Farhan Akhtar Reveals What He Has Learned From Don 3 Setbacks

Filmmaker and actor Farhan Akhtar has opened up about the long-delayed third instalment of the Don franchise, stating that the project still holds strong creative importance for him. 

His last directorial outing in the series was Don 2, which featured Shah Rukh Khan and Priyanka Chopra in lead roles.

Over the past few months, speculation around Don 3 has continued, with the most recent development being Ranveer Singh stepping away from the project after initially being linked to the lead role.

In a recent interaction with The Hollywood Reporter India, Farhan Akhtar admitted that the past few years have been particularly challenging, adding that he has learnt to "expect the unexpected". 

He further explained, "Nothing can be taken for granted till you actually have it on film," highlighting the uncertainties surrounding large-scale productions.

Despite the delays and setbacks, Farhan Akhtar subtly made it clear that the film is far from being shelved. He described Don 3 as one of the "incredible stories" he still wants to bring to life.

The Controversy

The film, however, has been caught in controversy following Ranveer Singh's exit. Farhan Akhtar's production banner, Excel Entertainment, is said to have approached the Producers Guild of India, claiming that the actor's last-minute withdrawal caused losses of around Rs 40 crore.

As per reports, Ranveer Singh claimed he left the project because he was not satisfied with the script.

He later alleged that Farhan Akhtar wanted to bring Hrithik Roshan on board; however, Dhurandhar's success changed his mind.

A few days ago, Hrithik dismissed the claims and clarified that he was never approached for Don 3.

He told Variety India, "What started off as just a rumour has now taken a life of its own, and it's important to set the record straight. I would like to categorically clarify that I was never approached for Don 3 at any given time. I request the media to steer clear of any such unverified reports."

Ranveer Singh On Board for Don 3

In 2023, the production house announced that Ranveer Singh would be playing the titular character in the third installment.

Farhan Akhtar shared a post, saying, "A new era begins."

A New Era Begins #Don3 @RanveerOfficial #JasonWest @javedakhtarjadu @ritesh_sid @ShankarEhsanLoy @PushkarGayatri @j10kassim @roo_cha @vishalrr @excelmovies @rupinsuchak @chouhanmanoj82 pic.twitter.com/i1hHrl6fuo

— Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) August 9, 2023

Don Franchise

Don is the 1978 classic headlined by Amitabh Bachchan. Farhan Akhtar brought the first remake in 2006 with Shah Rukh Khan leading the charge. In 2011, he also helmed the sequel, titled Don 2, with Shah Rukh Khan.

ALSO READ: When Hrithik Roshan Supported Farhan Akhtar In Picking Shah Rukh Khan For Don Over Himself

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Melania Trump Calls Jimmy Kimmel "A Coward" Over "Expectant Widow" Joke

US First Lady Melania Trump lashed out Monday at comedian Jimmy Kimmel over a joke likening her to an "expectant widow," a jibe with eerie resonance after a shooting at a dinner attended by Donald Trump.

Even though Kimmel made the remark in a monologue days ago, right-wing commentators who support Trump have resurrected it to call for the head of the talk show host.

Administration officials say a gunman who tried to storm a media gala dinner with a shotgun Saturday night in Washington was apparently targeting Trump and other administration officials.

Security officers subdued the man after an exchange of gunfire.

In the aftermath of the drama, right-wing critics claimed that Democrats criticizing Trump were responsible for fueling extremism -- even though the president himself has repeatedly broken precedents with violent invective against opponents, the media, the courts and immigrants.

As a prominent late-night comedy host, Kimmel has been at the heart of the debate over constitutionally protected speech.

In his monologue last Thursday, Kimmel portrayed himself as the MC of that upcoming banquet, a glitzy yearly event called the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Kimmel's jokes included one in which he addressed the first lady in the audience and said, "Mrs Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow."

Trump turns 80 in June and is the oldest president ever to take office in the United States. His wife, a former model who was born in Slovenia, is 56.

