Here is the rewritten and expanded version of the events, starting from the release of Don 3.
Chapter 18: The Seven Day War and The Ghost in the Credits
Diwali 2006. The Release of Don 3: The Endgame.
The world didn't just line up; it mobilized.
In Mumbai, the queues started at 4 AM. In Paris, teenagers camped outside Le Grand Rex in sleeping bags. In Tokyo, the Shibuya crossing was flooded with billboards of Aarav Pathak wearing the signature sunglasses.
But no one was ready for the ending.
Day 1: Friday. The Day of Mourning.
12:00 PM IST.
The first shows ended across India.
The audiences walked out in stunned silence. Some were crying. Others were angry.
They had seen the climax: The massive explosion over the Thames. The police confirming the DNA. The funeral. The end of the legend.
2:00 PM IST.
The backlash began.
TV channels flashed breaking news: "DON IS DEAD. FANS REVOLT."
In Patna, a group of college students burned posters of Farhan Akhtar.
In Chennai, a theatre owner had to call the police because fans refused to leave the hall, demanding a "real ending."
The report reached Villa Vienna.
"They hate it," Ritesh Sidhwani paced the room, sweating. "They feel betrayed, Aarav! They are saying we killed their hero for a cheap emotional ending. Ticket cancellations have started for the evening shows."
Aarav sat on the sofa, watching the news. "Wait," he said. "Just wait."
6:00 PM IST.
It started with a single blog post on a forum called Rediff.
User: KingFan007
Post: "YOU IDIOTS! HE IS ALIVE! DON'T LEAVE THE HALL!"
The rumor spread like wildfire via SMS and early Orkut communities.
"There is a scene after the names! Wait for the credits!"
In 2006 India, nobody waited for credits. As soon as the song ended, the lights came on, and people rushed to the parking lot to beat traffic.
But the evening show audiences paused. They stood in the aisles, unsure. The ushers tried to clean the hall, but the crowd refused to move.
Then, it happened.
The screen went black. The credits finished.
The sound of a lighter flicking open. Click.
The gloved hand appeared on screen. It picked up the sunglasses from the debris.
The camera panned up to the reflection in the glasses.
A familiar, sinister laugh echoed.
DON KO PAKADNA NAMUMKIN HAI.
9:00 PM IST.
The theatre in Gaiety Galaxy exploded. It wasn't applause; it was mass hysteria. People were jumping on seats. Strangers hugged each other. They threw coins at the blank screen.
The news channels changed the headline: "THE GHOST RETURNS! TICKET SALES DOUBLE!"
Day 2: Saturday. The Fashion Pandemic.
By Saturday morning, the film wasn't just a movie; it was a lifestyle.
Aarav had sported a specific look in the film: Shoulder-length messy hair, a three-piece grey suit, and a long black trench coat (for the London sequence).
New Delhi, Connaught Place:
Barbershops were overwhelmed. Young men (20-30 age group) were walking in with pictures of Aarav.
"Bhaiya, Don wala cut chahiye." (Brother, I want the Don cut.)
"But Sir, your hair is short."
"Put extensions! I don't care!"
London, Oxford Street:
Zara and H&M reported a sudden, unexplained stock-out of long black trench coats.
They were baffled. It wasn't winter season yet. Who was buying coats?
The answer: Young British Asians and Europeans who wanted to walk like Him.
The "Don Walk":
Aarav had a specific swagger in the film—hands in pockets, head tilted slightly, walking slow while everyone else rushed.
In malls across Dubai and Singapore, you could spot the fans. They weren't walking; they were gliding.
Day 3: Sunday. The Female Hysteria.
If the boys wanted to be him, the girls wanted to possess him.
Aarav Pathak was 36 years old. He was in his prime. In Don 3, he was dangerous, broken, and impossibly handsome.
Tokyo, Japan:
A video surfaced on the internet. A group of Japanese women in their 20s, sobbing outside a theatre.
Reporter: "Why are you crying?"
Girl: "He is too lonely! I want to save him! Aarav-sama!"
Mumbai, India:
Matrimonial sites saw a weird trend. In the 'Partner Preference' section, thousands of girls updated their status: "Looking for a guy with Aarav Pathak vibes."
Preity Zinta, sitting in her home, watched a news segment where a girl screamed, "I will marry him! I don't care if he's a criminal in the movie! He needs love!"
Preity smiled. "Good luck with that, honey."
Day 4 to Day 7: The Global Verdict.
The collections were not just breaking records; they were making a mockery of them.
Monday (Day 4): The film earned more on Monday than most films earn on Friday. Repeat value was 100%. People who missed the post-credit scene went back just to see the 30-second clip.
Wednesday (Day 6): The film crossed $100 Million Worldwide in less than a week.
Reaction from the West:
James Cameron (Director of Titanic, prepping Avatar), in an interview with Variety:
"I saw the clip of the helicopter chase. The physics... it's audacious. Hollywood is scared of taking risks these days, but this Indian actor... Pathak? He looks like he's daring the camera to kill him. It's pure kinetic energy. I'd love to see him in 3D."
Quentin Tarantino (Director of Kill Bill):
"That chopstick kill in Part 2? And the London drift in Part 3? That's my kind of cinema, man. It's violent, it's stylish, and it doesn't apologize. This guy is the Indian Bond, but with more soul."
Reaction from Home:
Shah Rukh Khan (In a press conference):
"I have always said, there are Stars, and there are Superstars. Aarav has created a third category. He is a Phenomenon. Don 3 isn't a film; it's a movement."
