“Don 3”, the third part of the “Don” franchise is one of the most awaited movies among the audiences but there is a section of fans who are not happy with Farhan Akhtar for replacing Shah Rukh Khan with Ranveer Singh.
Recently, Farhan Akhtar appeared in a podcast in which he talked about why he chose Ranveer Singh for the third part and he also reminded fans that Shah Rukh Khan was also carrying the legacy of Amitabh Bachchan.
Farhan Akhtar said, “The kind of script that we were writing, what I wanted to do with it… it’s too early to speak about it so I can’t unfortunately can’t get into detail. But it needed this next-generation actor in it.”
Farhan explained in detail as to why Ranveer was casted for the role. Admiring Ranveer, Farhan said, “He’s just inherently a very charming guy. He’s charming, he’s mischievous. He’s just full of energy, which is what this needs. I feel that when it comes to this aspect of his performance, it’s still untapped. I don’t think he’s done a role like this. He has always played, predominantly, characters which are to an extent – with the exception of Lootera… His characters, because of who he is, as in they’re written for him for this reason, are very external. They are loud, big characters where he’s got the histrionics.”
Farhan Akhtar added, “Don requires a different kind of performance from him. There is a certain holding of everything inside that is needed, which I don’t think he has done. So I think it is a nice challenge for him to be able to do it. You will see him in a different way, holding it all together. Personally, there’s a lot of strength in that. You know what the person is thinking but they’re not saying it. The eyes and body language can convey it and to me that’s very meaningful. The personality is going to be different from what he’s played.”
When Farhan was asked why Shah Rukh is not doing the third part, he said, “We did try. There were a couple of ideas we exchanged and wrote some stuff also but somehow, either he was excited by something that I didn’t feel or that I was excited by something that he didn’t feel… you know what I’m talking about. That happens. Sometimes that synergy on a script doesn’t happen. It didn’t happen on this. So we said we’ve done two which are really fun and amazing together, let’s just…”
Interestingly, after Farhan Akhtar completed “Lakshya” with Hrithik Roshan, he told Hrithik that he was thinking of making a remake of “Don”. Hrithik found it great and Farhan told him that he would contact him after writing the script. But then something happened because of which Hrithik Roshan didn’t play the lead role and Farhan talked about it in the podcast.
Farhan Akhtar said, “I reached out to Hrithik and I told him that I am thinking about remaking Don. He said ‘Sounds amazing’ and I said ‘Let me write it and I will bring it to you’. While writing it, the only person whose face kept popping into my head was Shah Rukh.”
Farhan added that SRK appeared to be the perfect choice because of his “personality, wit, sarcastic humour.”
Farhan Akhtar revealed the reaction of Hrithik Roshan when the former told the latter that he felt SRK would be the best choice for the lead role. Farhan said, “When I was writing, it felt like this guy is actually the best actor for this part but I had already spoken to Hrithik so I thought about what to do. I called up Hrithik and I told him that I have been writing the film and I am just feeling more and more that I should reach out to Shah Rukh. He said ‘Farhan, you have to make your film, you have to make it the way you want to make it and if you are feeling he is the guy, please go ahead and call him, don’t worry about me’. That is a very gracious thing.”
In the same podcast, Farhan Akhtar was full of praises for superstar Shah Rukh Khan as he said, “He can talk about any topic and he will have his point of view on that. He is a good listener. He is well read and he is also interested in people. He is curious and adventurous. He likes to have a nice time and he doesn’t like the weight of things too much. He is a fun guy to hang around. There is an inherent charm he has that is magnetic and it is both on and off the screen. He is easy, it doesn’t feel laboured and that ease makes you feel comfortable. He works really hard and that has kept him where he is.”
You can watch the podcast by clicking here
“Don 3” will release in 2025, are you excited for the movie?
