Farhan Akhtar Calls Ranveer Singh's Exit From Don 3 A 'Challenging' Period In His 20-Year Directing Career: Nothing Can Be Taken For Granted

One of the most anticipated Bollywood movies once, Don 3 has now caused legal trouble for all those involved with the project. Farhan Akhtar announced his second reboot of the iconic Don franchise, after remaking it once with Shah Rukh Khan. Don 3 was announced in  August 2023, with a teaser, and Ranveer Singh came onboard to carry forward the mantle. Quickly, Kiara Advani's name was finalised opposite Ranveer.

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The project kept facing delays due to director Farhan's acting commitments and Ranveer shifted focus to Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar. Released as a two-part movie in December 2025 and March 2026, it is now of the most commercially successful Indian movies. While Ranveer tasted success, Don 3 was silently put on the backburner. However, Farhan maintains that he "still has a story to tell in Don 3". Things turned sour, and Farhan's Excel Entertainment filed a lawsuit, demanding compensation from Ranveer for backing out of the movie.

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While an amicable solution to the legal dispute between Ranveer and Excel Entertainment remains to be arrived at, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Farhan spoke about the ongoing Don 3 fiasco.  

About his takeaways, he shared, "Just expect the unexpected. Nothing can be taken for granted till you actually have it on film. From the moment I made Dil Chachta Hai, till 2022, I've had the most incredible ride. It's just working with the people I want to work with whether directing them or acting in films that I want to act in with directors. It's been amazing and you realise that there's going to be a period that's going to be a little bit more challenging. So you've had it good. You just take it in your stride," Farhan said.

Currently, the actor-director is focused on bringing to the screens the role of Pandit Ravi Shankar, the legendary Indian sitar virtuoso who mentored Beatles guitarist George Harrison, in a biopic on the latter by Sam Mendes. Ranveer, meanwhile, is attached to star in a zombie movie, tentatively titled Pralay.