Fun Enclave - View Single Post - [My Review] Don the chase begins movie review

Safin · SPOILER WARNING! - Click here to see actual storyline

"I am a Wanted man across the world, but you must understand one simple fact,,It's not difficult to catch Don, Its impossible."

Don The Chase Begins Again
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Ishaa Koppikar, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Boman Irani, Chunky Pandey
Music: Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy
Screenplay - direction: Farhan Akthar

The much anticipated remake of Don is here. Before we go into the review lets face it, this movie is going to be compared with the origional no matter what. So i might as well do that at the top of the review. SRK, the hottest and the topmost actor(atleast if you go by trade analysts) in bollywood today to replace the master actor bollywood has ever produced in Amitabh Bacchan, you couldn't have asked for more. And well SRk won't dissapoint you. He has delivered another top class performace slipping into the character with ease and love him or hate him SRk does deliver as good a performance as you can hope for from any of the present generation of actors.
Having said that comparing SRK with BigB is still no go. BigB has the kind of screen presence that SRK cannot match period. "Khaiyke paan banaras wala" is the case in point. I don't know what was wrong, the song in todays settings or the actual song picturization, it just does not compare with the original one.

The Story:

The basic story remains the same as old Don. The setting ofcourse is different. SRK is the original DOn who handles drugs and the Mafia. Boman Irani(surprize surprize!!) plays the role of the cop(remember the cop in the old flick). As in the original he manages to catch him and finds a lookalike SRK to impersonate DOn. And while the new "don" is still learning the tricks of the trade, Boman is killed in an accident leaving DOn all alone and faced with both the gangsters and the cops on his tail.

SPOILER WARNING! - Click here to see actual storyline
The drug trade is booming. Trafficking between Asia and Europe is at an all-time high. There are rumors that a dreaded gang has moved their operational headquarters to Kuala Lumpur. The cartel is headed by Singhania (Rajesh Khattar), but the business is managed by his lieutenant Don (Shah Rukh Khan). An Indian officer Desilva (Boman Irani) has sworn to put an end to the nexus. He knows that in capturing Don lies the key to unlock this puzzle. And he succeeds one day. Don is captured and Desilva puts his plan into action. Unknown to even his own department, Desilva recruits and trains a man who is a splitting image of Don. His name is Vijay. Vijay infiltrates the cartel and manages to give Desilva all the information he needs to bring it down. But in a bizarre twist of fate, Desilva is killed during a raid and the secret that Don is in fact Vijay is buried with him. The only people who realize that he's an imposter are the members of Don's cartel (Pawan Malhotra and Shakeel Khan) and they want their revenge. Vijay manages to escape and is now on the lookout for the one last piece of evidence that can get him out of the mess. Helping him on this quest are two people: Roma (Priyanka Chopra) and Jasjit (Arjun Rampal).

End Result:

Ok have to say, the movie is far more advanced as compared to the old one in visual detail(expected that anyway, you have a 30 year jump right) plus malaysia offers a picturesque surrounding and style that's quite unmatched. The girls, the places, SRk all add the style to this movie and glamour is certainly not in short supply(to attract the crowds ofcourse, we all saw the promos of the hot scenes anyway) The story is made keeping in mind the present generation and almost all will love the fight sequences and the action(the boman actual don chase for example is presented quite superbly) The climax of the movie is again brilliantly handled. imo, one thing that is differnt and leaves you, well excited.(will certainly jolt you anyway

Songs:

Lots of glamour, lots of cleavages, hot scenes, hot girls and digitally remastered songs of the original movie. Somehow i don't like the "remastering" of the old songs in the first place and more often than not they end up real bad anyway. "khaiyke paan banaras wala" seriously sucks in this regard compared to the original. Kareena's "yeh mera dil" is hot but hardly compares to Helen's original(well you make a remake be prepared to face the music.) Helen didn't look obscene, Kareena sure did.

Performances:

SRK all the way. He is the stylo in bollywood and there is no doubt about that. The way he slips into each character is superb and he brings out the character thats both arrogant and despicable, lovable and charming. without breaking a sweat. He is still no BigB, and for all those who wanna compare him, please don't. Srk has his own individuality and thats what shows in Don. Boman Irani as a police guy, really after the roles as a comic artist, is not something i could digest easily but to his credit he has acted them as well as anyone could. Arjun Rampal delivers awesome action sequence and for a change shows he can act. The girls(kareena, priyanka(rona darling

), Isha all are in highly glamourous roles and while the latter two are cool and sexy, Kareena is a huge let down. She is no match for Helen in original. Farhan Akhta's direction is great. The movie has class and style and brings out the new gen don with great effects, plus the climax is handled superbly by him.

Conclusion:

As with the original(the character revolved around BigB) this movie is about Shahrukh. The fight sequences, the chase, the songs are all slick and stylish and will make you sit glued(ok not all the time, its 3 hours+ long movie) but atleast the end is handled well(how many times can we say that for bollywood movie. Go see it for SRK and for the style, Don't go to see it to compare with original cos there is no comparison and you won't enjoy it then. Worth a watch..

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