Last Updated:January 18, 2026, 19:39 IST

While Race 4 is currently in the works, producer Ramesh Taurani has ruled out the possibility of Akshaye Khanna’s return to the franchise.

Amid speculations about Akshaye Khanna’s return to Race 4, Ramesh Taurani has ruled out the possibility of the actor rejoining the franchise.

Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna is currently basking in the success of Aditya Dhar’s film ‘Dhurandhar’, which took the box office by storm. Khanna’s portrayal of Rehman Dakait in the Ranveer Singh-starrer, along with his entry dance to Flipperachi’s song ‘FA9LA’, went viral. After his extraordinary performance in the film, fans are eager to know which project he will choose next. While fans wondered whether he will return in Race 4, producer Ramesh Taurani has confirmed that there’s no possibility of the actor returning to the franchise.

Akshaye Khanna Won’t Be Part of Race 4, Confirms Ramesh Taurani

The fourth instalment of the popular Race franchise is currently in the works, and it was being speculated that the original leads of Race — Akshaye Khanna and Saif Ali Khan — would return. However, it turns out that there’s no truth to the speculations. Producer Ramesh Taurani ruled out the possibility of Akshaye Khanna’s return. He told Hindustan Times, “No, we have not approached Akshaye. There was no scope at all.”

When asked whether there is a thought to rework the plot and get him back, the producer said, “There is no thought about getting him. His character gets into an accident in the first movie, his track ended there, and it will remain at that.”

Meanwhile, when asked whether Sidharth Malhotra and Saif are confirmed to star in Race 4, Ramesh Taurani said that nothing has been finalised. “No cast has been finalised till now. The work on the script is on,” he said.

Last year, in April, amid rumours of Harshvardhan Rane and Rakul Preet being roped in for the film, the makers announced an official statement, clearing that only two actors are being considered as of now. Taurani’s team further urged everyone not to believe in false narratives about the film’s casting.

Ramesh Taurani’s team issued an official statement, revealing that only Saif Ali Khan and Sidharth Malhotra are being considered for Race 4 as of now. “We would like to clarify that we are currently in discussions only with Saif Ali Khan and Sidharth Malhotra for the next instalment of the Race franchise (Race 4) which is currently in its scripting phase. No other male or female actors have been approached at this stage. We sincerely request the media and social media pages to avoid engaging with false news and to wait for an official confirmation from our PR team,” the statement read.

The first instalment of Race released in 2008, starring Saif Ali Khan, Bipasha Basu, Akshaye Khanna, Katrina Kaif and Anil Kapoor. The film was a blockbuster success. Race 2 was released in 2013, and while Saif and Anil remained constant, the new additions included Deepika Padukone, John Abraham, Jacqueline Fernandez, and Ameesha Patel. Race 3 released in 2018. Saif was replaced by Salman Khan in the project. The newest additions to the cast included Bobby Deol, Saqib Saleem and Daisy Shah.