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''Don 2: The King Is Back'', also known as ''Don 2'', is a 2011
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
Hindi-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 ...
written, co-produced and 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 influe ...
. It is the second installment in the '' Don reboot series''. Jointly produced by
Excel Entertainment Excel Entertainment is an 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 Prime Video – I ...
and
Red Chillies Entertainment Red Chillies Entertainment is an Indian visual effects, production and distribution company established by actor Shah Rukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan in 2002. It was transformed from the defunct Dreamz Unlimited. Based in Mumbai, the studio' ...
, the film stars Shah Rukh Khan 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 action ...
, with
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 ...
,
Lara Dutta Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the ...
, Om Puri,
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 ...
,
Nawab Shah Nawabshah ( sd, نوابشاھ, ur, ) is a tehsil and headquarters of the Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the 27th largest city in Pakistan. Nawabshah Tehsi ...
,
Alyy Khan Alyy Khan (or Aly Khan, ur, ; born 6 December 1968) is a British-Asian actor and host who has worked in Hollywood, Bollywood and Lollywood films and television series. He is known for his roles in the films '' A Mighty Heart'' (2007), '' ...
,
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 b ...
,
Sahil Shroff Sahil Shroff is an Indian model and actor who made his debut in Hindi film ''Don 2: The King is Back''. Early life Sahil comes from a Sindhis, Sindhi family and grew up in Australia. He did his master's degree in information technology, pursue ...
and
Kunal Kapoor Kunal Kapoor may refer to: * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1959), Indian film actor * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1977), Indian actor, writer and entrepreneur * Kunal Kapoor (cricketer) (born 1987), Indian cricketer * Kunal Karan Kapoor (born 1982), In ...
playing supporting roles. A sequel to ''
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
'' (2006), Khan appears as the titular character. The film's story takes place 5 years after the previous film when
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
( Shah Rukh Khan), a ruthless international drug lord, plans to take over the European drug cartel. Meanwhile, Roma (
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 ...
) has joined the
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 ...
to hunt him down. The film's music was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, while Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics. Jason West served as the film's cinematographer and Ritesh Soni was its editor. After the success of the first film, Akhtar had planned a sequel in 2010 which did not work out. It was then officially announced in early 2010, with filming scheduled to begin later that year.
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 ...
took place in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, where it was shot extensively. To date, this film marks the last directional venture of Akhtar. ''Don 2'' was released on 23 December 2011 in 2D and 3D formats, which also included dubbed versions in
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
and
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
languages. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, receiving praise for its story, cinematography, production design, soundtrack, background score, action sequences and performances of the cast, but criticism for its pacing. With a box office gross of over , ''Don 2'' was a global box office success. At the time of its release, the film was the 2nd highest-grossing Indian film of 2011. ''Don 2'' received a number of accolades across various ceremonies in India. At the 57th Filmfare Awards, ''Don 2'' received 5 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 ...
,
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...
(Farhan) and Best Actor (Khan), and won 2 awards – Best Action and Best Sound Design.


