D0N M0VIE REVIEW [3.5/5]

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As a director I have no doubt that Farhan Akhtar was a huge fan of DON. In some weird way, he has managed to keep the essence of DON alive in the first half and kept the story exactly the same. However by changing the story in the second half(and especially changing the context of DON) doesn't work at all. In saying that he manages to direct a action packed thrilling bonanza along the lines of a Hollywood film with panache and flair. No doubt Farhans vision belongs to the school of Jerry Bruckheimer meets Sanjay Gupta and this DON is closer to Sanjay Gupta(KAANTE, MUSAFIR) and Anubhav Sinha(DUS)s brand of cinema rather than the original DON. He keeps the pace alive as the movie moves forward in a full throttle slick manner with picturesque locales, slick action, the stars looking their stylish best, the twists and turns coming out at every point(although after a while it is clear that LOGIC BE DAMNED) and technical finesse as well as some highly addictive tunes reinvented for the modern DON..however this is NOT all that's required to update/remake a classic film by all means. To me, it seemed that Farhan Akhtar was living out his wet dream in a sense(exactly like RGV did with Amitabh Bachchan) but Farhans dream is NOT Shahrukh Khan, it's the character of DON itself. By keeping DON alive itself, in a sense shows a similar kind of obsession that RGV is displaying in SHOLAY with his Gabbar Singh. With the exception of De Silva, Akhtar royally ignores the importance of other characters like Jasjit, Malik, Roma etc and the towards the end the entire movie feels like a self indulgence exercise. Another flaw I found is that Farhan in a lot of ways became LAZY as a director, he relied to much on the old DON to do the work for him that he doesn't really concentrate on developing the characters or their backdrop much at all. He is hoping that the audience vie for Jasjits character merely because Pran managed to enact the character in such a brilliant manner that viewers will automatically feel the same for the CHARACTER despite whoever is cast in the part, which is not the case at all. He should've made more of an effort on etching out the older characters better still. Lastly, the masala angle. DON is regarded as one of the BEST masala films ever churned out in Bollywood history. It's the kind of movie that had viewers clapping, whistling, dancing and singing with Don/Vijay all the way. Farhans DON is devoid of many crowd pleasing scenes, Shahrukh does his best in many scenes to infuse LIFE into the proceedings and with his charm manages to evoke the odd clap and whistle, however its evident that Farhan has taken himself and the movie too seriously in a lot of ways, in trying to imitate Hollywood blockbusters, he has left out the core fundamental aspect of a Bollywood film for the most-masala. In saying that most of the people who were watching DON didn't seem to have a problem with that which indicates that the movie should find acceptance in the overseas market and also in cities. This, in my humble opinion is Farhan Akhtars WEAKEST film to date. Where DIL CHAHTA HAI, and even LAKSHYA to an extent had Farhan directing the film from his heart and adding a bit of soul too, DON is his masturbatory wet dream and there is no heart or soul here..just lust for DON, in saying that it is still intermittently a watch able movie on the level of a "mindless Hollywood blockbuster".

