After twelve long years of waiting, Farhan Akhtar had finally announced yesterday that he is all set to take the legacy of the ‘Don’ franchise forward with a new interpretation. It was also revealed that the next ‘Don’ film will feature a new actor who the ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ helmer himself admires.
And now, it has been officially confirmed through a title announcement video that the next lead actor who will essay the titular anti-hero in ‘Don 3’ after Amitabh Bachchan and Shan Rukh Khan will be Ranveer Singh. ‘Don 3’ is slated for a 2025 theatrical release.
The ‘Don 3’ title announcement teaser features Ranveer Singh and the characteristic swag and charisma and uber cool getup that defines the titular character of Don. The teaser also has the iconic Don soundtrack accompanied by the popular ‘11 mulkon ki police’ line. And it’s not bad. ‘Don 3’ will be directed by Farhan Akhtar and co-written by ‘Vikram Vedha’ duo Pushkar Gayatri along with Farhan Akhtar.
After Farhan Akhtar teased the ‘Don 3’ announcement yesterday, many people took to Twitter to express their discontent about the fact that Shah Rukh Khan would no longer be a part of ‘Don 3’. A significant segment of SRK fans disapproved of Ranveer Singh’s casting as the new Don. And ‘No SRK No Don’ soon started trending.
The casting backlash for ‘Don 3’ was expected and the negative comments are expected to continue for some time. But, in case you remember, back in the early 2000s, when Shah Rukh Khan was cast in the first ‘Don’ reboot, a certain segment of diehard Amitabh Bachchan fans were not very happy about the casting decision. In spite of SRK’s massive popularity during that time. But the 2006 ‘Don’ was a well-crafted film which clicked with the audiences, especially the climactic twist, and eventually the film and SRK’s performance were admired.
So, the point is: the casting backlash might be temporary, because people will accept Ranveer Singh in the role of the new Don in ‘Don 3’ if the film turns out to be a well-made one. There will be a lot of pressure on the talented ‘Band Baaja Baraat’ actor because he has very big shoes to fill, but that pressure might be for the best for everyone because it will motivate him and the makers of ‘Don 3’ to be on their toes while making the film. Fingers crossed until then.