''Don: The Chase Begins Again'', better known simply as ''Don'', is a 2006 Indian
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
-language
action thriller film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influen ...
. The film was produced by
Ritesh Sidhwani
Ritesh Sidhwani (born 1973) is an Indian film producer. He is the co-founder of Excel Entertainment along with Farhan Akhtar. His first film as a producer, ''Dil Chahta Hai'', won the National Award in 2001. Through his vision, Excel Entertainm ...
and Akhtar's production company
Excel Entertainment
Excel Entertainment is an Production company, Indian production company, founded by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar in 1999. Based in Mumbai, they mainly produce Hindi films. In 2017, they released India's first original series for Amazon ...
. The film stars
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
as the titular
anti-hero
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...
and
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...
as Roma. While
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on to ...
,
Isha Koppikar
Isha Koppikar (born 19 September 1976) is an Indian actress, model and politician who has mostly appeared in Hindi cinema. She has also acted in several Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Marathi films.
Background
Koppikar was born in Mahim, Bombay (no ...
,
Boman Irani
Boman Irani (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian actor, photographer and voice artist who works predominantly in Hindi cinema he has also worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. He has acted in more than a 100 films in his career.
Ear ...
,
Pavan Malhotra
Pavan Malhotra (born 2 July 1958) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and television alongside Punjabi and few Telugu films. He has played lead roles in Buddhadeb Dasgupta's National Film Award-winning '' Bagh Bahadur'' and Saeed Akht ...
,
Rajesh Khattar
Rajesh Khattar (born 24 September 1966) is an Indian actor, voice artist and screenwriter from Bollywood. He was married to Neelima Azeem and is the father of actor Ishaan Khattar and step father of Shahid Kapoor.
Personal life
Khattar was bo ...
and
Om Puri
Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada,English, Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also starred ...
appears in supporting roles.
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ''née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood, Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for pl ...
makes a special appearance. ''Don'' is the
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
version of the
1978 film of the same title, and follows the
titular criminal's look-alike who has been sent on a clandestine mission to impersonate Don after he is wounded in a chase, and to gather intelligence on the drug mafia.
In remaking the film from a new perspective, Akhtar wanted to give a contemporary style and treatment to the original film and make a film that he believed would be perfectly suited to modern times. The director later bought the rights and conceived his adaptation as an
homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
to the original film and its cast and crew, and to the 1970s era in general. He co-wrote the screenplay with his father,
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 200 ...
, who had also written the original script with
Salim Khan
Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 24 November 1935) is an Indian actor, film producer and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplays, stories and scripts for numerous Bollywood films. Khan is one half of the prolific screenwriting d ...
. He kept the basic plot but introduced some changes that included an international setting and a different ending.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
commenced in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
, before moving to
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, where 80% of the filming was done. The
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
was composed by
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongst t ...
, with lyrics by
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 200 ...
.
''Don: The Chase Begins Again'' released on 20 October 2006, coinciding with the festive season of
Diwali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...
, clashing with ''
Jaan-E-Mann
''Jaan-E-Mann'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Shirish Kunder and was produced by Sajid Nadiawala. The film stars Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta. This was Kunder's debut film as a director. He ...
'' starring
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
,
Akshay Kumar
Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...
and
Preity Zinta
Preity G Zinta (pronounced ; born 31 January 1975) is an Indian actress and entrepreneur primarily known for her work in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. After graduating with degrees in English literature, English honours and criminal psychology, Z ...
. It proved to be a major commercial success, grossing over 1.06 billion at the box-office against a production and marketing budget of 400 million, thus becoming the
fifth highest grossing Hindi film of 2006. It received positive reviews from critics, with praise for its action sequences, soundtrack, production design, cinematography, and Khan and Chopra's performances.
''Don'' won Best Asian Film at the
Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival
The Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) is a Swiss film festival dedicated to fantastic movies. It was created in 2000 and is now renowned internationally as one of the foremost film festivals in the world for genre cinema. Th ...
. The film also received 9 nominations at the
52nd Filmfare Awards
The 52nd Fair One Filmfare Awards ceremony, presented by The Times Group and Fair One, was one of India's most prestigious awards ceremonies, honoring the best Bollywood films of 2006. It took place on 17 February 2007 at the Yash Raj Studios, M ...