Salman Khan:
"Arre, I went to buy a leather jacket yesterday. The shopkeeper said, 'Sorry Bhai, out of stock. Aarav took them all.' What to do?" (Laughs).
The Aftermath. Villa Vienna.
Aarav sat in his living room. The floor was covered in flowers sent by fans. The security outside was doubled because girls were trying to climb the walls just to breathe the same air as him.
He looked at the TV.
A montage of fans from Germany, Nigeria, and Indonesia, all doing the "Don Salute."
He felt a hand on his shoulder.
It was Preity. She had walked in through the back gate again.
"They love you," she said softly.
"They love Don," Aarav corrected, his voice tired. "They love the coat. The hair. The swagger."
"They love the man who made them believe in it," she said. "But do you love him?"
Aarav looked at the reflection in the TV screen. The long hair. The tired eyes.
"No," he whispered. "I'm tired of him."
He stood up.
"System," he thought.
[System Ready]
"Archive Career. Activate Vacation Mode."
[Career Mode: PAUSED.]
[Vacation Mode: ACTIVATED.]
He turned to Preity.
"Pack your bags," he said. "And bring sunscreen. We are going somewhere where no one wears trench coats."
Chapter 19: The Island of Silence
December 2006. The Private Island, Maldives.
The world was still burning with Don Mania. The radio was blasting the theme song. The malls were full of lookalikes.
But here, there was only the sound of the Indian Ocean lapping against white sand.
Aarav Pathak lay on a hammock tied between two palm trees. He was wearing a floral shirt (unbuttoned) and shorts. His hair was loose, blowing in the wind.
He looked... human.
Preity walked out of the villa carrying two coconuts. She sat on the sand beneath him.
"You know," she said, sipping her drink. "The internet says you have been kidnapped by aliens. Or that you are secretly shooting Don 4 in space."
Aarav laughed. It was a rusty sound, like an engine starting after years. "Let them talk. For the first time in ten years, I don't care about the Friday opening."
The Detox.
The first week was hard. Aarav would wake up at 4 AM, looking for a script. He would reach for his phone to check stock prices.
Preity confiscated the phone.
"No," she said firmly. "Look at the ocean. Count the waves. If you talk about the Sensex, I will throw you in the water."
Slowly, the "System" noise in his head faded. The constant prompts for [Quest Available] and [Reputation Update] became background noise, then silence.
He started cooking. He made pasta. He burnt the toast. He laughed about it.
He swam. Not for a movie scene, not to look good shirtless, but just to swim.
January 2007. The World Tour.
They decided not to hide. They decided to live.
They traveled to Italy.
They walked through the streets of Florence.
A group of Indian tourists—a honeymoon couple—spotted them near the Duomo.
The girl gasped. "Oh my god. Is that...?"
The boy froze. "Don."
Aarav saw them. Usually, his bodyguards would block them. But he had no bodyguards.
He smiled. A genuine, dimpled smile that reached his eyes.
"Hi," Aarav said.
The couple was shaking.
"Sir... we... huge fans. We watched Don 3 five times."
"Five times?" Aarav winced playfully. "My condolences to your eardrums. That background score is loud."
They laughed, shocked by his humor.
"Can we...?" the boy held up a camera.
"Come," Aarav pulled Preity closer. "Let's take a picture."
He put his arm around the boy's shoulder. He didn't pose like a superstar. He posed like a friend.
The picture was uploaded to Orkut the next day.
Caption: "Met God in Florence. He is so chill. He is so humble. He made a joke about his own movie!"
The photo went viral.
The narrative shifted.
From: The Intimidating, Arrogant King.
To: The Humble, Down-to-Earth Legend.
February 2007. Kyoto, Japan.
They were in the Bamboo Forest.
Preity held his hand. "You've changed, Aarav."
"How?"
"You used to walk like you owned the street. Now you walk like you're enjoying the street."
Aarav stopped. He looked at the tall bamboo stalks swaying in the wind.
"I realized something," he said softly. "The Empire... the money... the records. They are heavy, Preity. Being just 'Aarav' is light."
He looked at her.
"I don't want to go back to the race. I don't want to fight Shah Rukh or Hrithik anymore."
"So what do you want to do?"
Aarav grinned. "I want to play cricket."
Preity raised an eyebrow. "Cricket?"
"There is a new league starting," Aarav said, his eyes twinkling with a new kind of ambition—not for dominance, but for fun. "Lalit Modi called me before we left. It's called the IPL. T20 format. City against City."
"He wants you to buy a team?"
"He wants us to buy a team," Aarav corrected. "You and me. Partners."
Preity's eyes lit up. She loved cricket.
"Which city?" she asked.
Aarav thought about it.
Mumbai belonged to Ambani/Sachin.
Bangalore was Mallya.
Kolkata was Shah Rukh (Aarav knew this from the future).
"North," Aarav said. "The place where I started. Punjab. Mohali."
"Kings XI Punjab?" Preity laughed.
"Why not?" Aarav shrugged. "Let's build a team. Let's cheer from the stands. Let's eat parathas."
[System Alert]
[New Arc Available: The Sports Tycoon]
[Objective: Buy an IPL Team]
[Reward: National Spirit + Fun]
Aarav swiped the notification away. He didn't need the reward.
He kissed Preity on the forehead.
"Let's go home, Partner. We have an auction to win."
[End of Chapter 18]