The release of the film, ‘Don 3: The Chase Ends’ is circulating in the news and we cannot help ourselves but go back in time and reminisce about the previous Don movies! As the Indian actor-director, Farhan Akhtar works on the script of ‘Don 3’, we bring you some lesser-known facts about all the previous three Don movies that we bet you haven’t heard before!
Learning A Bit Of History!
The Bollywood hit with an IMDb rating of 7.7, ‘Don’ starring Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman in lead roles was released in 1978. Then, 29 years later in 2007, with the same name, Don was released which starred Shahrukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and others. The film was directed by Farhan Akhtar and completely bowled the audience over with its release! A sequel of the movie was made later in 2011, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, and many other big names of Bollywood.
Now that the third part of the franchise is on its way, fans are elated and have dozens of questions! ‘Don 3’ and Shahrukh Khan have been trending and except for announcing that the sequel will be directed and penned by Farhan Akhtar, everything else is still under wraps! Nevertheless, the fans have high expectations from the makers and the King of Romance aka Shahrukh Khan, and are thrilled to hear about the sequel after years of wait!
Onwards To Some Facts That Will Make You Jump Out Of Your Chair!
We present you with 10 facts about the Don franchise that we bet some of you have never heard before!
DON: Starring Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman
1. The Film Was Made To Pay Off Nariman Irani’s Debt
Bollywood cinematographer, Nariman Irani was bankrupt after his film, ‘Zindagi Zindagi’ turned out to be a flop. He discussed the matter with the director of ‘Roti Kapada Aur Makaan’, Manoj Kumar. The entire team of the movie, ‘Roti Kapada Aur Makaan’ (including Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman) heard about the issue and sympathized with Nariman. They decided to do a movie for him in which they would charge very less so that Nariman could pay off his debt. However, during the shoot, Nariman passed away. When the film became a hit, the team of the film, ‘Don’ gave the money to Nariman’s wife so that she could pay off the debt. (YouTube)
2. A Rejected Script?
Since the makers didn’t have a big budget, they approached Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar to write a script. They were given a script that was rejected by all the makers in the Bollywood film industry! (YouTube)
3. The Reason Behind Adding ‘Khaike Paan Banaras Wala’ Song In The Film
The main song, Khaike Paan Banaras Wala was never supposed to be a part of ‘Don’ but was actually a part of Dev Anand’s ‘Banarasi Babu’. But later, Manoj Kumar, added a recommendation that this song is closer to the feel of ‘Don’ and should be part of this movie instead since the second part was a little tight and had no break but a song like this one would make the audience relax. In fact, during the shoot of the song, Amitabh Bachchan had a fractured leg! (mensxp)
Eventually, the film was the reason that the movie became a hit! Initially, it was a flop since the makers didn’t have a budget for a marketing campaign and no one knew about the release of the film. One week later the film’s song ‘Khaike Paan Banaras Wala’ became famous and people went to watch the movie just to listen to the song!
Watch it here
DON 1: Starring Shahrukh Khan And Priyanka Chopra
4. Shah Rukh Khan To The rescue!
A fight sequence between the Don and DCP DeSilva was being shot in Langkawi. Unfortunately, the fight choreographer was messing up, and Boman Irani had to leave for a flight to a shoot in Goa. So, with time running out for Boman, Shah Rukh Khan choreographed the sequence. Shah Rukh explained the scenes to him and after several takes, the sequence was finally executed and Boman caught his flight on time. (Amazon Prime Video)
5. The Quest OF SRK’s Wedding Ring!
During a shoot, Shah Rukh Khan’s wedding ring slipped off his finger. Khan had everyone on the sets searching for it, with the implausible excuse that if they didn’t find it, he would have to get married again in order to get himself a new wedding ring. Needless to say, they found it pretty quickly. (IMDb)
6. Into Malaysian PM’s Tower!
Apparently, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad, who had even prohibited Hollywood films to be filmed in the Petronas Towers previously, allowed the crew to film inside his personal office in the Towers. (IMDb)
DON 2: Starring Shahrukh Khan And Priyanka Chopra
7. Katrina Kaif – A Film Editor?
Katrina Kaif had always had a long-standing desire of contributing in some way to a film’s post-production. While editing the film, Farhan Akhtar let Katrina edit a small portion to fulfill her wish. (Amazon Prime Video)
8. King Khan’s Efforts For The Film!
Shah Rukh Khan did not only make six-pack abs for the film but he also decided to do all the stunts on his own. He even jumped from a height of 300 ft in the film himself. (IMDb)
9. The Fearless Priyanka Chopra!
Priyanka Chopra refused to use a stunt double for the dangerous car chasing scene and chose to do most of the car stunts herself. (Amazon Prime Video)
10. Don’s love for Tom and Jerry!
In both the movies Don (2006) and Don 2 (2011) there are scenes where Don is seen watching Tom and Jerry cartoon for amusement. (IMDb)
This brings us to an end of our list! Which fact did you find most interesting? Do share with us!
