Daily Times

Netizens reacted strongly as Bollywood filmmaker Farhan Akhtar announced the beginning of a new era with ‘Don 3’, sans mega-star Shahrukh Khan.

Finally, an official update from the makers regarding ‘Don 3’ is here but the loyal fans of the franchise are tougher than expected to please as they are not happy with the iconic titular role going to another actor than SRK.

Akhtar turned to his social media on Tuesday with the announcement teaser of the hotly-anticipated action sequel. The brief graphic-created clip with the text ‘A new era begins’ was posted without any captions, before the detailed statement followed.

“The time has now come to take the legacy of Don forward and joining us in this new interpretation will be an actor whose talent and versatility I have long admired. We hope that you will show him the love you have so graciously and generously shown to Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan,” a part of the note read, making it crystal clear that there is no hope of SRK reprising the character.

While there have been reports of Ranveer Singh stepping into the shoes of Khan and Big B for the role, there was no official mention of that either in the shared statement.

Reacting strongly to the announcement, a social user wrote, “No SRK NO DON3,” while another added, “No one wants any new era without srk.”

“If SRK is not Hero then we don’t want DON franchise anymore make a fresh film with another actor,” a third fan made clear. “I don’t think so any other actor can match the swag of SRK in Don….#nosrknodon3,” a fourth commented with the boycott brigade.

Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s banner Excel Entertainment got the rights to remake the Amitabh Bachchan starrer 1978 title ‘Don’.

They rebooted the franchise in 2006 with the first movie titled ‘Don: The Chase Begins Again’ starring Shahrukh Khan in the titular role, while the second film, ‘Don: The King is Back’ came out in 2011.

Both the movies were helmed by Akhtar and their banner bankrolled the blockbuster projects.