Plot

Five years after the events of ''
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
'', the European drug cartel bosses meet in the
French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
on a yacht to discuss a new threat emerging from
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
: Don is jeopardizing their business by undercutting their prices and they decree that he must die. Living in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
for the last five years, Don goes to a remote settlement to pick up a shipment of
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
. He gets cornered by his own allies who reveal to him that once he is killed, the cocaine from Asia will be open for sale in Europe and they will usurp all the profits. Don makes his way out by killing all his allies and destroying the entire settlement. Later, Don returns 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 ...
, surrendering to Roma, who has joined
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 ...
, and Inspector Malik. He is sentenced to death and sent to prison, where he meets old rival Vardhaan. Initially, Vardhaan tries to exact revenge on Don for having him imprisoned five years back, he patches up with Don when the latter offers him an opportunity to escape with him. Don and Vardhaan eventually break out by poisoning the other inmates. In Zurich, Don meets trusted companion Ayesha, and they retrieve a tape from a secret locker whose key was under Vardhaan's possession. It shows J.K. Diwan, vice-president of the Euro-printing DZB (''Deutsche Zentral Bank'') bribing Singhania to kill James Werden, the original choice for the President of the DZB so that Diwan's superior, Fabian Kohl would become the new president. Singhania was killed by Vardhaan five years earlier. Don blackmails Diwan into giving him the bank's blueprints so he can steal the printing plates. Diwan gives him fake blueprints and hires Abdul Jabbar, a deadly assassin. However, Don escapes, and with no other choice, Diwan gives him the original blueprints. Roma and Malik arrive in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and unsuccessfully interrogate Diwan, after having found evidence of him being involved with Don in some illegal activity, while Don and his team execute a bank robbery. After stealing the printing plates, Don is betrayed by Vardhaan and Jabbar but escapes. Another team member, Sameer, calls the police on Don and he is arrested. Don blackmails Diwan into giving him German immunity in exchange for erasing the evidence of him being involved in the murder of James Warden. He then negotiates with the German police and Interpol over surrendering the plates and a disc containing details of the European underworld in exchange for the safety of the hostages and defusing the bombs in the bank. Don and Roma reach Vardhan after bloody combat with his thugs and find themselves in a standoff. Though ordered by Vardhaan and Jabbar - and even Don himself - Roma is unable to kill Don and is shot by Jabbar in response; she still has feelings for him, even though he killed her brother and his fiancée five years earlier, and also does not want to do it illegally. Don manages to subdue Vardhaan and kills Jabbar. He obtains his immunity papers and surrenders the plates and the disc, as per the bargain. Don brings Roma to an ambulance and they exchange glances before the doors close. When the police later investigates the evidence, they are shocked to discover Diwan and Kohl were behind Werden's murder. He later detonates a bomb planted earlier in Diwan's car, killing Diwan and seemingly destroying the plates which he had taken. In a final scene, it is revealed Don still has the currency plates, the ones which the police believe was destroyed in the explosion were fake. Sameer was actually loyal to Don; informing the police was part of the plan. The disc Don turned over actually contains the names of the European drug cartel. Having been exposed, Kohl is shortly arrested too, and the DZB is forced to replace him. After they are arrested, Don becomes king of the European underworld and tells Ayesha and Sameer they have no idea how rich they will become.


Cast

* Shah Rukh Khan as
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
*
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 *
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 Vardhaan Makhija *
Kunal Kapoor Kunal Kapoor may refer to: * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1959), Indian film actor * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1977), Indian actor, writer and entrepreneur * Kunal Kapoor (cricketer) (born 1987), Indian cricketer * Kunal Karan Kapoor (born 1982), In ...
as Sameer "Sam" Ali * Ally Khan as J. K. Diwan * Nawwab Shah as Abdul Jabbar *
Sahil Shroff Sahil Shroff is an Indian model and actor who made his debut in Hindi film ''Don 2: The King is Back''. Early life Sahil comes from a Sindhis, Sindhi family and grew up in Australia. He did his master's degree in information technology, pursue ...
as Arjun Shergill * Wolfgang Stegemann as Karl Cost (Jabbar's German assistant) * Om Puri as Inspector Vishal Malik *
Lara Dutta Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the ...
as Ayesha Kapoor *
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 ...
as Don (disguised face; special appearance) *
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 b ...
as Cartel boss Singhania (archive footage) *
Florian Lukas Florian Lukas (16 March 1973) is a German actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, ...
as Jens Berkel


