Oct 21, 2006 09:06 PM
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(Updated Oct 21, 2006 09:08 PM)
WOW Shah Rukh is no longer a prisoner of his image.No longer timid,no longer shy.He dares now to step beyond his usual raj-rahul act and steps into sacrosanct Bachan territory.For a few fleeting moments he forgets that he is shah rukh khan and embraces the heart ,soul and body of the Big B"s much talked about don that the superstar played with such nonchalent ease in chandra barot"s film way back in 1978.
Gone here now is Shah Rukh"s hamming spree,gone are the languid ways.Instead there is a swagger in his walk ,and some purpopse in his talk.And such irrepressible energy.Untamed, unbridled, a one man army that takes farhan akhtar"s film to safe waters .
For quite a while here Shah rukh manages to prove the pundits wrong :yes, he is a star,but he is an actor too.His fan followings come as much from his familiar old charisma as his craft.As don in this technical savvy, visually enthralling film he packs quite a punch. In some of the scenes he manages the bachchan part incredibly well: in others he falls short .Notably the "Khaike Paan Banaraswala." song where he is a pale shadow of what the Big B achieved some 30 years ago. Or some of the dialogue where his facial expressions,his eyes dont quite have the menace one assiciates with bachchan .
These are ,however , only some of the stray moments in the film .Otherwise "Don"in its all new avatar is not just a dusting off the orignal.The director takes the good old script,borrows a couple of songs, retains most of the character all right ,but also gives new twists and turns .Which means that just when you sit back , happy and comfortable in the knowledge of whats going to happen next, there is a suprise. And that gives this film a new chytzpah. Despite being a remake, the director manages to infuse a element of ingenuity,startling all of us.
This con game involving a cocaine trader who kills people like one swats flies in the countryside and flees from the scene faster than the cops reach,has its flaws too.Notably ,the girls.
Priyanka chopra with her stiff waist and less than elementary acting skills is no Zeenat Aman. Though she tries hard in the action sequences,this is another listless performance from the girl who failed to sparkle in"Krrish" not long ago too.Then there is kareena, who tries to do a helen and learns an important lesson :there was ,is,and will be,only one helen.And isha koppikar?Didnt notice her doing anything worthwhile in this film. Maybe she signed it to stave off boredom from underemployment.
Keeping the girls company in the negative section is the films editing and music .The thriller with all its fast cars ,faster guyes,bullets and baddies needed tighter editing.As for Shanker_Ehsaan_Loys music ,well ,suffice it to say that the good old 'khaike paan." is still more delicious than any one of the new stuff they have churned out.
Yes ,there are negatives but they dont outweigh the positives. Which means you can go ahead ,sit back,watch and enjoy farhan akhtars designer "don" this diwali weekend.And maybe come back suprised that Shah Rukhs is not such a pale imitation of bachchan after all.
