Actor Jaideep Ahlawat, who is going to be seen next in Drishyam: The Conclusion, the third film in the thriller franchise, has reacted on "replacing" Akshaye Khanna in the movie. 

The latter played a cop in the sequel who is tasked by Tabu's character Meera to frame a case against Ajay Devgn's common man-criminal genius Vijay Salgaonkar. Akshaye's performance was lauded in the film.

Jaideep plays a new character in the upcoming film, SP Crime Branch Rajveer Singh Tomar, who is now given the responsibility of Salgaonkars' case.

At the trailer launch of the film held in Goa on Wednesday, Jaideep reacted on a question of him "replacing" Akshaye Khanna in the film and the "pressure" of doing so. "I don't think it is a replacement. It was a very individualistic character. There are new relationships to be made with Meera (Tabu's character)," he said.

"There was no pressure. Once you see the film you will realise that Abhishek (Pathak, director) had a clarity on the character. From his clothes to his mannerisms, so that made my journey easy," he added.

For the unversed, Akshaye Khanna quit the Drishyam franchise after the success of Dhurandhar (2025), as claimed by producer Kumar Mangat Pathak. The latter, as per reports, had claimed that "success" had gone into the actor's head and that he had asked to wear a wig for the role and also sought a remuneration upgrade after the success of the Aditya Dhar film.

Drishyam 3 is slated to release on October 2.