Farhan Akhtar reveals how Shah Rukh Khan became Don after initially choosing Hrithik Roshan

Farhan gets candid about his film Don

As Farhan Akhtar gears up to revive the Don franchise more than a decade after its second instalment with Ranveer Singh, he recently shared an intriguing story about how he cast Shah Rukh Khan in the iconic role for the 2006 film.

On a podcast show, Farhan opened up about the decision-making process that led to Shah Rukh Khan becoming the face of Don, a role that has since become legendary in Bollywood.

Farhan revealed that when he first conceived the idea of remaking Don, his initial choice for the lead role was Hrithik Roshan. Having had a fantastic experience working together on Lakshya, Farhan was eager to collaborate with Hrithik again.

"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,'" Farhan recounted.

However, as Farhan delved deeper into the script, something unexpected happened. As he wrote, the image of Shah Rukh Khan kept coming to his mind.

It wasn’t just Shah Rukh’s cinematic persona that drew Farhan to him, but his real-life personality—the wit, the self-deprecating humor, and the effortless charm he exuded in social settings.

Farhan recalled, "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."

This realization, however, posed a dilemma for Farhan. He had already given his word to Hrithik about offering him the role. In a display of integrity, Farhan decided to have an honest conversation with Hrithik. "I called up Hrithik and told him, "I’m writing the film I spoke to you about. But the more I’m writing, 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," Farhan shared.

This graciousness on Hrithik’s part paved the way for Shah Rukh Khan to take on the role of Don, a character that would become synonymous with his name. The decision proved to be a masterstroke, as Shah Rukh's portrayal of the suave, cunning, and ruthless Don became one of the most memorable performances of his career.

Interestingly, Hrithik later made a cameo in Don 2 (2011), appearing as one of Shah Rukh's disguises—a nod to what might have been. The two actors also shared screen space in Farhan’s sister Zoya Akhtar’s directorial Luck By Chance (2009) and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), further solidifying their professional camaraderie.

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As the Don franchise prepares for its next chapter, with Ranveer Singh stepping into the role for Don 3, Shah Rukh Khan has officially hung up his Don boots. Meanwhile, Shah Rukh is set to don a similar persona in Sujoy Ghosh’s upcoming film King, while Hrithik is currently filming for Ayan Mukerji’s spy thriller War 2.