, including
Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and
Best Actor (Khan).
A sequel entitled ''
Don 2
''Don 2: The King Is Back'', also known as ''Don 2'', is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written, co-produced and directed by Farhan Akhtar. It is the second installment in the '' Don reboot series''. Jointly produced by Excel ...
'' was released on 23 December 2011.
Plot
The illegal drug trade based in
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
is booming. A team headed by Deputy Commissioner of Police De Silva targets the operations of cartel leader Singhania to capture his manager, Mark Donald (aka Don). Singhania is one of the two lieutenants of a deceased kingpin, known as Boris; the other is Vardhaan.
Don kills Ramesh, one of his close associates, after he tries to leave the gang. Ramesh's fiancée Kamini decides to help the police. She uses herself as bait in an attempt to trap him, but Don, knowing of her plan, kills her.
Roma, Ramesh's sister, plans to avenge her brother and sister-in-law's deaths, and infiltrates Don's gang. Don is injured and falls into a coma while trying to flee from the police. De Silva finds a look-alike named Vijay and asks him to join his mission. Vijay agrees when De Silva promises to admit Deepu, a boy Vijay takes care of, to school. Meanwhile, Jasjit, an information technologist and Deepu's father, is released from prison. He plans to kill De Silva to avenge his own wife's death. Several years ago, Jasjit was captured by an unknown assailant who made a deal with him in order to save his kidnapped wife. However, De Silva caught him and refused to believe Jasjit, shooting him in the leg and giving him a permanent limp. Jasjit's wife died after his arrest.
At the hospital, a doctor gives Vijay scars identical to Don's. When Don suddenly dies after the operation, the masquerade begins. Vijay, posing as Don, joins the gang. De Silva asks Vijay to find a computer disc containing details about the drug cartel. When Vijay finds it, Roma attempts to kill him, but De Silva tells her of Don's real identity, and she agrees to help. Vijay hands over the disc to De Silva. De Silva murders Singhania, and the police arrest Vijay. De Silva is killed in the shootout, devastating Vijay, as De Silva was the only person who could prove that he is not the real Don. Having discovered his true identity, Don's associates turn against him. Vijay escapes and meets with Roma to recover the disc and prove his innocence.
Jasjit finds the disc in De Silva's apartment. He receives a call and is told that he will have to bring the disc to the men who are holding Deepu hostage. He learns that De Silva has been alive all along and is actually Vardhaan, Boris's other lieutenant, who was using Vijay to reach Singhania. Jasjit reunites with Deepu and teams up with Vijay and Roma. The trio comes up with a plan and informs
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
.
In combat, Vijay overpowers Vardhan but is interrupted by Inspector Vishal Malik, who has Vardhaan arrested. Vijay is acquitted, and Roma confesses her love for him. Too late, she realises, in a
twist ending
Twist may refer to:
In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage
* ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist''
* ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...
, that she was being toyed with: Don is alive and was pretending to be Vijay all along. At the hospital, Don had overheard Vardhaan and Vijay's plan. After Vijay's operation, Don switched places with him and injected an overdose of
diazepam
Diazepam, first marketed as Valium, is a medicine of the benzodiazepine family that acts as an anxiolytic. It is commonly used to treat a range of conditions, including anxiety, seizures, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, muscle spasms, insomnia, a ...
in Vijay's glucose stream, causing him to die and making the doctors think it was Don who died. The disc Don gave to the police was fake. Now, with both Vardhaan and Singhania removed, Don becomes the master of the Asian drug cartel.
Cast
![Don premiere](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Don_premiere.jpg)
*
Shahrukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
as
Mark Donald and Vijay Pal (
dual role
A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...
)
*
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...
as
Roma Bhagat
*
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on to ...
as Jasjit "J. J." Ahuja
*
Isha Koppikar
Isha Koppikar (born 19 September 1976) is an Indian actress, model and politician who has mostly appeared in Hindi cinema. She has also acted in several Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Marathi films.
Background
Koppikar was born in Mahim, Bombay (no ...
as Anita Sinha
*
Boman Irani
Boman Irani (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian actor, photographer and voice artist who works predominantly in Hindi cinema he has also worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. He has acted in more than a 100 films in his career.
