Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar made headlines when he revealed he was approached by the Border 2 makers to rewrite the songs from the first part—J.P. Dutta's 1997 blockbuster Border. He refused, citing "creative bankruptcy." He said he didn't feel the need to create "nostalgia." Two decades ago, when Javed Akhtar's son Farhan picked up Chandra Barot's 1976 caper Don, starring Amitabh Bachchan, for the remake, Javed Akhtar said he wouldn't go for a remake if given a choice.
During a Rediff interview, Javed Akhtar said, "Perhaps not. I see what Farhan's point is, and it is totally valid. It is a good point. But if I had to choose 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?"
Javed Akhtar's response came after his son Farhan reasoned why he chose Don for the remake.
"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.
On the other hand, Javed Akhtar wanted to remake films like Yash Chopra's Kaala Patthar (1979), Mashaal (1984), and Rahul Rawail's Arjun (1985).
"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 they could have been corrected. If I had taken one avenue instead of another, those films could have been much better," he argued.
Javed Akhtar remained true to his words. Even last year, when Chandra Barot died, 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."
In 2006, Farhan Akhtar remade Don with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead. Priyanka Chopra and Kareena Kapoor were also a part of the film