Hitting out at Kimmel Monday on X, the first lady said Kimmel's "monologue about my family isn't comedy -- his words are corrosive and deepens the political sickness within America."

Kimmel was briefly suspended from his show on the ABC network last September following government pressure after he said Trump's hard-right MAGA movement was trying to make political capital from the assassination of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk.

"A coward, Kimmel hides behind ABC because he knows the network will keep running cover to protect him," the first lady added on Monday.

"Enough is enough. It is time for ABC to take a stand. How many times will ABC's leadership enable Kimmel's atrocious behavior at the expense of our community."

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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Sehwag Shuts Down Iyer's Selection In India's T20I Team, Gives Blunt Reason

Much like every season, the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign has seen several Indian players make a case for national selection. Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stars Devdutt Padikkal and Rajat Patidar have impressed heavily, leading to many experts and fans calling for their entrance into the Indian team. RCB mentor Dinesh Karthik has been one of those, stating that Padikkal's sensational form would make it very hard for the BCCI selection committee to ignore him. However, legendary India opener Virender Sehwag expressed disagreement, raising a different perspective.

Sehwag suggested that there is no place in the Indian T20I side for players like Padikkal, Patidar or even Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal, as the current national side is extremely strong.

"Dinesh Karthik is saying that Padikkal should play for India, but every season players emerge who feel that they should play for India. But where is the space in the Indian team?" said Sehwag, speaking on Cricbuzz.

"There is no place for Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Devdutt Padikkal, and there are many more players. There is no place for Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Yashasvi Jaiswal. There are five players who are scoring runs, but who will you drop for them? Where is the space?" Sehwag added.

India's T20I team has grown into arguably the strongest T20I side of all time, winning two T20 World Cups in a row, in 2024 and 2026. Under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, India have not lost a single T20I series till date.

Padikkal has had a superb IPL 2026 campaign, slamming 208 runs in just six innings. He has already slammed three swashbuckling half-centuries in that period. What has been even more impressive is his strike-rate of over 184.

Padikkal has represented India twice in T20Is and twice in Tests, but his last international appearance in the shortest format came nearly five years ago.

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Fabulous Lives Of Cartel Wives: Women Masterminds Of Latin Drug Businesses

Latin-American drug cartels are globally known to be dominated by men. Whether it is the geared-up foot soldiers, the gang leaders or the hitmen, men have always been the face of the cartels. However, the recent killing of the world's most-wanted traffickers, Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera Cervantes, in a daring operation by the Mexican military has revealed that sometimes it is the cartel women that you need to watch out for. 

El Mencho had a $15 million bounty on his head and was wanted by both Mexican and US authorities. While he was successfully on the run for years, it was one of his lovers that led the military to the mountains of Tapalpa in western Mexico, where he was hiding, according to a CNN report. 

While the lover's identity has been kept hidden, her role in one of Mexico's most significant anti-drug operations underscores the role of women in Latin America's drug cartels. From trophy wives to smuggling operatives and masterminds, women have been involved in every level of cartel operations. And if they are married to the bosses, they are often involved in more decision-making roles. 

"If you are the wife of a senior cartel boss, you are likely read into their logistics, their operations, their strategies. So, when your husband is captured or killed, it's possible that you're able to take over a large chunk of the business," Henry Ziemer, an expert on organised crime at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN. 

Griselda Blanco: Queen Of Cocaine

Colombia's Griselda Blanco was one of Latin America's most famous woman crime bosses and known as the "Queen of Cocaine". She had three husbands, all partners in her businesses and responsible for shipping huge shipments of cocaine from Colombia to Miami in the 1970s and 80s. She was recently portrayed by Sofia Vergara in Netflix's series "Griselda". 

Griselda was known to have links with both Pablo Escobar and the Medellin Cartel and was the mastermind behind several killings. "Even by the context of how hits were taken out in the cartels across the Americas in the 70s and 80s, she's still pretty ruthless," Claire White, director of education at The Mob Museum in Las Vegas, told CNN.