Production


Development

A sequel was announced in 2007, a year after the release of ''
Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...
'' 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 influe ...
. However, the film got delayed due to Shah Rukh Khan's shoulder surgery. The original cast reprised their roles except for
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 t ...
and
Ishaa 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 ( ...
;
Lara Dutta Lara Dutta (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian actress, entrepreneur and the winner of the Miss Universe 2000 pageant. She was previously crowned as Miss Intercontinental 1997. In her career, she has primarily worked in Hindi films. She is the ...
and
Kunal Kapoor Kunal Kapoor may refer to: * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1959), Indian film actor * Kunal Kapoor (actor, born 1977), Indian actor, writer and entrepreneur * Kunal Kapoor (cricketer) (born 1987), Indian cricketer * Kunal Karan Kapoor (born 1982), In ...
were cast in new roles. Akhtar said that he decided to make a sequel to his 2006 film because it "gave him a lot of freedom to explore the character". Khan copyrighted a tattoo of "D" on his arm and grew his hair long for the film. Khan exercised extensively for the role and performed almost all the stunts by himself. ''Don 2'' marked Khan's return to playing villains after earlier films such as ''
Darr ''Darr: A Violent Love Story'' ( ''Fear'') is a 1993 Indian romantic psychological thriller film directed and produced by Yash Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films. The film stars Juhi Chawla, Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan with Anupam ...
'' and ''
Baazigar ''Baazigar'' () is a 1993 Indian romantic crime thriller film directed by Abbas–Mustan and produced by Venus Movies. It stars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol in lead roles, while Raakhee, Shilpa Shetty, Dalip Tahil, Siddharth Ray, and Johnny Le ...
''. Chopra learned martial arts and trained for over two months.
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 ...
lost 12 kg for the role and grew a beard to make his character look "cold, cunning and deceitful"; he felt that playing a villain was "a big stretch" for him as an actor. Dutta was cast after Eesha Koppikar, who played the role in ''Don'', dropped out of the film. She was recommended to Akhtar by Khan, who had worked with her on ''
Billu ''Billu'', previously known as ''Billu Barber'', is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film by Priyadarshan, produced by Red Chillies Entertainment and distributed by Eros International, with an adapted screenplay by Manisha Korde and M ...
'' in 2009. In an interview with ''
The Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyal ...
'' Dutta said it was exciting to play a new character, since there would be no predecessor to live up to.


