First of all, "Don" is an important film for Indians because it is a modern remake of a 1978 cult classic starring Bollywood legend, Amitabh Bachchan, but I'm confident that this up-to-date Don will also appeal to an English/American audience which is tiring of the usual loud, hard-core Hollywood action-suspense blockbusters. Take a bit of 007 James Bond, Tom Cruise and Mission Impossible, mix with sophisticated Indian song and dance routines and some essential Bollywood-style sentimentality, and you've got "Don": a slick, suave and smooth crime-action-suspense drama, Indian-style. Filmed mainly in Malaysia, "Don" has a splash of all the Western-style trappings such as exotic locations, high-tech gadgets, stunning city skyscrapers, dare-devil stunts, unbelievable action and beautiful girls, yet the overall style and impression of the film is still pleasantly subdued and refreshingly sophisticated, especially when compared to its American counterparts. This might be partly due to the very clever script with several unexpected twists and turns, as well as attention to the personal emotions of some of the characters, but let's face it: how can you take an indestructible drug-trafficking bad guy like Don seriously when he breaks into a song and dance routine every 20 minutes?Keeping faithful to the original famous Seventies "Don", it is most appropriate that the new Don is played by Mr Bachchan's successor to the Bollywood throne: Shahrukh Khan, who manages to make bad look cool with the ease of a sneer and the flick of a cigarette. Move over, Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis and `Big Arnie' Shahrukh Khan is all of these, and far more. A mega superstar in India for over a decade, Khan has played an impressively vast range of diverse characters with his trademark dynamic, expressive and emotive manner which has made him incredibly popular with men, women and children viewers alike. Although some of his best-known films are glossy feel-good romance musicals in which he is the nice-guy hero (such as Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Veer-Zaara and Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham), I personally find his bad guy and psycho roles far more fascinating and entertaining. In fact, he began his successful career with such challenging psycho/bad guy roles, (Darr, Baazigar, Ram Jaane, Anjaam) and in "Don" he is able to combine both good and bad characters as he plays a dual role: the bad-as-bad-can-be Don, and his exact look-alike, harmless and innocent Vijay, who is recruited to help the police bring down Don's crime gang. It sounds simple enough at first, but the plot gets more involved and intriguing, until the final climactic twist takes your breath away. While in my personal opinion Khan's best dual performance is in "Duplicate", a surprisingly good action-comedy from several years ago, his performance in "Don" is no less entertaining and exciting than his other successful roles. Some expertly-crafted music and choreography, as well as attention to photography and overall colour/lighting of the film are other highlights which enhance the story and Shahrukh Khan's character. Needless to say, "Don" is an essential addition to any Bollywood collection, and also a nice change for anyone with a taste for foreign films which have something new and different to offer. The packaging of this DVD is just as slick and sophisticated as the movie, with good photos and comments by cast and crew, a bonus disc of special features (although the 1-hour "Making of..." is without subtitles and a bit hard to follow) and for a special treat, try to get the DVD (released in the UK) which has a thick comic book with pictures straight from the movie.
I bought this from Amazon last month and realize now when I watch it that this movie sold by Lola's Dream is not a Blu-Ray at all. The cover is blu-ray but the disc is a DVD format. DO NOT GET THIS MOVIE. I will be making an official complain to amazon about this. Lola's Dream is a con company.Shahrukh Khan once said he wanted to be the first Indian James Bond. But what need now--Don is way cooler. The film has all the fun hallmarks of a Bond flick--exotic locations (Paris and Kuala Lumpur), beautiful women, criminal masterminds, high-tech gadgets, fantastic fight scenes, and glamorous parties--but it is not a take-off of the 007 franchise. Rather, it's a remake of the 1978 Bollywood cult classic Don, which starred Amitabh Bachchan in the title role. The character is not ambiguous like Bond, but a bad, bad man--and Khan makes him his own.
Don is in charge of the Malaysian operations of a global crime syndicate run by Singhania (Rajesh Khattar), and Don has designs on ousting his boss and taking over the whole organization. Police inspector D'Silva (Boman Irani) is trying to catch Don, Singhania, and another mysterious mobster, Vardhaan. When Don kills Ramesh (Diwakar Pundir), an underling who tries to go straight, Ramesh's fiance Kamini (Kareena Kapoor) goes undercover and tries to seduce Don. But he dispatches Kamini as well. So Ramesh's sister Roma (Priyanka Chopra) worms her way into Don's gang--with much more success. D'Silva has his own mole--Vijay, a Don look-alike (also played by Khan). D'Silva secretly captures Don and puts Vijay in his place, and the good-hearted goof feigns temporary amnesia until he learns to play the part of the utterly smooth, outrageously arrogant sociopath. Roma and Vijay don't know they're on the same side, and Don's girlfriend Anita (Isha Koppikar) is jealous of the sparks between them. There's a suspenseful, complicating subplot involving the lost boy Vijay cares for, Deepu (played by Tanay Chheda, one of the child actors in the 2008 Slumdog Millionaire) and Deepu's estranged father Jasjit (Arjun Rampal), which ramps up the emotional stakes.
Don marks a career turning point for actor Arjun Rampal. The former model went from so-so to solid as Deepu's desperate dad (and his trajectory continued with a memorable role in the 2007 Om Shanti Om, a National Film Award for his performance in the 2008 Rock On!!, and critical acclaim for his turn in the 2010 Raajneeti).
Farhan Akhtar, the talented director of the coming-of-age film Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and the military drama Lakshya (2004), shows off his versatility with this stylish action thriller that's full of surprises. (The original Don was co-written by his father, Javed Akhtar.) He's also directing the sequel, Don 2: The Chase Continues, which is expected to release at the end of 2011. Khan, Chopra, Irani, Koppikar, Rampal, and Chheda will be reprising their roles. Lara Dutta will join the cast.
The Bollywood Ticket: The American guide to Indian movies (Subscribe: The Bollywood Ticket)
Read Best Reviews of Don - (Blu Ray) Here
Loved it! If you enjoy Shah Rukh Khan films and are looking for one that isn't a love story this is a great one he did. Keeps you thinking and the ending is great can't wait for the sequel.Want Don - (Blu Ray) Discount?
Don is slick and well conceived on plot with lots of surprises along the way. When I was trying to work out originally whether this one was for me I wasnt sure how serious it was or whether it was a light Bollywood. For those who have the same question in mind it isnt really light overall.Don is an arrogant psychopath drug trafficker and I'm afraid, unlike other Bollywoods, good doesnt win in the end and the nasties dont meet their consequences. This may not particularly bother you or you may like endings that arent politically correct. For those not in that category be aware that the surprise ending actually left me and my adult daughter feeling quite uncomfortable and gave us a restless nights sleep after. Those we had identitified with dont triumph (sorry about the spoiler but you may need to know that if you want to assess whether this is for you).
I have given it a 5 because of its quality but a different ending would have made me more excited about this movie.
Given the amoral ending its fascinating that Indians wanted to do this movie twice (it is a remake of an earlier celebrated one) and seem to love the character of Don.
The music was fine but none of it stayed with me or stood out. A few of the dance sequences were good so there was song and dance amongst the plot (something I also wasnt sure of when reading prior reviews).
Save 50% Off
No comments:
Post a Comment