Don 3: Shah Rukh Khan rejected Farhan Akhtar's script because of Amitabh Bachchan's inclusion?

Superstar Shah Rukh Khan is currently engrossed in making a grand comeback to the silver screen with the very alluring Pathan. The film marks Khan's return to cinema halls after 3+ years and to make things better, he will be seen in two other interesting films, namely Jawaan and Dunki, in the year 2023. With each of the three being distinct from one another both in terms of tone and subject matter, fans are certainly in for a bona fide SRK treat!

In this regard, the conversation around the prospects of Don 3 begins to get traction as the latest reports share a few key details. Accordingly, Shah Rukh Khan wasn't happy with some of the plot devices that writer-director Farhan Akhtar used in his recent script drafts and the Pathan actor was compelled to 'reject' the idea right there. Akhtar, reportedly, was keen on using not just the current version of the slick gangster Don in the third instalment but also two other versions of the character to set things up for a rather intriguing match-up. 

Farhan's idea was to present three generations of Don together which comprised Amitabh Bachchan (as the older Don), Shah Rukh Khan(as the existing one), and a new actor to play the much younger version: however, reports suggest that Shah Rukh Khan was not particularly pleased with the way the script was evolving and is said to have turned down the idea, nipping it in the bud. This development potentially puts Don 3 on the back-burner now.

Farhan Akhtar, on the other hand, is juggling between multiple acting projects and is prepping for his directorial comeback with Jee Le Zara. The project is slated to star Priyanka Chopra, Alia Bhatt, and Katrina Kaif as the leads and whose characters embark on an interesting road-trip. However, a recent report quoted a source very close to the project and shared that with both Chopra and Bhatt currently in different stages of motherhood, the film is likely to go on floors only when they are in the right headspace to do justice to the characters.

Rumours of Katrina Kaif too being pregnant have made the rounds although the couple (husband and actor Vicki Kaushal) have not made any confirmation, whatsoever, about the same.

Coming back to Don 3, with both Shah Rukh Khan and Farhan Akhtar occupied for quite some time with their respective commitments, it looks fans will have to wait a bit longer for the third instalment. Farhan Akhtar was recently awarded Best Actor at the OTTplay Awards 2022 for his performance in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Toofan - he shared the award with Tamil actor Arya.