It is the middle of the sea. 5 influential
men of the European drug cartel sit on a yacht, having a heated discussion.
They cannot stand the sight of each other, but they have to tolerate them, because
they have one common interest which has to be addressed before it’s too late – to
kill Don. What follows is a
remarkable spectacle of brilliant film making virtually unknown in the Indian
film industry – an experience which delights as it happens, and when it ends,
fills your mind with images that make you want to undergo the experience again
and again!
Don-2, written and directed by Farhan
Akhtar, has the best written screenplay in a Bollywood film in recent times.
The story has a great pace about it that never really lets you lie back. You
are on the edge of your seats right from the moment the movie begins. It has plenty of negative characters including Vardhaan returning from the first movie, and a couple others thrown in to make one grand party! From
Europe to Thailand, Malaysia to Berlin, the story runs in a brisk fashion,
leaving your heart pounding for action. And when the action begins, by god, you
don’t want it to stop!!
The trailer gave us a hint of what to expect. Don surrenders himself to the Police to rescue Vardhaan from prison. Together, they plot a plan to loot the DZB (cant expand it, some German shit I cant pronounce or spell), Germany's largest Reseve Bank where they print the Euro Currency notes. To those who think Don is after the money, he makes it clear "Mujhe paise mei koi interest nahi". He is not interested in the money. Then ??
He is after the currency printing plates. Why take truckloads of cash when you can print it yourself with the plates??
That's Don for you.
If you are complaining that I let out the film's plot to you, I have to tell you that there is still too much for you to keep track of in the film. Every scene, every second of the film has a vital link. I can only advise you to go easy on coke or water or any other liquid before the film. You don't want to make one trip to the bathroom and end up losing track of the entire film!!
I always knew Farhan Akhtar was a great
film maker. He is famous for bringing his father’s Don to our generation, and until
yesterday evening, Don was a remake
of the 1978 film. But after Don-2, people will remember Don (1978) as the film
that inspired the Don series. It is
always difficult to make sequels to hugely popular films cos more often than
not, it is the first movie of the series that is enjoyed the most, but Don
breaks that trend. And no one gets bigger credit for this than Farhan Akhtar.
Talking of credit, another man deserves a
big applause for Don-2 - no prizes for guessing who. Shah Rukh Khan comes back
in the role that he loves so much, and we love seeing him in so much. Shah Rukh
Khan can finally sleep well after the RaOne nightmare, knowing that people
across the country still love him, when he lets the director do stuff.
It is regular for actors to own characters and fill it with a lot of themselves. But the great thing about the Don series is that the character is slowly growing bigger than the actor.When you come out of the film, it is one of the rare moments when the character dominates your experience more than the actor himself. Almost everyone I asked about the film after I came out said “Great film man, Don was fucking awesome!!” and not “Shah Rukh Khan was fucking awesome!!” The only time I have witnessed this before is with the 007 franchise and that’s a mark of how the Don character has captured the imagination of the audience.
It is regular for actors to own characters and fill it with a lot of themselves. But the great thing about the Don series is that the character is slowly growing bigger than the actor.When you come out of the film, it is one of the rare moments when the character dominates your experience more than the actor himself. Almost everyone I asked about the film after I came out said “Great film man, Don was fucking awesome!!” and not “Shah Rukh Khan was fucking awesome!!” The only time I have witnessed this before is with the 007 franchise and that’s a mark of how the Don character has captured the imagination of the audience.
Another important feature of the film is
its awesome score by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. I know a lot of people were
disappointed with the soundtrack of the film (my dear friend Prasad even went
to the extent of calling it “a cheap remake of the first part”, and I feel too
that the trio are well beyond their peak) but the music of the film is
haunting. It has only two full length songs (thankfully!!) ‘Zara Dil ko Thaam
Lo’ and ‘Hai Maya’ which are appropriately placed in the screenplay and directed really well. One may
feel sad that there is no ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ or ‘Main Hoon Don’ in this, but trust
me, any more songs would have dampened the movie. This film was about pace and
speed and any more songs and dance would have been irritants as they so often
are.
Brilliant screenplay and direction, a Don with a killer edge, awesome background score, you will think that this is
almost all that defines Don-2. But then you gotta add in the ensemble cast and
their performances, be it Priyanka Chopra returning as the “junglee Billi” Roma,
or the versatile Boman Irani as the Don’s scheming cold blooded nemesis
Vardhaan. Kunal Kapoor makes a decent attempt to get noticed among all this as
a young computer hacker, Samir Ali, and manages to leave a mark. Lara Dutta
appears on and off and along with Hrithik Roshan who appears briefly, is credited
for guest appearance in the end titles.
It has been a trend for the past few years
that the last film released in the calendar year also becomes the most
successful. While Aamir Khan has been the Ruler of December in recent years,
this time its Shah Rukh Khan’s turn to carry the flag. He is after all, the King
Khan. And as a Shah Rukh Khan fan, I take great pride that at the end of the
day, as all the promo’s of the film proclaim, The King is Back.
Verdict:
Don 2
Highly Recommended.
4/5 stars.
Watch it before crappy reviewers and mindless critics spoil the experience for you.
