~Mona darling, did you love Don?~. Review on Don: The Chase Begins Again

The chase begins again.

Movie Don

The Plot(movies.sify.com)

A huge Indian contingent embarks on a dangerous cat-and-mouse trail of capturing DON (SHAHRUKH KHAN) - the ruthless drug mafia in Malaysia. When DON gets seriously injured in a police encounter, the word that he is dead begins to do the rounds. The reality, of course, is that DON is held captive in a secret location, while his bumpkin of a look-alike, Vijay, is polished and sent to take down DON's gang.

In a bizarre twist of fate, when the man shielding the humble and streetwise Vijay, is killed, the latter comes to terms with the horrifying realization that both the police and the gang are out to nab him for different reasons. In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, he is aided by the glamorously staggering Roma (PRIYANKA CHOPRA), and handsomely striking, Jasjit (ARJUN RAMPAL), who owes Vijay a favor for care-taking his son during his imprisonment. But will Vijay be successful in his mission?

My Review

There's one way to know whether you liked a movie or not - if you leave the theatre hall muttering disgustingly about the price of the ticket(in my case 220/-) you realise you've had a bad time!

And sadly, so sadly, that's been my experience about Don....

You know, the previous day, I kept thinking, "I'm going to see Don...its gonna be supppperrrr! and I will write in my MS review - friends, I've been bloody entertained!". Needless to say, I've been disappointed....credit the movie makers for not making it bloody disappointing!

Did Farhan Akhtar want to make a tribute to the original Don starring Amitabh Bachchan or he simply wanted to do a remake because he loved the original? I felt entirely disconnected watching this movie. At no time, did I feel any sympathy, empathy or affection to any of the characters, save Arjun Rampal's. More of that later.

Did Farhan want viewers to remember this movie for its performances, script or the nostalgia it brings when one thinks of the original version? Sadly again, none of the three come to mind. All I can think of is the very good special effects and the stunt by Shahrukh Khan(or his double, whatever!) thousands of feet high in the air, zipping through the sky and fighting with the villain.

Ya, the plot was good. Nice twists too. But without total focus and sensitivity, supporting such a script becomes a difficult task. And somewhere during the movie, Farhan lost the touch. It's like shoving a Cornetto to your nose. The more you move forward to taste it, the more farther it seems! I kept searching for that special moment in the movie that would have left me exhilarating. Alas, that moment didn't come.

C'mon, this is Don movie. DON!!! Atleast the beginning scene of Shahrukh Khan should have been paisa-vasool. Nope. How about the final scene of SRK? Just okay again.

The songs are good....seems to me the only time everyone(visuals, choreography & energy) did their best ; be it the 'Main hoon Don', 'Yeh mera dil....pyaar ka deewana' or even 'Paan banaras wala'...

Shahrukh Khan tried his best....did whatever he could under his thick mane of hair to save the movie. But even the charismatic Khan has his limits. A flick of his cigarette cannot lighten up a movie, you know(pun intended).

Priyanka Chopra and Isha Koppikar had nothing(yawn, yet again) significant to do. Ofcourse, Priyanka had bumper initial & middle scenes and after that, it was simply fizzzzzz....

Om Puri was horribly wasted. What a shame!

Kareena Kapoor shined in her guest appearance, Her 'Yeh mera dil' item number must have left a huge chunk of male audience sighing audibly :)

Boman Irani was class and, I believe, the best performance in the movie. That was a damn good baddie act.

Arjun Rampal has my 101% sympathies & affection. He sweats & sweats, grunts & grunts and even limps badly so that the movie can triumph. Critics will never blame him because he has been so earnest throughout. And irrespective of the fate of the movie, he'll receive a flood of offers due to Don.

Sorry friends, Don didn't entertain me. I'm just left with some picturesque shots of Petronas Towers(tallest towers in the world) and other scenic places of Malaysia and gorgeous, leggy foreign ladies jigging with SRK in 'Mein Hoon Don'....

I still have feelings for Farhan Akhtar(don't get any ideas! I meant I still think he'll come up with a biiiig movie one day that will blow us away). He's young, like me. And successful too. Surely he will be more careful and better prepared next time. Experience only glows you.

Director - Farhan Akhtar

Year - 2006

Starring - Shahrukh Khan, Boman Irani, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Isha Koppikar

Verdict ~ Come, Mona darling. Let's go back & watch the original Don and try not to cry....