Ear ...
as DCP P. D'Silva(fake) / Vardhaan Makhija
*
Pavan Malhotra
Pavan Malhotra (born 2 July 1958) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and television alongside Punjabi and few Telugu films. He has played lead roles in Buddhadeb Dasgupta's National Film Award-winning '' Bagh Bahadur'' and Saeed Akht ...
as Narang Singh
*
Rajesh Khattar
Rajesh Khattar (born 24 September 1966) is an Indian actor, voice artist and screenwriter from Bollywood. He was married to Neelima Azeem and is the father of actor Ishaan Khattar and step father of Shahid Kapoor.
Personal life
Khattar was bo ...
as Mr. Sanjeev Singhania (Don's boss)
*
Om Puri
Om Prakash Puri (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Bengali, Kannada,English, Punjabi and one Telugu film, as well as independent and art films and also starred ...
as
Interpol
The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...
officer Vishal Malik
*
Tanay Chheda
Tanay Hemant Chheda (born 27 June 1996) is an Indian actor who appeared in Hindi films. He is best known for his child performances in the critically acclaimed films ''Taare Zameen Par'' (2007) and ''Slumdog Millionaire'' (2008), with the latte ...
as Deepak "Deepu" Ahuja (J. J.'s son)
*
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ''née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood, Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for pl ...
as Kamini Arora / Sonia (special appearance)
*
Satyajit Sharma
Satyajit Sharma (born 31 July 1969) is an Indian film and television actor. Sharma is known for his portrayal of the character Basant in the television soap opera ''Balika Vadhu''.
Filmography
• Nai Subah telefilm
*''Yeh Faasley''
*'' Paa'' a ...
as Mystery Man
*
Chunky Pandey
Suyash Panday (born 26 September 1962), better known by his stage name Chunky Panday, is an Indian actor who works in Bollywood films. He has appeared in over 100 films in a career that has spanned over three decades.
His most successful films ...
as T. J. (special appearance)
*
Sushma Reddy as Geeta Ahuja (J. J.'s wife)
*
Diwakar Pundir
Diwaker Pundir (born 11 November 1975 in Hyderabad) is an Indian actor in Bollywood and a model. He has won the title of Graviera Mister India
Grasim Mr. India (''formerly Adonis - Graviera Man of the Year'') was a national male beauty pagea ...
as Ramesh Bhagat (Roma's brother who was killed by Don after leaving the gang without informing Don)
Malaysia Cast but not have dialogue
*Shahruddin Tamby as Superintendent police and assistant Vishal Malik
*Aman Shah as police officer 2#
*Rahim Omar as detective for DCP Silva
*Tony Eusoff as henchman Mr Sanjeev 1#
*Ebi Aziz as henchman Mr Sanjeev 2#
*Riz Amin as undercover police scene at club
*Yank Kassim as paramedic
Production
Development
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influen ...
conceived the idea to remake the
1978 film of the same name after listening to a remixed version of a song from the original film.
In early 2005, media started reporting that Akhtar was planning to remake the film, but rather than confirming the news, he revealed that though he was writing the screenplay based on the film, he would take the final decision after completing the script.
The director co-wrote the film with his father,
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar (born 17 January 1945) is an Indian poet, lyricist, screenwriter and political activist. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 200 ...
, who had also written the original film with
Salim Khan
Salim Abdul Rashid Khan (born 24 November 1935) is an Indian actor, film producer and screenwriter. As a screenwriter, he wrote the screenplays, stories and scripts for numerous Bollywood films. Khan is one half of the prolific screenwriting d ...
.
Akhtar revealed that the reason behind the remake was a desire to give a new treatment to "a fantastic film which he enjoyed watching as a child", and create an adaptation that he thought would suit modern times.
He found the film a little ahead of its time. And, he thought so because of the narration, dialogue, and the writing style, which he thought was very modern even for its time. Akhtar said,"''Don'' is the one film from that time that in my mind lends itself to being remade today. So today, when you adapt it, it fits very easily into a contemporary space. I think it fits into the modern sensibility of movie viewing."