Filming

The principal photography of ''Don 2'' began in October 2010 in Berlin, becoming the first Hindi film to be shot there. The decision to shoot in the city was made after Khan attended the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
for its screening of '' My Name is Khan'' and realised that the city provided the required realistic backdrop for the film. Before shooting began the German government announced the film on its website, promising support and co-operation during filming. A 70-member Indian crew travelled to the city for two weeks of preparation for shooting. Scenes were filmed at the Brandenburg Gate, the
Alexanderplatz () ( en, Alexander Square) is a large public square and transport hub in the central Mitte district of Berlin. The square is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander I, which also denotes the larger neighbourhood stretching from in the nort ...
, the
French Cathedral The French (Reformed) Church of Friedrichstadt (french: Temple de la Friedrichstadt, german: Französische Friedrichstadtkirche, and commonly known as Französischer Dom, meaning 'French cathedral') is in Berlin at the Gendarmenmarkt, across the K ...
and the
East Side Gallery The East Side Gallery (german: East-Side-Gallery) memorial in Berlin-Friedrichshain is a permanent open-air gallery on the longest surviving section of the Berlin Wall in Mühlenstraße between the Berlin Ostbahnhof and the Oberbaumbrücke alo ...
. The German government provided €3 million in incentives to the film's producers, since it was shot in Berlin. The shoot cost €6.8 million. Khan experimented with several looks and performed his own stunts in the film. In Berlin, he performed a 300-foot jump for a scene. A car-chase scene using 67 cars closed main thoroughfares (including the Brandenburg Gate) for three weeks. Each day, alternate routes were provided around roads cordoned off for filming. The shooting schedule also included a special appearance by
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 ...
, whose presence was kept under wraps by filmmakers. In December 2010, the Berlin shooting ended. In February 2011 the actors flew to Malaysia, where several scenes were shot in Malacca Prison with prisoners as extras. A section of the prison block was made available for filming, with special T-shirts distinguishing crew members from prisoners in the high-security zone. Khan trained with Hollywood stunt and fight director Wolfgang Stegemann, who also played Karl in the film. In September 2011, filming resumed on a song featuring the two leads. Another song was shot with Khan in Goa in late November, only a month before the film's release. The song was shot as an action sequence, but did not appear in the film. In August 2011, the producers said they will release ''Don 2'' in 3D. The idea of 3D conversion occurred to Akhtar while shooting; after tests in Los Angeles, it was decided to convert the entire film. The director of photography had used special lenses, which made conversion easier. Sidhwani said that the idea of converting the film into 3D came to him after seeing ''
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2'' is a 2011 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the second of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow ...
''. Chuck Comisky, a veteran S-3D innovator who supervised 3D stereo and visual effects for ''
Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
'' and '' Sanctum'', was given the job. Anand Subaya was the editor and Jason West served as the director of photography. The
digital intermediate Digital intermediate (typically abbreviated DI) is a motion picture finishing process which classically involves digitizing a motion picture and manipulating the color and other image characteristics. Definition and overview A digital intermediat ...
and VFX of ''Don 2'' were by Pixion Studios, and the 3D conversion by
Reliance Mediaworks Reliance MediaWorks Limited (RMW) is a film and entertainment services company and a member of the Reliance Group. The company is one of India's film and entertainment services companies with a presence across several media businesses including ...
.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, with lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar. The album contains nine compositions: four original songs, two instrumentals, a dialogue snippet, and two remix out of four original songs. The vocals were performed by
Vishal Dadlani Vishal Dadlani (born 28 June 1973) is an Indian singer, songwriter and music composer. He is one half of the duo Vishal–Shekhar, Front Man and vocalist of one of India's leading rock bands called Pentagram. As a singer he has sung various ...
,
Anusha Mani Anusha Mani (born 29 March 1985) is an Indian female playback singer who works actively in the Bollywood film industry. Early and personal life Anusha hails from a musically-inclined family, and learnt Carnatic music from Smt Meera Nathan. Ha ...
,
Usha Uthup Usha Uthup Iyer (born 7 November 1947) is an Indian pop, filmi, jazz, and playback singer who sang songs in the late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. "Darling", which she recorded with Rekha Bhardwaj for the film ''7 Khoon Maaf'', won the Filmfare ...
,
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 ...
,
Sunitha Sarathy Sunitha Sarathy is an Indian vocalist and performer in both Indian contemporary and Western classical music genres. She is also a gospel singer who performs in various church choirs. After having won the "Virgin Voice Choice" contest – a joi ...
, KK and
Caralisa Monteiro Caralisa Monteiro is an Indian singer known for advertising jingles and Bollywood songs. Early life Caralisa Monteiro was born to Emeline Monteiro, a school teacher at Don Bosco High School, Matunga and Neville Monteiro an opera singer and an ...
. It was released on 16November 2011 by T-Series. The soundtrack received mixed reviews from critics. Jaspreet Pandohar called it "safe" and a "disappointment". Joginder Tuteja gave a rating of three out of five, terming it a mixed bag and wrote "There isn't anything which comes across as memorable enough to be played a few months down the line, leave aside a few years. Eventually what you get is a soundtrack that would go along with the narrative and acts as a good situational ingredient but that's about it." '' Koimoi'' also gave three out of five writing that album fall short of expectations. 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 ...
'' gave the album a rating of two out of five calling it "safe and self-conscious" and wrote "''Don 2'''s music could fare much better if the composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had tried to step out of the prequel's shadow."


