Well, this was a journey from joy to disappointment!!! At least for me. But maybe not you?
Thank you Kirre! Once again, you have been my reporter and alerted me to Farhan’s twitter announcements. Or X? Is it X now? Related question, why is Elon Musk’s face like that? Bad plastic surgery? No plastic surgery? Ickiness oozing outward?
Anyway, Farhan put on “X” this announcement:
It’s Farhan, so giving himself over a year of prep time seems smart.
It’s Farhan, so “an actor whose talent and versatility I have long admired” could be anyone from Jim Sarbh to Bruce Springsteen.
And finally, it’s Farhan, does that mean I care even if SRK isn’t there?
Honestly, I don’t think it does. I love all his movies as a director/writer, Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya, Don 1, and Don 2, just genius. But it’s been over a decade! Can he even still direct? Does he really want to? I just don’t have faith in him any more. Is this going to be another piece of brilliance, or is this going to be another artistic midlife crisis?
Or maybe the midlife crisis is why I SHOULD have faith in it? If Farhan is going to give up his whole “I’m a rockstar who is also a movie star who is also in a Marvel TV show” life to be a boring director again, maybe that means this is a truly amazing movie idea?
Or, is it Kainaat’s theory that Farhan is doing anything at all in preference to Jee Laa Zara (his promised coming of age but with women movie)?
UPDATE: I just had a terrible TERRIBLE thought. What if Farhan is planning to play Don himself? oooooo, that would be so BAD. And so egotistical!
UPDATE 2: It’s not Farhan, it’s Ranveer, teaser released. I’m not sure about the stubble. And I am sure about the backwards 3, I surely hate it:
dontcallitbollywood 
I think I care! My friends and I have the following hypotheses:
1. Woman Don/Donna (Aishwarya, Alia), maybe following in her father Don’s footsteps?
2. Ranveer as Don? Or Abhishek B.? Maybe also following in an older Don’s footsteps?
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I’d love that, but he does say “him” in the announcement. Unless his being purposefully miss-leading, looks like another dude.
There are so many great actors I would love to take on Don! Ranveer, yes, Abhishek, yes, also Vikrant Massay, Vicky Kaushal, Rajkummar Rao!
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Oh good point! And tbh, i found farhan with a woman-centered movie unlikely. I don’t think it’s his thing.
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What about my new horrible thought, that he is being coy and actually cast himself as the lead?
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No. Please no 😂
NOT the vibe.
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I don’t care about Don without SRK but i guess I’ll begrudgingly watch it
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It’s confession time again. I liked the original Don much better than SRK’s Don films. I enjoyed elements of both of Farhan’s adaptations but I think they were both a little cheesy but not in the good way that the original was, which was cheese that turned into camp at times.
It’s got to be Ranveer for this new one and honestly it makes me more excited to see it than if it were SRK again (though I do hope he makes a cameo at least). Also would be nice to see Arjun back in it somehow. Where has that beautiful man been?!
I think SRK has outgrown Don (and apparently has already said no to Farhan in the past). He’s got so many exciting projects lined up and lining up I’m sure in this new rejuvenated SRK era. Let Ranveer see what he can do with the role now.
I think that Jee La Zara is shelved for now. Just seeing that today myself…apparently Katrina has left the project and maybe Priyanka, too? Major bummer.
P.S. I don’t know why Elon Musk looks that way…it must be his cartoon villainy coming through. He was my freshman year RA in college. All I will say looks wise about him is that he has more hair now then he did then!
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Oh wait! You were also aware of Penn Masala during undergrad! Elon Musk and Penn Masala overlapped in college? So odd.
Ill be happy if Boman Irani comes back.
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And John Legend was an English major (like me) at the same time there as well. Never met him though…would have much preferred him over Elon.
Kiara Advani was seen at the Excel offices recently…maybe she is the heroine for the new Don…I think I would like her matched with Ranveer (if I can’t have the Sara Ali Khan reunion I am now totally invested in by that one minute cameo in Rocky Aur Rani!).
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I don’t think Farhan fancies himself an action hero? Even in Ms. Marvel he had barely any fighting. Because agreed, that is a terrible thought.
I don’t know, a lot depends on the new actor. Don is a great character but he needs the right nasty cool factor. A straight up male lead casting would be boring, like the Pierce Brosnan James Bond. It has to be someone interesting.
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Now I am increasingly thinking Jim Sarbh! Wouldn’t that be amazing?
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Jim Sarbh could do a good Don.
