Before refusing to rewrite Border 2 songs, Javed Akhtar said he’ll never remake Don despite Farhan Akhtar-Shah Rukh success: ‘Accept failure’

“I think Don is the one film from that time that in my mind lends itself to being remade today. For me, it is a film that back then was a little ahead of its time. I don’t say so technically — not the way it was shot, or the sets, or whatever. But the way the story was told, the language the characters spoke, the writing style there was, it was very modern even for its time. So today, when you adapt it, it fits very easily into a contemporary space,” Farhan told Rediff in a 2006 interview.

Farhan argued that unlike Don, other seminal films written by Salim-Javed — Yash Chopra’s Deewaar (1975), Ramesh Sippy’s Sholay (1975), and Chopra’s Trishul (1978) — have been remade, though “not officially,” multiple times over the years. If they’re remade officially today, they’d come across as more dated. “But Don — no one has gone into this area as often as they have gone into these other movies, and I think it fits into the modern sensibility of movie viewing quite well,” he added.

Amitabh in and as Don (1978).

Why Javed Akhtar wouldn’t remake Don

However, when Javed Akhtar was asked if Don is the film he’d remake from his filmography, he shook his head. “Perhaps not. I see what Farhan’s point is, and it is totally valid. It is a good point. But if I had to chose from my own films, I would pick one that after writing it and after watching it on screen, I felt oh god, I should have done this or that. So I would like to remake it, rewrite it to mend that mistake. As a writer I don’t have a problem with Don, so why would I want to remake it?,” said Javed.

Instead, he’d pick films like Chopra’s Kaala Patthar (1979) and Mashaal (1984) and Rahul Rawail’s Arjun (1985) as the ones he’d want to remake. “I feel they were very good films; they were very good plots, they were very interesting characters. But somewhere, I missed the bus as a writer, especially in the second half. The mistakes were minor, but it could have been corrected. If I had taken one avenue instead of another, those films could have been much better,” argued Javed.

His stance has remained steadfast across the next two decades. Even last year, when Chandra Barot passed away, Javed wrote on X as part of his tribute, “I will always be loyal to my Don. Don, for me, is the 1978 original, a film written by Salim-Javed. The films made later by Farhan are definitely successful and well-made, but I will stay loyal to my film.”

Heaping praises on the OG Don, Javed added, “Don was the first caper of Hindi cinema. It was one of its kind. Like other films of those times, Don didn’t mull over melodrama, had no emotional backstory or rely on histrionics. I remember Chintu (Rishi Kapoor) saying in his classic tongue-in-cheek way, ‘The whole film looks like a trailer!’ What he meant was the film had that ‘on the move’ tempo, and it was all Barot’s vision. He invented that style, and that to me was most unique.”

Javed Akhtar on Border 2

Even though he remains faithful to the original Don, Javed Akhtar did give his blessings to son Farhan for the 2006 remake. He even rewrote some of the popular songs — “Khaike Paan Banaras Wala”, “Yeh Mera Dil,” and “Main Hoon Don” — for the new Don. However, he chose to distance himself from rewriting the lyrics of Border 2 songs.

“They did ask me to write for the film, but I refused. I really feel this is a kind of intellectual and creative bankruptcy. You have an old song that did well, and you want to put it out again by adding something? Make new songs or else accept that you cannot do the same level of work,” Akhtar told India Today.

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Akhtar’s popular songs like “Sandese Aate Hain” and “Jaate Hue Lamho” from Border have been rehashed for its sequel. Manoj Muntashir has provided the additional lyrics for “Ghar Kab Aaoge”, the new version of “Sandese Aate Hain”. While Anu Malik gave the original music, the song has been redone by Mithoon. Border 2 is slated to release in cinemas this Friday on January 23.