Don - Morya Re

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Don - Kareena in Yeh mera dil (High Quality)

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WE HAVE SERENADE YOU WITH THE NEW DON: NOW WE WILL FURTHER ENTERTAIN YOU WITH GEMS FROM THE OLD DON: ENJOY

Yeh mera Dil- Don [old]

Oh man, Helen was sizzling: great outfit, sexy but not nude:

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MOVIE REVIEW: DON - THE CHASE BEGIN (2006)

Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani
Director: Farhan Akhtar
Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Ishaa Koppikar, Boman Irani, Om Puri, Chunky Pandey (Special Appearance)
Music Director/s: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

A police officer (Shah Rukh Khan) is working undercover as a Don, trying valiantly to capture a gang of ruthless people. However, things go wrong and he is murdered. The police now have to maintain his cover, so they find a duplicate paan-eating street layabout (Shah Rukh Khan), and recruit him into the force. He is trained in all aspects of the law, by a renowned officer (Arjun Rampal), and soon finds himself undercover in the same gang as his predecessor.

His job is to bring down the gang and arrest or kill all its members. This plan is put in jeopardy, when his only child is kidnapped by a rival gang, and his senior officer is killed.

He is now on his own…

Talented director Farhan Akhtar churns out his third film, after the huge success of debut Dil Chahta Hai, and the critically acclaimed Lakshya. Farhan’s films have always had a professional look and feel, one of the pivotal points of success for Dil Chahta Hai, which was appreciated by the mass of youths. Lakshya was creatively well made, and had a telling story, but it wasn’t something that the audience wanted, therefore it sustained minimal success.

Farhan Akhtar has so far worked with industry’s elite, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Amitabh Bachchan, to name a few. Now it’s the turn of the biggest star of them all, Bollywood’s King Khan, the versatile Shah Rukh Khan.

Shah Rukh Khan is himself hoping to continue his success in Bollywood, with imminent threat from Abhishek Bachchan, hovering on the horizon. He has been threatened before in his career, be it Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan or Hrithik Roshan, but prevailing always.

But the threat of Abhishek Bachchan is far more worrying, as Aby’s Baby has father Amitabh Bachchan tendering a hand from behind. Taking on Indian cinema’s legend is probably a little too much for Khan. So once again in his career, Shah Rukh Khan has to prove a point, and win the battle…

Priyanka Chopra is playing the leading lady for the first time opposite Shah Rukh Khan. The film also features Kareena Kapoor in a dance number and cameos from Chunky Pandey and Om Puri.

Musical trio Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy have recreated some of the magical tunes of the original, including the highly popular Khaike Paan Banaras Wala. Udit Narayan has vocalised with Shah Rukh Khan tendering a few lines.

The film’s story is very similar to the original but it has been updated for the current era.

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Movie Review
Don - Worth a Chase

Faridoon Shahryar, IndiaGlitz

I don’t think Remaking an iconic film is a good idea. For when the earlier film is so clearly etched in your mind, it gets difficult for the uber-cool-style-flick new version o erase the nostalgic quotient of the original.

That’s exactly what happens with Farhan Akhtar’s tribute to the original ‘Don’ co-written by his dad Javed Akhtar along with Salim Khan a good silver jubilee years ago. Comparisons are inevitable. No, Shahrukh Khan doesn’t match up to Amitabch Bachchan’s versatile performance. But yes, it’s great to see SRK enacting a negative character after a long time.

And trust me…He makes Bad look Cool…As for ‘Don’ then it’s most certainly not the best film made this year and yes it does have its high points, especially the climax. No baby, I can’t reveal that! Also…get ready for the announcement of the sequel…Soon….

Mr Malik was the surprise packet in Chandra Barot’s original while there’s some other ‘insider’ who completely zaps you this time around. I won’t reveal it for it will spoil the fun. Jasjit’s character had been immortalized by an old-n-haggard Pran sahib whereas here you have a younger Arjun Rampal doing the honors in a dignified manner.

Kareena Kapoor sizzles in the ‘Yeh Mera Dil’ number in Helen’s place. She looks gorgeous alright. Priyanka Chopra’s Roma is a tough chick who would do anything to avenge her brother Ramesh’s death from the evil Don. Chopra girl seems to have worked hard on learning the Charlie’s Angels martial-arts-chops and the effect shows. When she is not hunting with the men, she takes time out to scorch the dance floors with her ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ shake-a-leg number.

Boman Irani competently enters Iftiqar sahab’s DCP Desilva shoes. In fact his role has more to it than you’ve geared up for. So, stay put for a surprise. Isha Koppikar as Anita is wasted.

It’s left to Shahrukh Khan to drive the beauty cars, flirt with the damsels, kill as if he is poison, tinker with his designer watch to trigger a bomb somewhere and sound sinister when he is getting over confident. In the Vijay mould, he is good with his one-liners and then ‘Khaike Paan Banaraswala’ in Malaysia is like ice-in-the-bhang. Of course he can never speak Avadhi like Big B. But then SRK has his own style that he puts in with 100% energy in everything that he does with a hell lot of conviction.

