindi version of Yash's KGF that was set to release on the same day as Shah Rukh's Zero. When it came to screen allocation, Excel were pressurising the local distributors to hold screens for their film.
While Excel's stand was professional, they were also pouncing on the fact Shah Rukh had been enduring a poor box office phase with flops in Fan and Jab Harry Met Sejal. Even Raees hadn't worked as well as expected. Naturally, King Khan felt betrayed by the whole chain of events. After all, it is when you are in your lowest phase that you realise who your true friends are.
Nevertheless, Shah Rukh took a really long break and returned with a bang in 2023 through successive all-time blockbusters in Pathaan and Jawan, both of which were record-breaking films. Even Dunki in the same year was a success, although not a big one. During the fag end of 2023, there were speculations of Don 3 happening. At least, Farhan wanted it to happen but Shah Rukh Khan wasn't too keen.
The similarity in the two scenarios is how both Shah Rukh and Ranveer weren't happy with the script. The other common factor is how both stars were in their low phase when the project got delayed and then, there was a sudden urge to resume the project once they got back their box office form.
Whether Don 3 happens or not, it has already endured a roller-coaster ride without even starting its shoot.