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When it comes to Shahrukh Khan I have always been one very harsh critic on him. At times, I have been called "Anti-Shahrukh" etc and so forth however the simple fact is that I have always admired Shahrukh for being a self-made man as far as a person goes(in that retrospect I have the same respect for Akshay Kumar). His earlier films like RAJU BAN GAYA GENTLEMAN, DARR, BAAZIGAR etc showed immense potential, but since DDLJ the actor in Shahrukh got himself stuck into a rut and the "star" in Shahrukh Khan took over. Despite a few extremely likeable/honest performances like YES BOSS, CHALTE CHALTE, HUM TUMHARE HAI SANAM, HEY RAM and SWADES-Shahrukh on the whole continued to do the same routine over and over again with the same expressions, facial expressions and mannerisms. And why just Shahrukh? Govinda, Sunny Deol, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan to an extent too have managed to get themselves into the same rut, however when KANK came out it was evident that the man needs to reinvent himself. I will say it frankly and honestly---Shahrukh Khans performance in DON worked for me! The biggest culprit here is Farhan Akhtars and his twisted vision rather than Shahrukh Khan the actor. Infact, I would go as far as to say that Shahrukh Khan keeps the movie ALIVE with a bravura performance which in my view is one of his most entertaining performances since MAIN HOON NA and its obvious he's having a field day. His act here is a testament to the old Shahrukh, arrogant, witty, cocky, charming, stylish and above all…DEADLY. Can his performance be compared to Amitabh Bachchan? No..HELL NO! But not many performances can, however given the responsibility on Shahrukhs shoulder here he still manages to triumph by giving it his best shot. As DON , Shahrukh Khan has a field day! He adds his own nuances and touch to the character of DON. Indeed he goes over the top at times, but this is what his fans expect from him and this is precisely what he delivers. His tie being tucked into his shirt(I LOVE THAT STYLE, slick as hell!), his stylish glasses, the evil glint in his eye…he plays the part of a slightly eccentric and psychotic drug lord to the hilt. Infact-I personally felt that Shahrukh could've had a LOT more fun as DON and added a lot more humour. Just witness the scene when he enters into the building where he is going to kill Chunky and his little ballerina dance..a few more touches like that throughout would've been great. Despite his "loveroby" image and him being able to play romantic roles with such ease, I've always found Shahrukh Khan WAY more exciting in darker/action based roles. KOYLA over KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI for me ANYDAY! As Vijay-Shahrukh Khan tries hard…VERY hard and it shows, which is precisely where Vijay doesn't quiet work! It is evident, that playing the village bumpkin does NOT come as easy to Shahrukh as playing the slick and suave DON. Vijay is a character for the masses, and Farhans take on the film doesn't really allow the character of Vijay to really grow on us to have the same affect that Amitabh had with his. Also Shahrukh just didn't convince me as the village bumpkin as he relied heavily on his constant smiling to get him through. On the whole..Shahrukh Khan SAVES DON for what its worth and makes the movie watch able in cinemas! Priyanka Chopra doesn't leave an impact at all. Its weird, but when the movie finished, I felt nothing for Priyankas character or her performance. This is one of the most lifeless performances I've seen as far as acting goes and once again the culprit is Farhan for his interpretation and presentation of Roma. To give credit where its due though, Priyanka looks SIMPLY DELICIOUS! Infact, this is the hottest she has ever looked and with a doubt the girl is just gorgeous. With Rampals Jasjit I again had the same problem that I had with Priyankas Roma. I just didn't feel for the character. There is a little flashback here that wasn't in the original to give us more insight into his character, but even with that Jasjit fails. Rampal is as wooden as ever here and his limp is fake as Prans wig in the original.Pran made Jasjit immortal….Rampal makes Jasjit forgettable! Now if there is a performance in the movie that I just L O V E D with a passion it would have to be Boman Iranis De Silva. For me, Irani is the most talented character actor we have in Bollywood. I maybe jumping the gun here, but when Amrish Puri Saab passed away..I was sad for months and I felt a definite void in movies without him. He was one of the only actors who could play ANY kind of role and bring it to life with his meer presence, style and delivery..and folks..Boman Irani has the same affect on me. Infact-while watching DON I realised how much I actually appreciate and love Boman as an actor(I've never NOT enjoyed a Boman performance). As De Silva Boman too has a field day and he gives a extremely convincing performance. Each time, Boman gives a excellent performance, I think…he will only be remembered by this character..but everytime Boman completes BECOMES the character he is playing…for me, De Silva made this DON work for me as much as Don himself did. Isha Kopikkar looks gorgeous, but has a poorly etched character which doesn't have much to do apart from snarl at Priyanka and look angry. Kareena Kapoor sizzles in her role and looked GRIGGING SEXY, and her performance too is good for a short special appearance. Helen or Kareena? HELEN ANYDAY! Om Puri is royally ignored in a inconsequential role and doesn't have much to do. It is actually really sad to see Om in which a pitiful role. Pawan Malhotra excels as Narang. Hope to see more of this actor in the future. Chunky Panday, Diwakar Pundit, Rajesh Kattar, Shakeel Khan and Sushma Reddy all fail to leave much of a mark. The music is a mixed bag for me. I liked YEH MERA DIL, but prefer the old version anyday. Same applies to KHAIKE PAAN BANARASWALA, the song lacks the zing of the old version. My favourite track in the whole movie has to be MAIN HOON DON, stylishly executed the song comes at the right moment and is a treat. Following that would be MORYA RE which is a perfect introduction to the character of Vijay…however one wishes that there was more of this flavour in the movie. At this juncture I would like to add that Shahrukh Khan dances his heart out here and it shows! It has been a long time since we've got to see Shahrukh dance with so much passion. The background score is comprises of the old background score from the original merged with the "ARAY DEEWANO" song and works fairly well in the movie although it can get a bit over-the-top at times. Technically the movie is akin to a Hollywood movie. The action scenes are superb and big although some of them just defy logic and everything else as well. Witness Shahrukh Khan flying through the air like Superman! On the other hand action scenes like the first fight with Chunky, the first car chase, the fight between Shahrukh and Ajrun, the fight on the plane(my fave) or the climax fight… Mohanans camerawork is stunning, and is up to International standards. From Malaysia to India to Europe the locales have been captured at their glamorous best. All up where does that leave DON? Compared to the original this DON is a disappointment and I'll be frank about it. How I wish Farhan had made the same movie with the different title and NOT called it a DON remake (although it would've been clear it is a take-off on DON). As it stands, Farhans DON works if viewed as a mindless Hollywood popcorn blockbuster embezzled with two very spirited performances from Shahrukh Khan and Boman Irani..nothing more and nothing less!

A.Shah

Final Rating: * * * .