A lean-mean-and-gym-toned physique makes him look a hunky dude that you’d love to watch. In fact, I would love to watch him in this baddie avatar as compared with all the sugary-romances that he has been doing oh-so-repetitively.

Farhan Akhtar’s direction carries a lot of polish. He is definitely one of the finest directors that we have today. His command over technique as well as storytelling is extremely-compelling. But where he flounders in ‘Don’ is the pace of the film. A pacy thriller is something one was looking forward to. Instead, the three hour plus length of the film is a let down. It can be trimmed by at least half an hour. A few of the dialogues carry a lot of punch while there are still others that sound archaic. At several junctures the technical tomfoolery extinguishes plausibility. I for one fail to understand even in the original Don’ as to why the boss has to personally go for a meager job as exchange of bags. Beats me!

Music by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy is praiseworthy for the retention of the retro feel on 1980s numbers in ‘Aaj Ki Raat’ and ‘Main Hoon Don’. The remixes of ‘Khaike Paan Banaraswala’ and ‘Yeh Mera Dil’ don’t really match the original although they are good attempts. The ‘Don’ theme track by Medieval Punditz is the highlight of the hip-n-happening background music score. Cinematography by Mohanan is spectacular in every sense of the word while special effects at Red Chillies EFX is first rate. Fight sequences have been choreographed in a stylish manner. It can match the best in the world.

‘Don’ is worth a watch for the younger remix-n-sms generation who love their bhelpuri with ice cream and who haven’t seen Big B’s original. You may not enjoy it in totality but still it’s a fun-fare in more ways than one. It’s not great cinema. And I guess Farhan never pretended that he had set out to make one. But coming from the maker of spectacular ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ ‘Don’ is a disappointment. Here’s hoping to something original and refreshingly different the next time around.

Rating: ***

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YEH MERA DIL:

Movie Preview - Don

A huge Indian contingent embarks on a dangerous cat-and-mouse trail of capturing DON (Shah Rukh Khan) - the ruthless drug mafia in Malaysia.

When DON gets seriously injured in a police encounter, the word that he is dead begins to do the rounds. The reality, of course, is that DON is held captive in a secret location, while his bumpkin of a look-alike, Vijay, is polished and sent to take down DON's gang.

In a bizarre twist of fate, when the man shielding the humble and streetwise Vijay, is killed, the latter comes to terms with the horrifying realization that both the police and the gang are out to nab him for different reasons.

In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, he is aided by the glamorously staggering Roma (Priyanka Chopra), and handsomely striking, Jasjit (Arjun Rampal), who owes Vijay a favor for care-taking his son during his imprisonment. But will Vijay be successful in his mission?

Based on the successful erstwhile classic of the same name, which featured the legendary Amitabh Bachchan, the contemporary and stylishly crafted DON, features Bollywood czar Shah Rukh Khan playing a double role in one of the most defining performances of his career, teamed for the first time with former Miss World, Priyanka Chopra.

The biggest and most keenly awaited motion picture of 2006, DON is a high-octane, tension-filled, twisty roller coaster of a ride, with just the right dose of glamour, action, suspense & romance.

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When a filmmaker decides to remake a classic movie, the expectations are pretty high and people are curious to see if the new movie can live up to the original. The music release for Don – The Chase Begins Again has generated much hype because the old Don of 1978 had several hit songs. In the new Don however, listeners get to hear some old tunes remixed, along with a few original tracks.

Farhan Akhtar and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy first brought one of the best soundtracks of 2001, Dil Chahta Hai, followed by 2004’s Lakshya. Do they have another winning score?

The album begins with Main Hoon Don, obviously describing how the don is dangerous and brings action wherever he goes. The music goes with the theme, containing a very western feel to it, where the opening sequence seems to be the highlight. Shaan is totally in sync with Javed Akhtar’s lyrics about recognizing the DON. There is a FCInternational mix version of the title track, that is purely heavy on techno beats and completely unnecessary, as the regular track is more appealing.

When you first listen to Yeh Mera Dil, you might press fast forward like I did, to the horrendous remix of the orginal sung by Asha Bhosle. However, I must admit, once you listen to it a few times, you might give it a chance by closing your eyes and letting Sunidhi Chauhan’s sultry voice entice the mind, while picturing Kareena Kapoor’s character seducing the Don, Shah Rukh Khan.

Maurya Re is most likely the introduction song of the duplicate Don. It caters to a small niche of listeners who like the Ganpati/religious songs. Singer Shankar Mahadevan infuses energy into the song that describes the devotion of its followers. The highlight of this piece is the heavy use of cymbals and dhol sounds.

The famous Khaike Paan Banaraswala finally makes an appearance in the album and its hard to imagine anyone other than Udit Narayan giving justice to this popular track of yesteryear. Although Udit Narayan fits the bill here, it’s S-E-L’s music that fails. The heavy beats, tuned to village lingo just doesn’t sit well. Even Shah Rukh Khan’s interlude in the second half leaves little to be desired as he describes the beauty of his love.

