Not Shah Rukh Khan, but this star kid was Farhan Akhtar's first choice for Don, he replaced him because...

Written By Riya Sharma | Updated: Aug 09, 2024, 12:25 PM IST

Shah Rukh Khan in Don

Shah Rukh Khan was not the first choice of Farhan Akhtar for Don.

Farhan Akhtar is all set to work on the third installment of the Don Franchise. In a recent interview, the filmmaker and actor shared an interesting anecdote about how Shah Rukh Khan was not the first choice for the 2006 blockbuster. 

On Raj Shamani's podcast, Farhan Akhtar revealed that before Shah Rukh Khan he approached Hrithik Roshan for the role of Don and said, "Hrithik and I did Lakshya, and we had an incredible, wonderful time working together. So I reached out to Hrithik and said, ‘I’m thinking I'm going to remake Don.' He said, ‘Sounds amazing, dude!’ I said, ‘Let me write it and I’ll bring it to you.' So he said, ‘Cool.’" 

He further added how while writing the script, Shah Rukh Khan's face popped up in his mind, and said, "When I was writing, the only person whose face is popping into my head is Shah Rukh, from what I knew him. We'd spent some time together, hanging out at a party here or a party there, with some common friends in Delhi. So the way he was, not his cinematic image, but him, his personality, his wit, the little sarcastic sense of humour he has, self-deprecating, he can make fun of himself. When I was writing, I thought this guy is the best actor for this part." 

Farhan Akhtar further revealed Hrithik Roshan's reaction when he told him that he wanted to approach Shah Rukh Khan for the movie. He recalled, "But I'd already given my word to Hrithik. So I called up Hrithik and told him, ‘I’m writing the film I spoke to you about. But the more I write, I' m feeling I should reach out to Shah Rukh for this film. I'll never forget, he said, ‘Farhan, you’ve to make your film, and in the best way possible. If you think he's the guy, please go ahead and call him. Don't worry about me.' That is a very gracious thing." 

Interestingly, Hrithik Roshan had a special appearance in Don 2 as one of the disguises of Shah Rukh Khan's character. After Don, Hrithik, and Farhan shared the screen space as actors in Zoya Akhtar's directorials Luck By Chance and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh Khan will now not be a part of Don 3 and the film is going to be led by Ranveer Singh. 

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