Additionally, he wanted to pay tribute to the stars and makers of the original film, the 1970s era in general, and the films made by
Salim–Javed
Salim–Javed were an Indian screenwriting duo, composed of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, working in Bollywood. They are noted for being the first Indian screenwriters to achieve star status, becoming the most successful Indian screenwriters o ...
and
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
.
In order to suit the modern sensibility, several changes were introduced. Akhtar changed a number of aspects of the climax as he felt the original ending was outdated for today's audiences.
On the other hand, a number of elements from the original were retained in the new film, notably the background score, two songs, some dialogue, and some situations, all of which Akhtar believed were fine in the original, saying that not including them would be a crime.
Casting
Akhtar initially wanted
Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan (; born 10 January 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six ...
for the
titular character
The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...
, after having worked with him on ''
Lakshya'' (2004).
However, Akhtar felt that the character required a more mature actor, saying he wanted "a face that had seen the world and roughed it out." The director said that Roshan's innocence was not right for the role, and instead cast
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
for the part that had been portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan in the 1978 film.
Akhtar believed that Khan was the most suitable for the role, saying, "He has the personality, the style, the flair, the larger than life persona, the sense of humour and the sheer magnetism that this character requires."
In July 2005,
Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka Chopra Jonas (; ; born 18 July 1982) is an Indian actress and producer. The winner of the Miss World 2000 pageant, Chopra is one of India's highest-paid actresses and has received numerous accolades, including two National Film Awar ...
was cast to play Roma, a role originally played by
Zeenat Aman
Zeenat Khan (born 19 November 1951), better known as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and former fashion model. She first received recognition for her modelling work, and at the age of 19, went on to participate in beauty pageants, winning both ...
. Akhtar found Chopra to be perfect for the role, saying, "There is a docile sensuality about her which suits the character." When he offered the role to her, she was excited to play the character and immediately agreed to do the film.
Later that month
Arjun Rampal
Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor, model, film producer and television personality who works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on to ...
and
Isha Koppikar
Isha Koppikar (born 19 September 1976) is an Indian actress, model and politician who has mostly appeared in Hindi cinema. She has also acted in several Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Marathi films.
Background
Koppikar was born in Mahim, Bombay (no ...
joined the cast.
While Rampal was cast as Jasjit, played by
Pran in the original, after
Akshay Kumar
Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...
turned down the role for being secondary, Koppikar was cast in a completely new role that was not in the original film.
In August 2005
Kareena Kapoor
Kareena Kapoor Khan (; ''née'' Kapoor; born 21 September 1980) is an Indian actress who appears in Bollywood, Hindi films. She is the daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita, and the younger sister of actress Karisma Kapoor. Noted for pl ...
was confirmed to appear in the song "Yeh Mera Dil", which had been performed by
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
in the original film.
Khan, Chopra, and Rampal underwent extensive
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
training from an expert from the
Shaolin Temple
Shaolin Monastery (少林寺 ''Shàolínsì''), also known as Shaolin Temple, is a renowned monastic institution recognized as the birthplace of Chan Buddhism and the cradle of Shaolin Kung Fu. It is located at the foot of Wuru Peak of the So ...
.
The principal cast received training in different kinds of martial arts. Khan revealed that he had always wanted to look the way Amitabh Bachchan had in his films, but he said he gave his own interpretation to the role.
After signing to do the film, Chopra was very excited, but a few days later, she became nervous, wondering if she would be able to do justice to the character.
Having seen the original film as a teenager, Chopra avoided watching the film again as she did not wanted to imitate Zeenat Aman's portrayal of Roma. She made a conscious effort to give her own look and style to the character.
This was Chopra's first action role, and she was excited to the part, so she wanted to do all the stunts by herself.
After Chopra decided to perform her own stunts, Akhtar revealed that he was happy as it gave him the scope to film the fight sequences from different angles.
Rampal, in the role of Jasjit, said that he approached his character in a way similar to how Pran had played it in the original but with an emotional graph.
Boman Irani
Boman Irani (born 2 December 1959) is an Indian actor, photographer and voice artist who works predominantly in Hindi cinema he has also worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. He has acted in more than a 100 films in his career.
Ear ...
, who plays DCP D'Silva, a role performed by
Iftekhar
Sayedna Iftekhar Ahmed Sharif (22 February 1924 – 4 March 1995), often mononymously credited as Iftekhar, was an Indian actor who mainly worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for his role as a police officer.