Track listing


Marketing

The distributors,
Reliance Entertainment Reliance Entertainment Pvt Ltd is an Indian media and entertainment company. It is a division of Reliance Group, handling its media and entertainment business, across content and distribution platforms. The company was founded on 15 February 20 ...
, bought the rights to ''Don 2'' from Excel Entertainment for and spent another on prints and marketing.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Zee Entertainment Enterprises (formerly Zee Telefilms) is an Indian media conglomerate owned by Essel Group. Headquartered in Mumbai, it has interests in television, print, internet, film, businesses related to mobile contents, and operates 45 ...
acquired the satellite rights for . Distribution rights in Tamil Nadu and Kerala were bought by Sudha Screen's Sreeraj for an undisclosed price. Don 2 music rights were sold to T-Series for . The theatrical trailer and poster for ''Don 2'' were released with ''
Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara ''Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara'' (), also abbreviated as ''ZNMD'', is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language buddy road comedy drama film directed by Zoya Akhtar and produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani under Excel Entertainment. The film features ...
''. A second trailer was released online on 24 October 2011. The film previewed at the
Dubai International Film Festival The Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF, ar, مهرجان دبي السينمائي الدولي) is the leading film festival in the Arab region. The 12th edition of DIFF took place from December 9 – 16, 2015. In 2018, the DIFF announc ...
. The producers collaborated with
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...
and
Café Coffee Day Café Coffee Day (CCD) is an Indian multinational chain of coffeehouses headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is a subsidiary of Coffee Day Enterprises Limited. Internationally, CCDs are present in Austria, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Nepa ...
in 20 cities to provide free Internet access with Wi-Fi in their stores so that viewers could watch songs in 3D on their computers. The producers decided to publicize the dialogue from ''Don 2'' by releasing 10 lines delivered by Don as "Don Says...": one line each Friday from 15 October until the film's release on 23 December. The lines were released simultaneously across all media platforms: television, print, radio, Internet and mobile. The filmmakers also released a limited-edition toy version. The toy,
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" ...
dressed as Don, is the first
bobblehead A bobblehead, also known by common silly nicknames such as nodder, wobbler, or wacky wobbler, is a type of small collectible action figure. Its head is often oversized compared to its body. Instead of a solid connection, its head is connected t ...
of a Bollywood star. The cast, director and producers embarked on a multi-city tour across India (including
Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...
) to promote the film. Interrupted by security problems, the tour resumed from
Nagpur Nagpur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːɡpuːɾ is the third largest city and the winter capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the 13th largest city in India by population and according to an Oxford's Economics report, Nag ...
to
Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
,
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
and other cities. In October 2011 a comic book based on ''Don 2'', ''Don: The Origin'', was published that was about Don's past.
Excel Entertainment Excel Entertainment is an 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 Prime Video – I ...
collaborated with India's largest video-game company,
Gameshastra Gameshastra is a video game company headquartered in Hyderabad, India with offices in Japan and Europe. The company tests, develops and publishes games for dedicated gaming consoles including the Sony PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nin ...
, on a console game. The firm developed a third-person action-adventure console game in which the player performs actions similar to Don's in the film. A social game, ''Don – The Social Mobsters Game'' (developed by Mango Games), was launched on Facebook. It is available on Android and PSN for
PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
platforms. Sidhwani said, "This is the first time a game is based on an Indian film that will be launched on four platforms. For an iconic character like Don, I think this was the best way to keep the hysteria going amongst his fans." A
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
game, '' Don 2: The King is Back'', was released in India in February 2013 to tie in with the film, also serving as the final
PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
game for the console.


Release

''Don 2'' was released worldwide 23 December 2011 on 3,105 screens in the domestic market, including 500 prints in 3D, and on 650 screens in 40 countries. The dubbed versions in
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
and
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
were released with the Hindi version. The second phase of the film's international release began in January 2012 in 84 countries. On 9 February 2012 to 19 February 2012, ''Don 2'' 11 February 2012 World Premiere Cinema theatre was shown at the 62nd
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
.
Reliance Entertainment Reliance Entertainment Pvt Ltd is an Indian media and entertainment company. It is a division of Reliance Group, handling its media and entertainment business, across content and distribution platforms. The company was founded on 15 February 20 ...
obtained a "
John Doe John Doe (male) and Jane Doe (female) are multiple-use placeholder names that are used when the true name of a person is unknown or is being intentionally concealed. In the context of law enforcement in the United States, such names are often ...
" order from the
Delhi High Court The High Court of Delhi ( IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S ...
allowing it to serve cease-and-desist notices on film pirates. A month before ''Don 2''s release Nariman Films, producers of ''Don'', sent a legal notice to Reliance and
Excel Entertainment Excel Entertainment is an 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 Prime Video – I ...
about the sequel. According to the notice, Nariman had given the rights to Excel Entertainment in perpetuity for ''Don'' alone. On 19 December, a week before ''Don 2''s release, the Bombay High Court refused to stay the film's release; the court's ruling considered the film's scheduled release on 21 December overseas and 23 December in India, for which many theaters had been booked. The smoking scenes in the film came with a disclaimer per
Health Ministry A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...
's advice to the producers. The DVD was released on 7 February 2012 with two different versions, Blu-ray and a special feature releasing on 10 April and 24 May.