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I probably won’t go out of my way to watch it. A bunch of those gossip news sites published stories a couple months back saying that SRK had rejected Don 3 and that Ranveer would be replacing him. I don’t know how true it is, but if he really did reject it then I don’t have a problem with them recasting. I just don’t understand calling it Don 3 when it’s a new actor.
I don’t care what Elon says I’m not calling it ‘X’. How about ‘The site formerly known as Twitter’ lol
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Maybe it will be Don X? Or in other words, Don Twitter
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I thought there was discussion on this blog a week or more ago about Ranveer playing Don! Nice to know there is some truth to rumors sometimes.
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Pingback: Do We Care About Don 3 With Farhan But Without SRK? - News Hour 24/7
I’m going to join filmilibrarian on the bench of shame, because I have never seen Don 2. I liked Don, but the ending made me really sad and I never felt like seeing the second one. So if they are rebooting the character or something I’d be into it. And I’d be totally down for Ranveer to do it–he’s perfect for a suave villain in a tuxedo.
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Addendum: Literally just closed this window and went to Twitter and Ranveer had tweeted the teaser. It’s Ranveer. I’m mildly excited and would probably be more excited if it hadn’t been such a big year already.
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I’m usually excited for anything Ranveer does (although Cirkus was a disaster) so I will deign to watch this I think.
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Well, I liked the twistiness of Farhan’s first Don. And that really wasn’t down to the actor. Plus, I’m less of a SRK fangirl than most people here, so I’m definitely interested.
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I am so excited for the next Don with Ranveer. To me, since I am also not a SRK fan like others on this site, Don wasn’t about Shah Rukh. I think Shah Rukh was amazing in it, but I am equally excited about Ranveer taking on the role.
Regarding the Don movies, I generally love everything by Farhan too. But, I wasn’t a fan of the ending of Don 1 either. I actively avoid watching Don 1. But, I loved Don 2. That to me was a fresh take on Don, and I see Don 1 as just the necessary vehicle for it. The original Don with Amitabh will always be my favorite. I absolutely adore that movie.
What I am excited about is Farhan next vision with Ranveer. From what I have heard about Farhan, he starts thinking of the actor as the script develops and then customizes the script for the actor. This is what happened with Don. He had Hrithik in mind when he wanted to create Don 1, but as he started developing the script, he realized the script was for a mature star at the time and then starting thinking of Shah Rukh and customizing the script around him. I get the feeling he did the same here.
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I so hope we get the smooth, suave sophisticated version of Ranveer in his Don incarnation. I’m thinking of so many of his best magazine shoots when he’s dressed in nice black suits, with no scruff and styled hair. Maybe a James Bond type gone bad. Has he ever really done this in his films…I don’t think so and though Simmba and Gunday I guess were him dipping his toe in the action genre, this could really be his big break for that kind of film. And it will contribute to his parade of versatile roles.
I agree that Don is a true class, maybe even my favorite Amitabh from that era.
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I hope that’s the look and feel of Ranveer for Don too!!! I have a feeling it is because it was in the midst of Rocky Aur Rani promotions last month that Ranveer changed to his current short hair, clean, traditionally handsome look. And from what I had heard, Farhan was supposed to drop this announcement in the beginning of July and Ranveer was supposed to reveal he was Don and release his first look on his birthday on July 6 but they decided to postpone it to focus on RARKPK and then do this after it was released.
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Also, I am just really excited to see Ranveer in a cocky, sleek action role with shades of grey, where he isn’t just OTT but sexy and menacing. If anyone can get that out of Ranveer, it’s Farhan. He is just such an incredible director.
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Yes, I think Ranveer could potentially do this even better than Amitabh and SRK can. It’s interesting because Amitabh and SRK are not traditionally handsome (at least in my opinion), but their charisma makes them sexy. Amitabh’s sexiness at his peak, like in Don, was about raw masculinity and the potential for his explosive “anger” while SRK’s sexiness comes from his wit and charm. While for some reason, some people don’t think Ranveer is traditionally handsome either, I would say he is more so than the other two. But Ranveer’s sexiness has always come from his manic energy and unpredictability, so if he does a more reserved, menacing version of himself for Don while dressed to the nines with that classic, male model look he’s currently sporting in post RARKPK press, he will be incredibly hot. Plus, I would argue that his acting instincts/skills are much stronger than both Amitabh and SRK’s and he can also embody the character of Don more without letting the Ranveer energy sneak through. He’s done it in Lootera and Gully Boy and I think this performance will be more along those lines. It’s also interesting to think about how this lines the three of them up as three “superstars” taking on an iconic role. Generationally, do we think Ranveer is the one to take on the mantle of the male star of his generation. With the success of RARKPK and his already iconic Rocky, it’s hard to argue that he isn’t the best of his generation. I’m giving this way too much thought, but I have been a pretty consistent Ranveer fangirl since day one and I think I’ve seen everything he’s done but 83 and Cirkus. I’m just glad to see him reach such heights! Wonder what this will do for Brahmastra 2 and his rumored role in that? Clearly Don is planned for 2024 and Brahmastra 2 will be coming out later…maybe that’s the cause of the delay…
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I have also been thinking about this a lot so this is so much fun to discuss!