Career
Iftekhar was born in ...
in the original film, revealed that he played the role according to what suited the script, but retained some of the dignity from that film.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
commenced in February 2006 in central
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
.
Art direction
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the visi ...
was handled by Aradhana Seth, and the costumes were designed by
Aki Narula
Aki Narula (born 1968) is an Indian fashion designer and costume designer and wardrobe stylist in Hindi films, who is most known for films like, ''Bunty Aur Babli'' (2006), ''Jhoom Barabar Jhoom'' (2007) and ''Dostana (2008 film), Dostana'' (2008 ...
.
Akhtar chose
K. U. Mohanan to handle the cinematography after having been impressed by his work in documentaries and TV commercials.
To give an authentic feel to the film, scenes were shot on a closed set in actual
chawl
A chawl is a type of residential building found in western India, similar to a tenement. Typically low quality housing, chawls are generally associated with poverty. The first chawls were constructed in the early 1700s, as housing for industri ...
s in real locations.
The film was also shot at
Film City Film City may refer to
* Film City, Mumbai
* Noida Film City
* Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad
* Prayag Film City
The Prayag Film City, also known as the Midnapore Film City or Chandrakona Film City or Bengal film city is an i ...
and
Yash Raj Studios
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by veteran filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. It mainly produces and distributes Hindi and Punjabi films. The company has grown to be one of the largest film studios ...
.
Some filming was done in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in March over a 3-day schedule.
The filming moved to
Kuala Lumpur
, anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera''
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia
, pushpin_map_caption =
, coordinates =
, su ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
, in April 2006 where the majority of the film was shot. 80% of the filming was done in Kuala Lumpur and
Langkawi
Langkawi, officially known by its sobriquet Langkawi, the Jewel of Kedah ( ms, Langkawi Permata Kedah ), is a duty-free island and an archipelago of 99 islands (plus five small islands visible only at low tide in the Strait of Malacca) locate ...
.
In Malaysia, filming was done over the course of 70 days at 42 locations including
KLCC,
Kampung Baru, and
Penchala Link, and included more than 1000 extras, all of whom were selected following auditions. Additional filming was done in
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
.
Apparently, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia
Mahathir Mohamad
Mahathir bin Mohamad ( ms, محاضير بن محمد, label= Jawi, script=arab, italic=unset; ; born 10 July 1925) is a Malaysian politician, author, and physician who served as the 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia. He held the office ...
, who had previously declined even Hollywood films to be filmed in the
Petronas Towers
The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, (Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially design ...
, gave his permission for the crew to film inside his personal office in the Towers. For a scene depicting a media ambush, several real-life journalists from India and Malaysia were hired.
The song "Yeh Mera Dil" was choreographed by
Farah Khan
Farah Khan Kunder (born 9 January 1965) is an Indian film director, film producer, actress, dancer and choreographer who works predominantly in Hindi films. Khan has choreographed dance routines for more than a hundred songs in over 80 films, w ...
.
Veteran choreographer
Saroj Khan
Saroj Khan (born Nirmala Nagpal; 22 November 1948 – 3 July 2020) was an Indian dance choreographer in Hindi cinema. She was born in Bombay State (present day Maharashtra), India. She was best known for the dance form mujra and the fir ...
agreed to choreograph the new version of the popular song "Khaike Paan Banaras Waala", which had been choreographed by her mentor
P L Raj in the original film.
The song was filmed in Malaysia on 13 May 2006 with Khan and Chopra.
The dancing for other songs was choreographed by
Prabhu Deva
Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, and Kannada language films. In a career spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed a ...
,
Ganesh Hegde
Ganesh Harish Hegde is an Indian singer, performer, video director and Bollywood choreographer.
Early life
Ganesh Hegde is a Tuluva Bunt, born on 10 November 1973 in Bombay (present-day Mumbai) to Tulu-speaking parents Harishchandra Subbaiah ...
, and Rajeev Surti.
Hollywood technician Angelo Sahin, the
special Effects
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
supervisor behind ''
Mission: Impossible 2'' (2000), and aerial stunt co-ordinator Joe Jennings, known for his work in films such as ''
Charlie's Angels
''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...