Reception


Critical response

''Don 2'' received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. , the film holds a 69% approval rating on
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
site ''
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
'', based on thirteen reviews, with an average rating of 6.68 out of 10.
Nikhat Kazmi Nikhat Kazmi ( hi, निखत काजमी; 1958/59 – 20 January 2012) was a senior correspondent and well-known film critic from, born Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, who had been writing for ''The Times of India'' since 1987. She died of breast ...
of ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
'' called it "a classic action/crime thriller that doesn't let go, even for a moment. More importantly, the plot has been finely crafted, with every twist and turn falling into place like a complicated albeit neat little jigsaw." Rachit Gupta of '' Filmfare'' praised the performances by Khan, Chopra and Irani and wrote "They carry the film through its flat moments. It's not very taut, but Don 2 serves up enough thrills in the finale and that alone makes it worth a watch." Priya Joshi of ''
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
'' gave the film four out of five, praising its dramatic conclusion which she thought was brilliantly executed, and wrote that it "is a thoroughly exhilarating action-fest, fashioned in a Bollywood-style – and a shot of adrenaline amidst the usual elf-inspired festive film fare." A review carried by ''
The Express Tribune ''The Express Tribune'' is a daily English language, English-language newspaper based in Pakistan. It is the flagship publication of the ''Daily Express (Urdu newspaper), Daily Express'' media group. It is Pakistan's only internationally affiliat ...
'' called the film "a visual masterpiece", adding that "it sets a very high benchmark for future Indian action films."
Komal Nahta Komal Nahta (born 30 April 1964) is an Indian film trade analyst. Nahta is the publisher of "Film Information" and also a television show host. He is an anchor of the trade show ETC Bollywood Business on the Bollywood TV channels ETC and Zee Cinem ...
rated the film 3.5 out of 5 calling it "a winner" but felt that the first half was slow-paced.
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 ...
of ''
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 film 3.5 out of 5, feeling that the second half took the film to another level, and wrote "Farhan chooses an entirely new concept, garnishes it with classic action, stunning visuals, giving it an international look and feel". Aniruddha Guha of ''
Daily News and Analysis Publications established in 2005 Newspapers published in Mumbai English-language newspapers published in India Daily newspapers published in India Essel Group 2005 establishments in Maharashtra ...
'' gave three out of five complimenting Khan's performance and action sequences, which he thought made the film work. ''
Mid-Day ''Mid-Day'' (stylised as mid-day) is a morning daily Indian compact newspaper owned by Jagran Prakashan Limited. Editions in various languages were published in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Pune. In 2011, the Delhi and Bangalore editions were ...
'' gave it 2.5 out of 5, praising Khan's performance and wrote "The film is slick, the cinematography is captivating but the racy, edge of the seat pace that you expect from an action thriller of this kind is sorely missing."
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'' termed the film as "a glossy, unashamed action offering polished within an inch of itself, visually coming together seamlessly and effectively." Sen also added that "although the film has been impressively produced, it has been let down by the over-the-top acting by Khan, while other actors were underused and were given nothing much to do."
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 his ...
gave the film two out of five stars, calling it "spectacularly boring", and wrote "''Don 2'' is nicely shot, and there are moments where Shah Rukh Khan is riveting. But that's not enough to hold your interest for well over two hours…even the actor's most loyal fans will find themselves yawning." Sonia Chopra of ''
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
'' also gave 2.5 out of 5, feeling that the original film was better as compared to the sequel but praised the action sequences, writing "The car chases are superb and will have you at the edge of your seat. For the rest of the film though, you'll be slouching on that very seat, waiting for the thrills that the Don series promises." Writing for ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'',
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 ...
was disappointed with the film, calling it "never ending" and criticized the stretched storyline. Sudhish Kamath of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
'' said "The editor wishes his studio exploded and didn't have to put this together. But he's getting a fat cheque. He does his job to the best of his ability and is almost done when he hears that line “Don Ko Pakadna Mushkil Hi Nahin...”" Among the overseas reviewers, Lisa Tsering of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' wrote: "Shah Rukh Khan's foray into bad-boy territory is all swagger with not much substance." David DeWitt of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called it the "slick cousin" of "''Mission: Impossible (film), Mission: Impossible'' and ''Ocean's Eleven''".


