Movie Review - DON

Mass meter - *** 1/2 (hype)
Class meter - *** (Only for the style /attitude / technical upgrade:-)




Question is whether remakes should be encouraged or not ?

There is a generation of people who have seen the original like in the case of DON, who may feel that it is sacriligious to their favorite movie, then there are multitude of AB Fans who are waiting to run the movie down. How can we forget the SRK fan club who are sure that he is the DON …..

Personally I feel remakes should be watched in isolation with no attempts
at comparing the products.
With very heavy expectations, Dir- Farhan Akhtar sets out to adapt DON starring superstar SRK and give it a contemporary look . The movie is high on SQ - Style Quotient and the production values are as expected from the banner . Farhan Akhtar as a director / technician has only grown in leaps, with his very 3rd outing and refuses to keep on dishing the same formula which has worked in the past for him.

The Plot - Most of you all would know the same, hence leaving this aside….:-)

The Crew in this cut of DON - SRK as DON / Vijay delivers a restrained and powerful performance which could not have been possible if his regular circle directors would have been at the helm of affairs (In which case, the entry of DON would have been in slow motion and there would have been n number of stuttering hyperactive sequences …aaaee…types) . The dialogue delivery by DON is full of attitude required for the character. The best dialogues are reserved by the director for DON .Boman Irani shifts gear from always seen in comedy slot to super cop D'silva and displays his versatality . Priyanka Chopra as Roma is as delicious as cherry on a dessert . Isha K as DON's tol moll ke bol is good enough and further enhances the glamour index . Kareena Kapoor in a cameo looks ultra sexy (whether she can beat Helen's part is left to the reader) . Om Puri seriously requires some complimentary Gym Membership quickly . Arjun Rampal is okay and sleep walks through this role …Sushma Reddy is in a blink and you miss cameo.

Cinematography by Mohanan is top notch , mix that with stylish action sequences and razor sharp editing . Music by SEL is good , with Aaj Ki Raat stealing the show for the disco era style like picturisation, wonderful….!

Sorry but Khaike Paan Banaras wala fell flat on face …..

Background scores by SEL creates the mood required for the movie.

Besides this there are lot of other good actors who have been assigned a walk through part in the ensemble. Malaysia as the location serves as a good virgin backdrop if you are tired of NY vignettes in most of the movies .

The Twist In The Tale - If the complete starcast / crew was not enough for the newness of this film, farhan decides to add intrigue in the script. I felt though the idea was innovative it had some see through loopholes . The movie is fast paced in the first half and drags towards the pre-climax especially the arjun rampal track…..Cannot put my finger on that one thing missing
in the movie which could have made it 4 star rating for sure, but musters 3 stars only for the entire execution and ensemble .

Sometimes the best of efforts do not yield desired outcome . DON fell in that category for me at least .

The Era of Multiplexes accompanied by smart marketing, the excitement surrounding this movie and the Diwali / Eid festive weekend will only set the cash registers ringing, no doubt about it .

If you are a SRK fan dont miss it, if AB fan rejoice and rent the DVD of original DON again.