'' (2000), were hired for the action sequences. Filming was also at the
Petronas Towers
The Petronas Towers, also known as the Petronas Twin Towers or KLCC Twin Towers, (Malay: ''Menara Berkembar Petronas'') are 88-storey supertall skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, standing at . From 1998 to 2003, they were officially design ...
Music
The soundtrack was composed by
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy
Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy () is an Indian musical trio consisting of Shankar Mahadevan, Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa. They have composed music for over 50 soundtracks across five languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and English. Amongst t ...
, with lyrics written by Javed Akhtar. The album contains 8 songs: 3 original, 2 remakes of from the original film, a theme, a reprise, and a remix of one of the 3 new songs.
The vocals were performed by
Shaan,
Sunidhi Chauhan
Sunidhi Chauhan (pronounced ; born 14 August 1983) is an Indian playback singer. Born in Delhi, she began performing in local gatherings at the age of 5 and made her career debut at the age of 13, with the film ''Shastra'' (1996). During the ye ...
,
Shankar Mahadevan
Shankar Mahadevan (born 3 March 1967) is an Indian singer and composer who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that writes music for Indian films.
Personal life and early career
Shankar Mahadevan was born in Chembur, Mumbai into a Tami ...
,
Alisha Chinai
Alisha Chinai (born 18 March 1965) is an Indian pop singer known for her Indi-pop albums as well as Music of Bollywood, playback singing in Hindi cinema. She began her singing career with the album ''Jadoo'' in 1985, and by the 1990s she had bec ...
,
Mahalakshmi Iyer
Mahalakshmi Iyer is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi, Assamese and Tamil songs. She has sung in many other Indian languages as well, including Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Odia, Gujarati and Kannada.
Career Playback singing
Ma ...
,
Sonu Nigam
Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Govern ...
,
Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to:
*Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer
*Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent
*Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch
*Udit Patel (born 1984 ...
and
MIDIval Punditz. It was released on 27 September 2006 by
T-Series.
The soundtrack received positive reviews from music critics, who praised "
Aaj Ki Raat", calling it "innovative" and the best song on the album. The recreation of songs from the original film, "Ye Mera Dil" and "Khaike Paan Banaraswala", received mixed reviews. Joginder Tuteja from ''
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
'' gave the album a 4 out of 5, noting its success at surprising its listener, and wrote, "Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy do exceedingly well with the soundtrack and establish their supremacy as the composer trio who can give their own even while rearranging the songs from the past." ''Planet Bollywood'' gave a rating of 6.5 out of 10, praising its lyrics and vocals, and termed "Aaj Ki Raat" as "the best song in the entire soundtrack."
Sukanya Verma of ''
Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
'' was less impressed with the album, calling it "Snazzy, good mix" and writing, "This lavish enterprise has a little bit of everything. An eclectic mix of old, new and everything in between; ''Don'' is an unusual presentation of old-wine-in-new-bottle."
The ''Don'' soundtrack album was the first Indian soundtrack to be released on
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
on the same day of its launch or before the public release of physical copies. The music topped charts on a number of platforms in India. It was one of the best-selling Bollywood soundtracks of the year, with 1.5 million units sold according to ''
Box Office India
Box Office India is an Indian film website. Its traffic ranking in India is 83,665 . A new Box Office India website went live on 20 January 2014.
About
Box Office India was launched on 10 June 2003. Its uses Whois privacy to anonymize its owne ...
''. The song "Aaj Ki Raat" was used by
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
in his
Grammy
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...
and
Academy Award-winning soundtrack ''
Slumdog Millionaire
''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel ...
'' (2008).
Marketing
Being a
remake
A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...
of an
iconic film, and the star-cast involved, ''Don'' was one of the most anticipated films of the year. The
first look poster was released in late April 2006, which according to the media hinted at the kind of adaptation the film was going to be. This was followed by another poster in late July 2006, which also revealed the release date of the film. Following the poster reveals, the
trailer was released in mid-September. ''
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
'' deemed it promising, writing that the "trendy accessories, sleek gadgets, lavish settings, expensive wardrobe and deadly action scenes build the framework of the new ''Don''." To promote the film, the filmmakers teamed up with
Hungama Digital Media Entertainment
Hungama Digital Media is an Indian digital entertainment company, headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company was first launched in 1999 by Ashish Kacholia, Hiren Ved, Lashit Sanghvi, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, and Neeraj Roy as an online promotio ...
to launch a
mobile game
A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...
based on the film. It was the first
multiplayer online game
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
launched for any Bollywood film. The filmmakers also launched popcorn holders of ''Don'' before the release film. An 80-page
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
was published and copies were given for free in multiplexes along with the tickets of the film.
