Farhan Akhtar has immersed himself in making the sequel to his film Don. Farhan’s Don, starring Shahrukh Khan, was a remake of the earlier Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan. The film, was a box office blockbuster. However, Arjun Rampal was supposed to be among the star cast of the sequel, but a few days into the project, Farhan showed Arjun the door.

The director has selected the handsome hunk Kunal Kapoor as the worthy replacement of Arjun Rampal. Now Kunal Kapoor who shot to fame with Rang De Basanti, will be essaying one of the new characters in the sequel.

Bollywood actor/director Farhan Akhtar has isolated himself from rest of the world to write the screenplay for the sequel of “Don”.

According to a source, Farhan Akhtar is in competition with his father Javed Akhtar, to write an equally good script.

“Farhan is in competition with his own father. Trying to equal, let alone better what Javed Akhtar wrote in the first Don, is not an easy task. He has to get the writing right to make the sequel a worthy successor to the remake of the original Don”, a source said.

According to Farhan’s business partner Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan is completely involved in writing the screenplay of “Don 2”.

Farhan Akhtar is certainly a busy boy with not only acting projects but also a new film as a producer and he is getting ready to work on his next project as director. He is working on Kartik Versus Kartik as an actor; he will be producing Abhishek Kappor’s next film and his directing project? Well, that is the highly, highly anticipated sequel to his hit Don that starred Shah Rukh Khan.

In fact Akhtar is not only directing Don 2, he is also writing the script and two newcomers who are also Don fans join him.

Shah Rukh Khan is set to do dangerous stunts in Don 2, his forthcoming film.

In fact Don 2 will be the first Indian film to be shot In Dublin.Says the producer Ritesh Sidhwani, “We’re very much going ahead with the original cast Shah Rukh, Priyanka, Boman Irani, Arjun Rampal and Om Puri.Only those who died in the original won’t return, obviously.”

Also, for obvious reasons, this time there won’t be a double role for Shah Rukh. What he will be be doing is, some of the most heart-in-the-mouth stunts ever done by any leading man and certainly SRK’s most audacious actioner yet.

After releasing Don – The Chase Begins as one of the mega Bollywood Diwali releases in 2006, director Farhan Akhtar is planning to release the sequel Don 2 in a Diwali bonanza in 2010.
According to Sources however have revealed that Priyanka Chopra will also be starring in the sequel opposite Shah Rukh Khan when the film goes to floor in April 2010. The director/actor/singer, who has recently led a full diary due to films Rock On!! and Luck By Chance, has no time to sit in the director’s chair until the summer of next year.

Don 2 which is said to be a continuation of Don has been in the pipeline for a while with the script currently being prepared by Farhan Akhtar, who is also handling the pre-production work required for the film.

Farhan, who strode to fame with his debut film ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, When asked about the much talked about sequel to ‘Don’, Farhan said story and screenplay have been completed. ”I am working on the dialogues. It will go on floors in the first quarter of 2009.

The cast will be the same with a new storyline,” he informed.

Farhan also denied speculations that Deepika Padukone will feature in ‘Don 2.

He said there is no question of any controversy over title rights of ‘Don 2. ”When we bought the rights of the original film, we had made it clear to the producers that we are open to a sequel.

The story line is entirely different and hence I do not think there will be any issues over the title,”he added.

What made him sign as a brand ambassador of the German watch company ‘A Lange & Sohne’, he said he identified with the brand as a creative person and admitted that it was a limited edition and targeted at an exclusive market.

The transition from behind the camera to the front as an actor has not been an easy process for me, said Bollywood filmmaker Farhan Akhtar.

”As a director, there has to be a clarity with which you communicate with the cast and crew on the sets. But an actor has to deal with his internal confusion as to whether he is essaying the right emotions required of the character he is portraying. It is an intuitive process and even though it is not easy, I am comfortable in both roles. As a director, I am creating my own vision on celluloid whereas as an actor, I am being part of somebody else’s vision,” said Farhan while interacting with reporters on sidelines of a function where he was announced as a brand ambassador of the German watch ‘A Lange & Sohne’ last evening.

Farhan, who strode to fame with his debut film ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ few years ago, is making his debut as an actor in Abhishek Kapoor’s ‘Rock On’. He plays the lead vocalist of a band and the film spans ten years in the lives of the band members which includes Farhan himself, Arjun Rampal and Purab Kohli.

Farhan will also be seen playing the lead in sister Zoya Akhtar’s debut directorial venture, which goes on floors in April.

To a question on whether he would give up direction if his acting career flourishes, Farhan replied, ”I am not quitting direction at any cost.” Farhan said his directorial project will go on floors this October. ”It is tentatively titled ‘Voice from the Sky’ and is a Hindi movie,” he said.

There has recently been confusion about who will make the sequel to the 1978 movie ‘Don’.

After making his modern-day version of the film, Don , last year, Farhan Akhtar has not kept secret his wish to make a sequel as well. The director has reportedly been working on the script of the sequel for some time.

But now, Nadeem and Nasir Irani, sons of Nariman Irani who was the producer of the original movie Don (1978) – starring Amitabh Bachchan – are rumoured to be planning a sequel to the film.

If this is true, then Farhan’s sequel, planned with Shah Rukh Khan , may have to be shelved because he doesn’t have the rights to make the movie’s sequel. This would be a big loss to Farhan who had deliberately altered the climax of his ‘Don’ to allow the scope for a sequel.

Moreover, grapevine has it that the Irani brothers want Amitabh Bachchan to star in the sequel, which is said to be titled ‘Return of the King’.

So far there has been no official statement from either Irani brothers or Farhan Akhtar about the sequel.

When yours truly had talked to director Farhan Akhtar’s father, Javed Akhtar (in a bid to elicit some information about the DON sequel), his answer was short and precise. He told me, “I think Farhan is the best person to answer your question. It is better to ask him.”

Well, heeding to the advice (earlier this year), of the legendary writer-lyricist, we have for you the views of the director of the sequel himself. As per Farhan Akhtar (a man of few words), the sequel is very much on and many of the characters from the Shah Rukh Khan-Priyanka Chopra starrer, DON-THE CHASE BEGINS AGAIN (2006), will be retained in the sequel.

Here’s wishing that the sequel to the 50-crore superhit, DON surpasses the original, whenever it hits the screen.