Yes, I don’t think of Amitabh and Shah Rukh as traditionally handsome either. What’s interesting to me, is Ranveer initially fell into the same category for me. I distinctly remember my sister telling me to watch Band Baaja Baarat, and avoiding it because as I told her, “Eh that hero is really not attractive.” I could not get myself to watch a romcom with an “unattractive” hero. Yes, I am revealing my vanity here. And then I finally watched it, and as I was watching the movie, (in the span of one movie) somehow I went from thinking of Ranveer from being this greasy weirdo in obnoxious clothes to holy smokes he’s kind of hot! And like you, I have seen all of his other stuff besides Cirkus.
So in a way, I put him in the same category as Amitabh and Shah Rukh. Someone I didn’t find traditionally attractive who somehow becomes ridiculously mesmerizing on screen.
I agree that Farhan maybe showing, or better yet, capitalizing on the next generational icon/superstar. I think Ranveer has the thirst, the skills, and the raw energy that Amitabh and Shah Rukh did. None of their personalities are the same but that thirst is and they are all willing to put in the tireless effort to be that generational superstar.
And yes, seeing Ranveer in a more reserved but sexy and menacing role with that reserved seething energy under the surface would be AMAZING and hot. And I do think, like you, he can pull it off.
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If it’s a new era why is it called Don 3??!!??
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SRK says family comes first so Don must be played by another actor. Actually I don’t know if SRK actually said that family comes first, but he alludes to it. And imagine everything that has happened in his family in the past 2 years. For him to take on a role that would get people talking about who his costar was and what happened in the last movie…. Best to just avoid that. He would have been mean to take on another Don role.
Ranveer will make a great Don. Honestly he isn’t too much younger than PC, they’ve played siblings after all. She could come back as his lover.
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That makes a lot of sense to me. If SRK played Don, there would inevitably be stories about PC no longer playing Roma etc. They would also
rehash old interviews. And if somehow Farhan did manage to her PC back, I can’t even imagine the awkwardness. Makes sense to start fresh with someone new.
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Don, a criminal, is turning into India’s James Bond. That’s kinda cool.
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Agreed! and like Bond, they could theoretically change the tone of the film, and the character of the lead, to suit the actor (or find the actor to suit the new direction).
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It would be interesting to see/know why Farhan didn’t choose Ranbir, or if Ranbir rejected the role, since Ranbir has been branded as “actor of his generation” for over a decade now.
But it has been fun watching Ranveer’s career and following his evolution as an actor. His recent characterization of Rocky is Oscar-worthy. Plus with his deep abiding love, respect, appreciation for commercial bollywood cinema historically, he loves to go as meta with his roles as his directors will allow, so the combo of Farhan-Ranveer might make a metamodern delight.
Kiara is certainly Bollywood’s “it girl” ATM just as Priyanka was at the time of Don, but Sara would help with that meta angle, or Rashmika would bring the pan-India angle. I would also love Deepika or Alia in the role.
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Huh. I don’t think Farhan or Zoya have ever worked with Ranbir. I heard a rumor that he was supposed to have the ranveer role in DDD but it didn’t work out. Maybe that left a bad taste for them? Or maybe they just don’t like working with him for some reason?
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I noticed over the years that I can only love Ranveer in specific kind of roles. I don’t really enjoy him across the board in everything he makes. I adore him in romcoms like BBB or DDD but I dislike him in stupid Masala films like Simmba or Circus. I enjoy him in serious Dramas like Gully Boy and Lootera but I’m bored with him in stoic Period Dramas like Bajirao Mastani or ’83.. So him being the new Don can really be a hit or miss for me. I personally still think that he’s too young and immature for the role. He doesn’t have the same self-assuredness to not crack a joke every few seconds to carry a role like that. Shah Rukh and Amitabh are not afraid of silence; they’re the kind of seasoned actors that can either command, immitate and persuade an audience. But it’s very rare to come across someone like that again at the moment. So good luck to Ranveer! We will be watching either way.
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