Release
Theatrical
''Don's'' teaser trailer was released with ''
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
''Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna'' (), also abbreviated as ''KANK'', is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Karan Johar and produced by his mother Hiroo Yash Johar, in her debut, under the Dharma Productions ...
'' (also starring Khan) which released on 11 August 2006.
In December 2005,
UTV Motion Pictures
UTV Motion Pictures (also known as Disney-UTV) was the feature film unit of UTV Software Communications founded by Ronnie Screwvala and Zarina Screwvala in 1996 as UTV Motion Pictures Plc., the film distribution division of UTV Software Communica ...
acquired the overseas rights of the film. Made on a production and marketing budget of 400 million, ''Don'' was released worldwide on 20October 2006 in 800 screens during the
Diwali
Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...
festive season, clashing with another high-profile Bollywood film ''
Jaan-E-Mann
''Jaan-E-Mann'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Shirish Kunder and was produced by Sajid Nadiawala. The film stars Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Preity Zinta. This was Kunder's debut film as a director. He ...
''.
The film opened to excellent to very good response at the domestic box-office, with an occupancy of 90%.
Home media
The Home media was distributed by
T-Series Home Entertainment domestically and Internationally by UTV, the film was released on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
s on 5December 2006 across all regions in a 2-disc Collector's Edition pack in
NTSC
The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
format, with several bonus content such as making of the film, bloopers, trailers, deleted scenes, and clap track.
It also included a "Don Comic Book."
A steel case limited edition DVD was released in January 2007 with the same bonus features.
The
VCD
Video CD (abbreviated as VCD, and also known as Compact Disc Digital Video) is a home video format and the first format for distributing films on standard optical discs. The format was widely adopted in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the ...
version was released at the same time. A single-disc DVD pack was also released later. The
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
version was released on 27April 2011.
Television Premiere
''Don's'' television premiere was occurred on
Star Plus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...
in 2007.
Reception
Box office
''Don'' grossed a first day opening of 46million and 141million on its opening weekend.
It also received a good opening in overseas markets with an opening weekend of over $2.2million.
On its opening weekend, the film grossed over 302million worldwide.
After its first week, the film took in more than 244million in India.
The film grossed $1.1million in its first week in UK, while the total overseas first week earnings were more than $4.1million.
The film grossed 529million worldwide at the end of first week.
The film had a very good hold in its second week, and performed extremely well, even better than that week's new release and collections increased in several centers, with setting new second week highs. After its theatrical run, the film grossed over 710million in India, becoming the fifth highest-grossing Indian film of 2006, and was deemed a "hit". It also grossed over $7.8million in the overseas territories and was declared a
blockbuster
Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to:
*Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived.
Corporations
* Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain
** Bl ...
. Worldwide, the film grossed over and was a major commercial success.
Critical response
Upon release, ''Don'' was well received by critics.
Mayank Shekhar
Mayank Shekhar is an Indian film critic, journalist and author. He has been a film critic and a national cultural editor with ''Hindustan Times''. He previously worked under ''Mumbai Mirror'' and '' MiD DAY''. He also used to write a blog, ''Fad F ...
from ''
Mumbai Mirror
The ''Mumbai Mirror'' is an Indian English-language newspaper published in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Launched in 2005 as a compact daily newspaper, its coverage focuses on city specific local news and civic issues concerning education, healthcare an ...
'' gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5 and wrote, "The former was a character-driven, intimate film, albeit a fairly slick thriller, mostly for its screenplay. The latter is a most updated Indian film of the action genre that always calculably concentrates on the new twists, and the turning points, both of which mostly seem cleverer than contrived; ably fitting pieces, the known characters, into a new domino."