Surprisingly the best song in the entire soundtrack comes near the end. From the start of the drumming and the 80s lounge beats, you feel a hit song in Aaj Ki Raat. Alisha Chinoy begins singing and the song is taken to new heights with Mahalaxmi Iyer matching her note for note. The lyrics are simple and addictive where anything is possible in the night, you don’t know what will happen, what you will gain or what you will lose. The song is picturized on Isha Koppikar and Priyanka Chopra, both vying for the Don’s attention. So strong is the feminine vocal appeal that even the illustrious Sonu Nigam’s entrance is overshadowed by the female vocal leads! A his song that should be thoroughly enjoyed on screen.

Knock knock . . . “yes, who is it?” “Don” cue in music to begin Don – The Theme, an instrumental by S-E-L, which has a 70s feel and is suitable as a background score, either for the opening credits or the introduction montage to the Don. It gets repetitive for a while, which makes this piece a little boring.

Luckily Don Revisited by Midival Punditz is much better than the theme because the arrangement of the music is easier on the ears (with the word Don being said periodically). There is a mixture of techno beats and it has a interesting dramatic mood (we even hear how the Don cannot be captured by police around the world). This instrumental suits the theme of the movie and is fast paced; definitely worth a repeat play.

Overall, people say there is nothing like the original . . . Don – The Chase Begins Again’s soundtrack is average, but the picturizations of the songs, once the movie releases, may cause this soundtrack to grow in popularity. Perhaps if the classic songs were not touched and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had come up with all original tunes, this could’ve been a real win.

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quote:

Perhaps if the classic songs were not touched and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had come up with all original tunes, this could’ve been a real win.

Any day the original would always beat out the redo; as shown in "Yeh Mera Dil"

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quote:

When you first listen to Yeh Mera Dil, you might press fast forward like I did, to the horrendous remix of the orginal sung by Asha Bhosle. However, I must admit, once you listen to it a few times, you might give it a chance by closing your eyes and letting Sunidhi Chauhan’s sultry voice entice the mind, while picturing Kareena Kapoor’s character seducing the Don, Shah Rukh Khan.

Have to admit that this scene was poorly done,
I remembered that this scene in the Old Don, after viewing in the cinema, one could have been satisfied........that 90 percent of their cinema fees were worth this scene only;

Yeh mera Dil- Don [old]

Shahrukh Khan is happy with the success of his movie Don - The Chase Begins, Shahrukh's fan have found the movie to be a good one and were happy while coming out of cinema halls. Farhan Akhrar has taken a big risk in making Shahrukh Khan compete with Amitabh Bachchan and has succeded in his mission, the movie has done well in India and abroad as well. The only bad experience movie has faced is the viewers have compared Shahrukh Khan with Amitabh Bachchan.

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Talking about the most unique feature of any masala Bollywood film – the music! Don’s music fails to impress… though the background score is amazing, but the remixed songs don’t leave much of an impact! Even the “khai ke pan banaras wala” no. doesn’t have the rusticity in it! Wonder what Shankar Ehsaan and Loy were thinking when they included two new songs(read duds) like ‘moriya re’ and ‘aaj ki raat’ in an album like DON???

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Don: The chase begins:

Overall, good entertaining movie. Nothing great, but may be OK for one time viewing. If you have not watched the earlier 1970s DON (will call Don1), then you may like it more. But, for people like me who must have watched Don1 more than
dozen time, it's hard to stay away from comparisions.

The Plus points in Don2 are: Priyanka - who did much better than Zeenat, and she was just superb for her role. Boman Irani did the excellent job, too. Also, the background and theme music is superb. Finally, the end and double twist suspense is better in Don2, than in Don1. Westernized Matrix style fight sequences, and cinematography in Malaysia is pretty good - better than Desi style fight sequence in Don1.

Minuses: SRK - not fitting well at all (like angry young man) with his dialogues, though he tried to do the best he could in the double role. Not too bad, but not great either. BigB was awsome in Don1 as stylish, and composed character. SRK was looking like a fake to begin with. May be SRK is losing touch, and getting desperate to get some hit movie. I feel Hritik or Abhishek would have been better fit for the role of Don. Kareena, and Arjun Rampal - no way close to Helen and Pran. Music by SEL is so horrible that none of the remix tunes you will remember after the movie. Original, Kalyanji - Anandju (I think) music for Khaike Pan, Yes Mera Dil, Yeh Hai Bambai, and Main Hoon Don were all superb memorable songs. It seems like SEL is also going downhill. No wonder why Himesh is getting all the movies. It seems all the presumably good music directors like Jatin-Lalit, Ismail Darbar, AR Rehman and SEL are going down hill and Himesh is filling the gap with his 8 out of 10 rotten songs/music (he reminds me of Bhappi Lahiri). Also, the pace of the movie at times felt way slower in Don2 than in Don1. I will blame Editor and Director (I think, Farhan Akhtar) for not paying enough attention.

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