Don

Comparisons are odious - but in this case, inevitable. Mr. Akhtar has taken the campy cult classic of the seventies and dared to present it to us in a magical new garb. This has outraged many fans of Mr. Amitabh Bachchan and the old Don. I want to start out by saying that I was never a great fan of the original version - it was made as a low budget film and became a classic only by virtue of an interesting story line and Mr. B's larger than life persona in the film and at the time.

What does the new Don offer that the old Don lacked?

1. It offers a slick wonderfully smooth roller-coaster ride that was absent in the circa 1978 version.

2. It offers an updated suave yet menacing evil protagonist that the old one lacked. Mr. B was way better as the naive and bhaiyya Vijay, not very convincing as the evil Don. One should remember that the best of his roles that carried a menace associated with his persona were those where the menace was righteous! This was not the case in Don (1978) and so he did not present the role as well.

3. It offers wonderful action and thrills a minute. The action sequences, car chases, fights, flights are unmatched in Hindi cinema and rival stuff coming out of Hollywood!

4. It offers excellent music and dance numbers - ah, recycled some say. I disagree - the "Yeh Mera Dil" number sizzles in the hands of Kareena, and "Khaike Paan Banaraswala" now has Mr. Khan's image embedded with it!! And the two original numbers "Main Hoon Don" and "Aaaj ki Raat" are inspired and brilliant.

5. It offers excellent comedy that has nothing to do with slapstick or stupid.

6. It offers bad guy henchmen that are real. It replaces the fake sheiks and bug eyed goons standing around, with sexy sirens and real menacing dudes!

7. Best of all it offers a couple of very smart twists that I will not describe in any detail so the spoiler warning is unnecessary. Let me just ask two questions. Is it easier for a suave sophisticate to play a dumb yokel, or for a dumb yokel to play the suave sophisticate? What motivates DCP DeSilva to send Vijay back as Don in the 1978 version?

8. It offers a very smart and sleek leading lady, who does not seem fake in the martial arts moves - the practice was well worth it Ms. Chopra!

9. It fleshes out the character of Anita more than Don 1978 did, she was a warm body there. And Ms. KOPPIKAR does justice to the role.

10. It offers us Mr. Boman Irani in the role played by Iftekhar. Iftekhar was great but Mr. Irani is superb.

11. I saved the best for last. Last but not least at all, it offers Mr. Shahrukh Khan the opportunity to dust off his acting chops and delight us as the evil menacing Don. The Badshah is back and he is badder than ever! Welcome back Mr. Khan - first the bad boy in KANK and now the evil dude in Don. Divali came with a great gift this year! Let us hope the future roles are even more varied and delightful.

Surely it is not flawless, you ask. So what is wrong with the new Don?

1. Well, I never really believed in the whole Doppelganger thing (a duplicate human being for everyone) outside of the identical twin scenario. So yes, that is pretty unbelievable, but that is a premise that has fascinated story tellers and movie makers for years - plus that baggage came with the old Don so no negative points there.

2. Why was JJ carrying his kid on his shoulders - wouldn't it be easier to hold his hand and walk across? JJ in the old Don TIGHTROPE WALKED on his lame leg with two kids on his shoulders. So I am actually giving the new Don a plus point!

3. The whole CD with information thing was a bit overplayed - but it beat the toss the red notebook game played in the graveyard in the old Don! So again a point for the new version.

So when I do the math, Mr. Akhtar's Don comes out way ahead in sophistication, storytelling, fun, action, thrills, drama, and acting. It will keep you on the edge of your seat and you will want to go back for more. I will probably go back just so I can watch the demented Khaike Paan number again. And the twist does leave room for a sequel - I sincerely hope Farhan and Shahrukh will do one.

I counted 5 musical numbers in the film. All of them were seamless; they flowed in and out of the story. I am no fan of musicals, but as I was watching this film it occurred to me what I don't like about American musicals – I don't like the "Broadway Show Tune" music. Somehow this music seemed appropriate to the film; the story is "over the top" and fits the music of this Bollywood musical. I was actually tapping my foot to the musical numbers.

As far as I'm concerned this film is what a musical should be. The action scenes are great, but for me, the musical scenes were better. For those of you who may say there is no singing in an action film, go see this one to see how it's done. Singing, dancing -- and guns! Hooray for Bollywood!

Do not miss the start and do not miss the ending.

This movie has been shot very well, with the locations and cinematography at its best. The start of the movie goes a bit slow and then picks up pace.

I think Shahrukh has not over acted this time. The cast has been chosen perfectly to do their job.

This movie is a bit different from the original Amitabh Bachchan's DON, so comparing both the new and old movie is out of the question. Each one of them is good in its own league. For the people who have seen the original DON, at first, you start to think that it might not be so good, and justice has not been made to the original. As the movie goes on, you start to change your mind.

As for me, the overall the movie was really good and worth every bit of money paid to watch the movie.

The movie was stunning. You have to give full credits to Farhan Akhtar. His way of presenting the previously said story is completely unmatchable. At times, the movie was way over the top of exaggeration but in the end everything falls in place. The movie was fast tracked at many places and many sequences were skipped that were present in the previous version. Some plots were twisted to bring in the modern day touch and nothing seemed unnecessary. The sequences were copied very much to the exactness of the situation and it was a good effort to bring back the charisma that a personality like Don should have. One more special thing about this movie is its climax, which was not at all stereotype. One would not expect such a thing in bollywood movies and yet it was brilliantly done. I would say DON was an overall entertainer and is definitely worth a watch.

First things first,let me tell u that I did not like the Original DON(1978) that much.It was good in parts but it was only the Aura of AB with the music that actually pulled it off.

If the same story had been reused,the movie would have ended up being a disaster.

But,I guess Farhan Akthar does a great job in this movie.Yes,the beginning is a bit slow but he more than makes up for it by the time the movie ends.Shah Rukh is incredible as DON and the others do their job well.The music is good(A special mention to the Background track...its incredible..).And watch out for the climax...

Pros:

1)Great acting by Shah Rukh

2)Amazing cinematography (Everything looks classy and stylish..just notice the way Shah Rukh wears his tie!)

3)A nice racy background score

Cons:

1)Beginning does feel as a bit of a crawl..

2)Jasjit's (Arjun Rampal) role wasn't required if u ask me..

Overall,a great entertainer and worth the wait..!