Raja Sen
Raja Sen (born 10 November 1955) is an Indian film and television director and the winner of three National Film Awards from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the father of actress Rimi Sen.
Career
Raja Sen first received recognition with ''S ...
of ''
Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
'' felt the film was "conventional and predictable", and complained that the director did not develop his characters. However, Sen was impressed by Chopra's performance and wrote, "
hehandles her role with efficiency, looking every bit the competent woman of actionand a ravishing babe who fills out a skintight white jumpsuit deliciously."
Pratim D. Gupta
Pratim D. Gupta is an Indian journalist, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He reviewed films for ''The Telegraph (Kolkata), The Telegraph'' newspaper and later for online platform Film Companion. His first film as writer-director is ' ...
of ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' gave the film a positive review, noting that the director turned a formula "good defeats bad" film into a modern-day
neo-noir
Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...
film where "bad fights bad", and wrote, "The new Don is more of a remix than the remake with the scratchy edges smoothened out with grunge grooves and blistering beats. Farhan changes the backdrop and the background and yet manages to keep the original sequences and lines."
Gupta also praised the acting, "eye-catching locations", cinematography, and production design, and thought that the "breathtaking chase and action sequences" broke new grounds on Indian screens.
''
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
's''
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media.
Career
Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
rated the film a 3 out of 5, praising the performances of the lead actors and writing "Shah Rukh Khan does very well as Don. He enacts the evil character with a flourish. But he fails to carry off the other role
ijaywith conviction. It looks made up, it doesn't come naturally to him at all. Priyanka Chopra carries off her part with 'lan. The stunt
hen she rescues Khanis bound to win her laurels."
''
Planet Bollywood
Rajesh "Raj" Ramayan Koothrappali, Ph.D. is a fictional character on the CBS television series ''The Big Bang Theory'', portrayed by British actor Kunal Nayyar. He is one of four characters in the show, alongside Howard Wolowitz, Sheldon Coope ...
'' gave a rating of a 7 out of 10, particularly praising the
twist ending
Twist may refer to:
In arts and entertainment Film, television, and stage
* ''Twist'' (2003 film), a 2003 independent film loosely based on Charles Dickens's novel ''Oliver Twist''
* ''Twist'' (2021 film), a 2021 modern rendition of ''Olive ...
, and wrote, "The ''Don'' of the 21st century is stylish with flaws, yet, you do enjoy the experience of watching it in the cinema." While labelling the film a "disappointment", film critic Sukanya Verma questioned Akhtar's decision behind remaking an important film.
She further criticised Akhtar for taking a fairly simple but engaging storyline, and turning it into a shockingly unimaginative adaptation.
Verma also found Khan to be inconsistent in the dual roles.
Giving a 1 out of 5, film critic
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...
panned the film, terming it an exercise in indulgence, and wrote, "Spiffily shot and stylishly packaged, the new ''Don'' may wear a new look, but what it's clearly lacking is the raw energy, the unpredictability of
Chandra Barot
Chandra Barot is an Indian film director, working primarily in the Hindi film industry based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He is best known for having directed the 1978 film ''Don'' which has attained cult status in India. The film has been inspira ...
's original thriller."
Accolades
Sequel
A sequel entitled ''Don 2'', also directed by Akhtar, was released on 23December 2011. Khan, Chopra, Irani, and Puri reprise their roles as Don, Roma, DeSilva alias Vardhan, and Malik, respectively.
See also
*
Cypher (film)
''Cypher'' (also known as ''Brainstorm'' and ''Company Man''), is a 2002 science fiction spy-fi thriller film directed by Vincenzo Natali and written by Brian King. The film follows an accountant (Jeremy Northam) whose sudden career as a corpor ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Salim-Javed
2006 films
Reboot films
Films set in Paris
Films set in Mumbai
Remakes of Indian films
Films set in Malaysia
Indian gangster films
Films about lookalikes
Films shot in Malaysia
2000s crime action films
2000s Hindi-language films
2006 crime thriller films
Films with screenplays by Salim–Javed
2006 action thriller films
Indian crime action films
Indian crime thriller films
Indian action thriller films
Films about the illegal drug trade
Films about organised crime in India
Girls with guns films
Films directed by Farhan Akhtar
Films about the Narcotics Control Bureau