Don (character)

Don
Don character
Amitabh Bachchan (left) and Shah Rukh Khan (right) as Don
First appearanceDon (1978)
Last appearanceDon 3 (2025)
Created bySalim–Javed
Portrayed byAmitabh Bachchan (1978)
Shah Rukh Khan (2006-2011)
Ranveer Singh (2025)
In-universe information
Full nameMark Donald
GenderMale
TitleThe King
OccupationCriminal Mastermind
Drug Lord
Significant other
NationalityIndian

Don is a fictional character in the Don film franchise. He was first introduced in the 1978 film Don. He later appears in a reboot Don and its sequel Don 2. Created by the writer duo Salim–Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar), he was portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan. In the reboot series, Don was played by Shah Rukh Khan (briefly portrayed by Hrithik Roshan in Don 2 in a special appearance).[1] Ranveer Singh was cast as Don in another sequel Don 3: A New Era Begins which will serve as a reboot to the current films.

In the films, Don is characterized as diabolically evil and cunning with zero empathy or remorse, though he is shown to exhibit a little romantic interest in his friend-turned-foe Roma Bhagat. In the original film, he is a lieutenant who works under Vardhaan Makhija. He is killed in a police chase, with Vijay Pal, a lookalike of Don, taking his place to work as an informer to the police. The 2006 remake altered the plot, featuring Don as a lieutenant who works under Singhania, a rival of Vardhaan's. It also adds a twist revealing that Don is alive and had killed Vijay to take his place for a little while. In its 2011 sequel Don 2, he manages to control the entire drug market of the Indian mafia and eventually takes control of the European drug mafia, emerging as an emperor of the Asian and European drug mafia.

The character had appeared in several films, comics, and video games, and has managed to gain a cult status in Indian cinema.[2][3]

  1. ^ "Don 2". FilmiBeat.
  2. ^ "Shahrukh Khan launches DON Game". Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  3. ^ "Chase SRK by playing DON 2 video game". 7 August 2021.