Griselda also hired more women than men and employed them as smugglers. "She had that ability to recognise skills and see women and put them into those positions," Elaine Carey, historian and author of 'Women Drug Traffickers: Mules, Bosses, and Organised Crime', told CNN.

Antonella Marchant

Antonella Marchant ran the Los Marchant clan alongside her father in Chile and specialised in financials and logistics. Los Marchant imported large quantities of cocaine from Bolivia and distributed it in the southern part of the Chilean capital, Santiago. 

Antonella and her father were sentenced to 15 years in prison, and her brother was sentenced to 12 years in 2023 for an operation in December 2021 that involved more than 300 kilograms of cocaine. 

Rosalinda Gonzalez Valencia: La Jefa

Rosalinda Gonzalez Valencia, known as "La Jefa" or "The Boss," was El Mencho's wife. The US sanctioned her brother Abigael and the Los Cuinis family-based cartel he led. The cartel has been closely aligned with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and it is Rosalinda to whom El Mencho owes his own ascent in the Jalisco cartel.  

"In reality, El Mencho reached the (Jalisco) cartel's leadership through a diplomatic strategy via marriage," Mexican public security expert David Saucedo told CNN. Rosalinda has been accused of being one of the group's financial masterminds and was also charged with money laundering in 2018. 

"Rosalinda's role in the cartel is pretty fundamental in the sense that she has always been involved in the money side. (Besides) when people in that world are married, they're not living what you and I would consider a conventional marriage. Who knows whether they were still romantically involved?" Deborah Bonello, author of 'Narcas: The Secret Rise of Women in Latin America's Cartels', told CNN. 

Emma Coronel Aispuro 

While Rosalinda came from a cartel family, not all narco-wives came from a drug background or were visibly involved in operations. For instance, Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and a California-born former beauty queen, is mostly known for her modelling career. She has appeared in music videos, modelled for brands and also become an influencer with over five lakh followers on Instagram. She has always denied involvement in any of her husband's businesses. 

Coronel was, however, arrested in 2021 and sentenced to three years in prison after she pleaded guilty to money laundering and drug trafficking charges related to El Chapo's narcotics business.

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Raghav Chadha Loses 1.1 Million Instagram Followers After AAP Rebellion

Seven MPs, two-thirds of the AAP's total strength in the Rajya Sabha - these were the headline numbers when Raghav Chadha announced he was quitting the party, and a merger with the BJP was in the offing. 

Less than a day later, there was another figure that was grabbing eyeballs: 1.1 million. 

That is the number of followers the Rajya Sabha MP lost on Instagram since he made the announcement.

The move has triggered sharp reactions both within the party and on social media.

NDTV tracked Raghav Chadha's Instagram account after reports emerged that users were unfollowing him. According to the data, on the day of the announcement, he had 14.2 million followers.

As of now, his follower count has declined to 13.1 million, indicating that nearly 1.1 million users have unfollowed him within just 24 hours.

Reacting to the drop, AAP MLA and spokesperson Sanjeev Jha said, “Party volunteers and supporters have started unfollowing him on Instagram because he betrayed the party. People do not like his move. He always made reels to attract them, but that is also not working in his favour.”

Another AAP leader said the drop in social media followers indicates that his popularity is declining.

Amid these developments, AAP has taken a strong stance against the rebel MPs. AAP said that “seven of our MPs have joined the BJP through illegal means. This is against the anti-defection law.” The party added that the law does not recognise such a split as valid and that action should be taken.

The party said it would write to the Rajya Sabha Chairman, demanding the disqualification of these MPs.

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US, Iran Prepare For 2nd Round Of Talks In Pak Without Vance, Ghalibaf

After days of stalemate, the United States has confirmed that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will head to Pakistan on Saturday for a new round of talks with Iran.

"I can confirm Special Envoy Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be off to Pakistan again tomorrow morning to engage in talks...  with representatives from the Iranian delegation," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Friday.

