ওয়াশিংটন বাংলা রেডিও Washington Bangla Radio USA

Calcutta, Dec 23, 2011 (Washington Bangla Radio / Penning Creations) Drumrolls please! The most anticipated Bollywood movie of the year (sorry, ‘Team Ra.One’!) has finally hit the theatres. Back in 2006, when director Farhan Akhtar announced his intentions of remaking the Amitabh Bachhan-starrer 1978 cult classic ‘Don’, eyebrows had been raised and doubts had been expressed regarding the ability of Akhtar to match up with the style quotient of the earlier movie. Sceptics had also questioned whether Shahrukh Khan would be able to step into the large shoes of Big B (in terms of acting, not literally!). The movie, however, went on to become one of the biggest hits of the year and left cinegoers clamouring for more. Finally, the sequel to one of the most stylish Bolly underworld films has arrived and it can easily be said that, with this film, Farhan Akhtar has another winner on his hands.

‘Don 2’ follows the activities of ‘Don’ (Shahrukh Khan) after he duped one and all and managed to stage a dramatic escape in the final act of the first movie. With the police as well as his own gang members whom he had betrayed searching for him in vain, ‘Don’ achieves his ambition of becoming the undisputed king of the Asian underworld. But, hey, when you have managed to fool the police forces of 11 countries, your thirst for more power would be insatiable, right? So, this time, ‘Don’ sets his sights on taking over the underworld of the European markets. For the highly resourceful and extremely cunning ‘Don’, this dream seems easily realizable too. As the man says himself, ‘Ab mujhe koi nahi rok sakta.’

Don 2 Trailer

It’s not all smooth sailing for our evil protagonist, however. ‘Roma’ (Priyanka Chopra), who already had a vendetta against ‘Don’ since the day her brother ‘Ramesh’ was murdered by the latter, suffered further heartbreak when ‘Don’ played with her emotions, before finally deserting her. Vowing revenge, ‘Roma’ has now joined Interpol and is determined to find out the master villain, from wherever he might be hiding. She finds an able mentor and ally in ‘Officer Mallick’ (Om Puri) and the two together constantly try to keep up with the trickeries of ‘Don’.

Another potential obstacle to Don’s ambitions of taking over the world lies in the form of the canny ‘Vardhaan’ (Boman Irani). He holds a grudge against ‘Don’, who had ensured the failure of his best-laid plans, as a result of which, he is now languishing in a prison in Malaysia. When ‘Don’, somewhat surprisingly, surrenders to the police and holds out a hand of friendship towards ‘Vardhaan’, the latter agrees, but he has sinister plans of his own. ‘Don’ has to defy all opposition, be it in the form of police or enemies from the underworld (of whom he has many) to lay his hands upon a safety deposit box, which had been hidden in a secure place in Switzerland by the now-deceased ‘Singhania’ (Rajesh Khattar). In the meantime, ‘Sameer Ali’ (Kunal Kapoor) embarks on his own mission to find out more about the plans of the scheming criminal mastermind. What follows is a riveting tale of trickery, deceit, twists and conflicting ambitions that no movie-lover can afford to miss. If you had liked ‘Don’, you will fall in love with ‘Don 2’.

Farhan Akhtar, with ‘Don 2’, once again proves that he is one of the best storytellers in the Hindi film industry. The young director has a keen eye for detail, as is evident in several portions of the movie. The dialogues (penned by Akhtar himself) are witty, smart and pack quite a punch. The film is a visual delight, thanks to the expertise of ace cinematographer Jason West, who captures the locales of Berlin, Switzerland and Malaysia quite beautifully. The gripping screenplay, the unexpected and thrilling plot twists and the sheer style quotient of the movie ensures that the audience is never bored during its running length of 17 reels.

‘Don 2’ features stellar performances from most of its leading characters. Priyanka Chopra, as the kickass ‘Junglee Billi’ is stunning and pitches in with one of the best performances of her career. Some of the action stunts performed by this hugely talented actress are literally jaw-dropping. Boman Irani, as ‘Vardhaan’, is top-notch. Even when he is teaming up with his arch-rival, ‘Don’, a sense of anticipation and foreboding regarding his actual intentions linger. Irani is easily one of the best character artists that we have today. Om Puri, as ‘Officer Mallick’, is reliable as always. Kunal Kapoor’s ‘Sameer Ali’ is an interesting addition to the star cast of the ‘Don’ franchise. To his credit, Kapoor manages to fit into his character perfectly. The same, however, cannot be said of ‘Lara’ (Lara Dutta), who looks glamorous onscreen, but is often found wanting in the acting department. Nawab Shah and Alyy Khan are adequate in their roles.

When a film is named after its main protagonist, it is absolutely imperative that the latter delivers a superlative performance. Shahrukh Khan, reprising his ‘Don’ act, does precisely that and then some more. The swagger, the smirk, the dimpled smile and the smart dialog delivery of Khan breathes life into the character of ‘Don’. For someone who revelled in ‘anti-hero’ roles in the early parts of his career, playing the ‘bad man’ comes easy to Khan. Shahrukh’s ‘Don’ is cold, cruel and yet, so suave and polished, that the audience cannot help but root for him, even when it is clear that his plans are far from being honest.

On the flipside, the music of the film comes as a slight downer. The movie mostly relies on the theme tunes from its predecessor (which, admittedly, were extremely impressive) and the lack of originality in the background score is slightly disappointing. With the exception of ‘Hai Ye Maya’ (wonderfully sung by Usha Utthup) and ‘Zara Dil Ko Thaam Lo’, the rest of the songs are rather ordinary.

‘Don 2’ is easily the most stylish, thrilling and entertaining underworld movie to have ever come out of the Bollywood stable. The tightly woven storyline, the edge-of-the-seat thrills, the slick action sequences and the bravura performances by most of the star cast make ‘Don 2’ the must-watch film during this holiday season. Yes, the film has minor flaws and a weak musical score, but when so many factors are going for the movie, we are ready to gloss over such trivial issues. The ‘Don-isms’, mouthed by an impressive Shahrukh, are, probably, the standout features of the film. An extremely popular six-feet tall matinee idol appears in a brief cameo. Unlike many other extensively marketed movies, this flick actually lives up to its pre-release hype and buzz.

And yes, Don’s comment about his mother is a classic.