Farhan Akhtar Reveals His First Choice For 'Don' Was Hrithik Roshan, Not SRK (Image-Instagram/iamsrk)

With Farhan Akhtar set to return to the Don franchise after a decade, he shared an interesting story behind casting Shah Rukh Khan, who has used his charm to bring the character to life. The director also revealed the new cast for the third installment of the film.

In a podcast with Raj Shamani, Farhan disclosed how he cast King Khan as Don, released in 2006. However, the actor revealed that SRK was not the first choice for the now iconic character.

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Akhtar revealed that during his initial discussion on the remake, he intended to cast the Greek God of Bollywood, Hrithik Roshan, at the time of Lakshya (2004) which marked the first collaboration between the two actors. He also said that he had promised Hrithik, “Let me write it and I’ll bring it to you.”

But while writing the script, the only face that popped up in Farhan’s mind was that of Shah Rukh Khan. Farhan further added it’s not based on Shah Rukh’s cinematic aura but more on his personality, marked with his sarcastic sense of humour. The director recalled, “When I was writing, I thought this guy is the best actor for this part.” He also revealed Hrithik’s support for his decision and called it “gracious.”

“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,” said Farhan, recalling his Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara co-star’s words. Interestingly, Hrithik did a cameo in Don 2 as one of the disguises of Shah Rukh’s character.

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On the upcoming sequel, Farhan disclosed that he had exchanged ideas with Shah Rukh to recast the franchise. With Farhan set to kick off this fresh franchise with Ranveer Singh, he added that this will offer Ranveer a chance to showcase a side of himself that has never been displayed on screen.