Box office


Domestic

''Don 2'' was made with a production cost of excluding SRK's acting fee with shares in profits which is . On its first day, ''Don 2'' had 80-percent occupancy levels throughout India. In multiplexes its occupancy level was 75%-80% percent and 70–75 percent in single-screen theatres. The film grossed from its Hindi version, in the process becoming the third-List of highest-grossing Bollywood films, highest opening-day grossing Indian film (fourth-highest for the Hindi version) and the highest opening-day grossing film on a non-holiday Friday. The film increased its earnings by about 20–25 percent in high-end cinemas during its second and third days, aided by a sizeable increase in multiplex revenue. Over the weekend, ''Don 2'' grossed from its Hindi version and another from its Tamil and Telugu versions. It held well the following week, collecting a total of by the end of its first week. During the film's second weekend, ''Don 2'' grossed from its Hindi version. The film held well during its second week, declining 62 percent and collecting from its Hindi version and thus taking its two-week total to . The second-week total of ''Don 2'' was the second-highest of 2011, after ''Ready (2011 film), Ready''. By the end of its theatrical run the Hindi version of ''Don 2'' grossed in India and regional versions added a further 60 million for a grand total of including Tamil and Telugu, making it the highest-grossing Bollywood film of 2011.


International

''Don 2'' was released overseas in two phases, with most major markets covered in the first phase. The film set several records on its opening day. It grossed $550,000 from 164 theatres in the United States. In the United Kingdom, ''Don 2''s revenue debuted in the top ten, earning $527,000 in three days from 76 theatres; in the Middle East, the film grossed $930,000 in two days. It broke the record for the highest single-day revenue in Australia (Australian dollar, $62,000), grossing $136,000 in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji during the first two days of its run. The film grossed during its first week in Pakistan, breaking all previous records. ''Don 2'' grossed over the weekend, and during its first week. It set a record for the all-time biggest opening week for a Hindi film in North America, earning $2.64 million. The film was the highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas in 2011. During the second phase of its release, which began in February 2012, ''Don 2'' earned $112,027 in Germany and $5,041 in Austria. It grossed $11.24 million on the overseas market and was the List of Bollywood highest-grossing films in overseas markets, third highest-grossing Bollywood film overseas at that time, after ''My Name Is Khan'' and ''3 Idiots''. It faces stiff competition with Mission Impossible Ghost protocol in its initial weeks which in some started topped the box office. Satellite rights for ''Don 2'' were sold to Zee TV for , and it was also released on the Zee Cinema HD channel.


Accolades


Sequel

About a sequel, Shah Rukh Khan said: "It would be great to revisit ''Don'' after some time. I’ve told Farhan that we could take 60 days out of our schedule and make a ''Don 3''. But we need a script first, one that could take the last 10 minutes of ''Don 2'' forward to another differently exciting thriller." Farhan Akhtar also expressed a desire to take the story forward, and said he was fascinated by the character of Don. However, the filmmaker wanted to explore other genres without restriction and added that he was currently focusing on his acting career. In August 2014, it was reported that Farhan Akhtar planned to play a role in the film. In October 2015, Akhtar said that ''Don 3'' will go on floors by late 2016. However, the film is at the scripting stage. It has also been reported that Katrina Kaif will replace
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 ...
in the next installment. But the makers denied this, stating that the only constant in the third installment will be Don and the rest of the characters will be dependent on the script.


See also

* List of highest-grossing Indian films


References


External links

*
''Don 2''
at
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 ...
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