Don is one of the most successful film franchises of Bollywood. Inspired by the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 1976 classic, ace filmmaker Farhan Akhtar modernized the concept and made two films, Don (2006) and Don 2 (2011) with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role as Don. Both the movies have been humongous hits. So, from when the third sequel was speculated the audience has been eagerly waiting for SRK to again ignite the screen as the indomitable Don. But Farhan Akhtar recently informed the media that Ranveer Singh will be stepping into the movie as the new Don in the third instalment. Though it came as a shock, Farhan confirmed SRK was not replaced but he refused to be a part of it.
Farhan said he and Shah Rukh have “parted mutually” because of “creative differences”. In an interview with Variety, Farhan said the role was initially crafted keeping Shah Rukh in mind but things didn’t work and that’s how Ranveer got in. Farhan added, “I’m really excited Ranveer’s on board. He’s so charged and so ready to go. It’s a big film, just purely from the point of view of an actor, it’s a big thing to do, and we’re really excited to have him on board. His energy is energizing us, so to speak.”
“I’m not in the position of replacing anybody. These are things that we discussed over the years, I wanted to take a certain direction with the story, somehow we just couldn’t find common ground. We just parted mutually knowing that it’s probably for the best. So that’s where it is,”
— Farhan Akhtar
Shah Rukh Khan started the year with his smash-hit Pathan and now his superhit movie, Jawan is breaking records at the box office globally. Earlier guesses were going around about Farhan replacing Shah Rukh in the Don franchisee but now it is confirmed that King Khan himself did not want to play the role. SRK is reported to have been dissatisfied with the script and so he decided to walk out of the project.
By Ishita Ganguly
