Though little-known actor Vijay Maurya did a fairly decent impersonation of India's most dreaded don in 'Black Friday', the one who really got people to sit up and notice him as Dawood Ibrahim was Ajay Devgn in RGV's Company. With his broody looks and quiet demeanour, Ajay gave Dawood's screen image a fantastic boost.

Ram then cast Randeep Hooda as Dawood in 'D', but neither the film nor Randeep got noticed. Milan Luthria, who recreated Mumbai in the 70s most authentically, cast Ajay Devgn as Haji Mastan and for Haji's protege Dawood, Milan brought in the irreverent Emraan Hashmi.

Says Milan, "You cannot have made a film on Mumbai in the 70s and not touched upon Dawood. Emraan fit the bill of the young Dawood perfectly.

" Now the filmmaker is ready with the script of the sequel to 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai', and this time it is Akshay Kumar who will fill in the shoes of Mr D in his later years. Says a trade analyst, "When he unveiled the look of Dawood, dressed in white, at Ekta Kapoor's award ceremony last year, Akki brought the house down.

" Of course, Ekta's fascination for Dawood continues. On February 29, she will unveil her 'Shootout at Wadala'.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Gupta plans to create a huge splash when he shows off 'Dabangg' baddie Sonu Sood as his Dawood. And Sonu actually feels the role is iconic.

They've all played Dawood. And while B-town continues to debate who fits the bill of the don perfectly, there are at least two other films in the pipeline about Dawood (less)