Remake season is upon us. "Don..the chase begins again" is the first of many classics being remade. The verdict is in in the form of reviews...and isnt too positive. Farhan Akhtar must have known that his film, being the first remake to be out, is due to get some slack. I too went to watch the movie with a prejudiced, jaundiced view of the movie..."How could Shahrukh possibly outdo Amitabh"? Actually, he doesn’t, but Farhan Akhtar certainly outdoes Chandra Barot (the director of the original Don) .
PLOT- I’ll keep this short and hopefully "enigmatic", as the twists and turns in the plot is what makes this movie really entertaining. "Don-the chase begins again" is about this bad guy called Don (Shahrukh Khan), who has tried his hand at just about every bad deed in the world, is chased by cops all over, notably one called Mr. DeSilva (Boman Irani), who turns out to be his nemesis. Don is also surrounded by some vengeful, gangster-moll type females Kamini (Kareena Kapoor) and Roma (Priyanka Chopra) who are supposedly hell bent on seeing him dead, although they appear more interested in seducing him!
To make a long story short, there’s a good guy called Vijay who looks like Don, takes his place, and plays a cat and mouse game for the rest of the movie with cops, the deadly females, and this really bad guy called "Vardhan" . I’m on the verge of spilling the beans on the big plot twist, so I’ll stop my story here!
MY TAKE- This version of Don begins as a homage to the original Don. What Farhan Akhtar does is take generously from the original plot, (at least in the first half) and then takes off into new territory, in the latter half of the film, with some fun plot twists, until you forget you are watching a remake.
Some things appear different right from the beginning. The character of Don, for instance, is quite different. Don played by Amitabh Bachchan was cold, ruthless, charismatic, and amazingly sexy! This Don played by Shahrukh is oily, cunning, and a bit manic. Shahrukh, while good in this movie, is no Amitabh, and certainly doesnt carry Don on his shoulders. But you see, he doesnt have to. Unlike the earlier Don, where Amitabh Bachchan sort of holds the film together, with the director and other actors NOT doing such a great job, this version of Don is very much held together by its Director Farhan Akhtar, and NOT by any specific actor.
This movie is slick, cool, moves quickly, has some fun if slightly predictable plot twists, and has characters other than Don who are interesting. Boman Irani as DCP DeSilva is almost as important as the Don character, and plays his part very well indeed . Priyanka Chopra as Roma, with her glamour + acting skills, too adds more value to the film than a superbly glamourous but terribly wooden Zeenat Aman did. Arjun Rampal is unnecessary in the movie, but at least he isnt as ridiculous and unintentionally funny as Pran was in the original! My only major casting grouse is Om Puri...why the heck was he in this movie? What a waste of one of the most fantastic actors in the industry today.
The songs are good too...not fantastic or memorable, but good, and well choreographed. The background score is superb. The action sequences are pleasing, if you look at it from an Indian movie making point of view. They dont compare to Hollywood action flicks, but they certainly are amongst the best in Indian cinema.
All in all, I was throughly entertained for the three odd hours I spent watching Don. You can tell that Farhan Akhtar has had a lot of fun making this film. It doesnt touch your heart as his earlier films "Dil Chahta Hai" and "Lakshya" did, but then again, I dont think its meant too. After making such introspective films, I think the director needed a break and needed to make a fun film. So he took a good story written by his dad, added some contemporary masala to it, took an ensemble of mostly good actors, and made a terrific entertainer. My last word on the movie..This version of the movie Don IS superior to the original, taken as a whole.