Leavitt added that everyone will be on standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary, but first, these top aides will go there and report back on the situation to US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Steve Witkoff, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, have been central to the first round of talks held in Pakistan on April 11 and 12.

Both US Vice President JD Vance and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the leader of the Iranian negotiating team in the first round of talks, will notably be absent from the second round of talks.

This comes after Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced a "timely tour" to Pakistan, Oman and Russia focused on "bilateral matters and regional developments".

"Embarking on a timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow. The purpose of my visits is to closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments. Our neighbours are our priority", he wrote on X.

Earlier, Iran said that it won't hold talks until the US lifts its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, while the US side was demanding verifiable assurances that Tehran will end its nuclear programme and lift its own blockade of the strait.

At a Pentagon briefing on Friday, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said Trump had said the US “had all the time in the world and we are not anxious for a deal”.

He added that Iran had a chance to make a "good deal, a wise deal".

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Mojtaba Injured, A 'Board' Of Generals Helps Take The Calls In Iran

Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is dependent on the advice of the generals in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to manage the country, who collectively make the decisions, The New York Times reported.

"Mojtaba is managing the country as though he is the director of the board. He relies heavily on the advice and guidance of the board members, and they collectively make all the decisions. The generals are the board members," said Abdolreza Davari, a politician who was a top aide to former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with ties to Mojtaba Khamenei.

Mojtaba has been in hiding since the US-Israeli strikes killed his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. Although he survived with injuries, his wife and son were also killed in the bombing. Currently, access to him is limited, with only doctors and medical staff treating his injuries.

To prevent Israeli tracking and potential strikes, senior Iranian military and political leaders have ceased visiting Mojtaba. His treatment is currently being overseen by the health minister and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is himself a heart surgeon.

The report says that even though the Supreme Leader is "gravely wounded", he is mentally sharp and engaged. 

One of his legs has been operated on thrice, and he will be using a prosthetic for it. His arm has also undergone surgery and is gradually regaining function. His face and lips have been severely burnt, which makes it difficult for him to speak. Officials have said that he might even need plastic surgery.

Moreover, Mojtaba has not issued a statement verbally because he does not want to appear vulnerable or "sound weak", which is why he only issues written statements.

Owing to Mojtaba's safety, injuries and challenges of reaching him, the decision-making has been delegated to the generals. The report states that "ultra-hard-liners" are still participants of political discussions and the influence of clerics is diminishing.

How The Guards Have Taken Over

Iran's power structure is currently being steered by the Revolutionary Guards, who hold sway across multiple centres of authority. The force is led by Ahmad Vahidi, while Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a former hardline commander, now heads the Supreme National Security Council. Another key figure, Yahya Rahim Safavi, continues to wield influence, as he served as a senior adviser to both father and son supreme leaders.

Meanwhile, the elected government has been pushed to the sidelines. The president and his cabinet have largely been tasked with maintaining internal stability, ensuring consistent supplies of essentials like food and fuel, and keeping day-to-day governance running smoothly, according to officials familiar with the situation.

Diplomatic authority has also shifted. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, who previously led negotiations with the United States, has seen his role diminished. In his place, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has assumed a more prominent position in shaping the country's external engagement.

Strategic military decisions, ranging from operations against Israel and Gulf nations to the closure of key maritime routes, have been driven by the Guards. They have also overseen ceasefire arrangements with Washington and sanctioned both backchannel outreach and direct talks. Notably, senior Guard commanders were, for the first time, directly included in Iran's negotiating team with the United States.

That said, Iran's political system has never operated as a single, unified bloc. Its structure deliberately accommodates overlapping centres of power, where disagreements are frequent and sometimes openly aired. Figures like Pezeshkian and Araghchi still retain positions on the National Security Council.

Even so, within the current leadership framework, the balance of power appears firmly tilted toward the military establishment. For now, the generals remain aligned, with little indication of internal fractures.

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