Oh… Is this the real reason why Don 3 fell apart?

Fresh reports claim creative differences led to Ranveer Singh’s reported exit from Don 3 after talks with makers

Krishnan M

Ranveer Singh is the newest, most-demanding beast in Bollywood currently. Whispers say that if you sign him, he reportedly comes with a set of conditions. Most are blah — 7 vanity vans, two of those to be completely covered with a black cloth, 100 (perhaps more by now because of the summer temperatures) kilos of ice, only one film assistant of his choice to deal with him, action scenes shot/supervised by his own man, etc. Yes, the actor also requests that he will edit his action sequences in a studio of his choice, etc. All of this is accepted by filmmakers, who think it is a small price to pay for having the red-hot superstar on board. Besides, there are a whole bunch of Bollywood stars who aren’t half as successful as Ranveer, who also come with many “pre-conditions and riders”. Filmmakers feel if they can take the long-winded entourages and endless requests from lesser actors into account, at least RS, with his current box office, seems like the big cheese. But ouch… all actors should realise that when a rubber band is stretched too far, it snaps.

Coming to recent negotiations for Farhan Akhtar’s Don 3, the actor is rumoured to have too many “other” conditions as well. And the nail-in-the-coffin request was his view that Don, his version, could/should use some “strong language.” Those who have seen the Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan versions of the earlier Don films are aware that these guys were James Bond-like characters, slick and suave. No, “harsh language” is not a salient feature of those films.

For our late risers, the original Chandra Barot version of Don (1978) had Bachchan in a double role. The first character was a simple villager and the second one was an anti-hero with Bond-like characteristics. He was an underworld kingpin, impossible to nab; he wasn’t abusive or obnoxious. SRK’s reprisal of Don (2006 and 2011), directed by Farhan Akhtar, borrowed the template of the Barot-Bachchan movie. In other words, once again, Don was shown as being dangerous and deadly, but he didn’t attempt any ‘R-rated’ stuff.

However, it is rumoured that Ranveer, fresh from the success of the gore-and-gaali fest, Dhurandhar Part 1 & 2, probably felt that the new Don that he was to reprise should change his DNA to match the current “violent & abusive” standards fully accepted and celebrated by a large segment of today’s audience.

Those present in the negotiation room with Ranveer and Farhan saw the film falling through because Farhan, a reputed and successful filmmaker, will never be ‘dictated to’, especially as far as creative decisions go. It is rumoured that he didn’t wish to succumb to any kind of pressure tactics. “Farhan very much wanted to make the film he originally set out to make,” said the whisperer.

A couple of days ago, The Hollywood Reporter India had the filmmaker-actor’s “clarification on the Don 3” matter. And we reproduce the same. Farhan opened up about the situation, calling it a learning experience and reflecting on the unpredictability of filmmaking. He said, “What I’ve learned is to expect the unexpected. Nothing can be taken for granted until you actually have it on film,” he is reported to have said.

Point to note is that there is no direct mention of Don 3 or Ranveer Singh here. But of course, everyone is putting reference to the context. The Don 3 matter is done and dusted, with Ranveer Singh reportedly having returned his signing advance of something to the tune of Rs 10 crore. And though there is some rancour at this point between Farhan and Ranveer, who may not occupy the same room together for a bit, there’s no war as such. The Dhurandhar actor and the Don director may collaborate sometime in the future. Cinema, as everyone knows, is a never-say-never business. Here, people are opportunists who patch up if the price is right. We contacted Ranveer and Farhan to ask if they had a difference of opinion on script. We got no reply from either till the time of going to press.