Don

Don (2006) is a thrill a minute, edge of the seat, don't blink or you'll miss something, superbly stylised action movie. It's a sort of Don(1978) meets James Bond (the Pierce Brosnan era, with all its hi-tech gadgetry etc). It is unbelievably slick and amazingly cool. Its got the finish of a top-end magazine like Vogue or GQ…glossy, beautiful, a work of art. And the action scenes are breathless, non-stop and come at you one after another.

I had severe reservations about Mr Khan as Don. Especially as there are few bigger Mr Bachchan fans than me – I idolise the man. However, I've come from the movie convinced that no one else in the current set of stars could've carried it off as well as Shahrukh. He looks and behaves like Don – completely different to the chocolate faced 'Main Hoon Na' and 'Kal Ho Na Ho' giggling lover boy we are used to. In this movie he has a steely look about him, a nastiness that is very believable. He is slightly over the top, but only to the degree you would want him to be.

Priyanka Chopra simply sizzles. When I look at her on screen now I'm ready to do all the things Jim Carrey does in the 'Mask' when he see's Cameron Diaz dance at the club ! The great thing, I remember, about watching Don (1978) as a 7 year old, was that when you came out of the movie (and for the next few days)…you felt you were Don ! You wanted to be like him, copy all mannerisms, you were mesmerised, felt the sense of power. I saw the same impact of this Don (2006) on my son (coincidentally also 7 years old). But even better, it still had the same impact on me ! Just love it ! Check out my full review at apurvbollywood at blogspot

You want a hunky shahrukh khan, a va va voom Priyanka who seems to have worked out like hell to get that figure; an angel faced Isha Koppikar, FANTASTIC shots of Malaysia and i say FANTASTIC, a wonderfully underplayed intense performance by a mesmerizingly handsome Arjun Rampal slick action sequences and an as usual highly entertaining and effective performance by Boman Irani ......go see Don.

Oh and the song picturisations are very good too...especially title track and Khaike Paan Banaraswala....

Bear in mind this is an action packed remake of a thriller and also made purely to entertain...so don't go nitpicking small details like people did in the case of Fanaah....sit back sip on your coke, chomp on your popcorn and enjoy!

No one reveal the ending please.....let the others enjoy as i did the twist in the end!!!

Don just continues to prove that Farhan Akhtar is a brilliant director, taking a big budget blockbuster and making it smart, fast-paced and fun. Shahrukh Khan does really well as the villain, something I had not expected going into the movie. Priyanka Chopra is strong as the female lead, and Arjun Rumpal is especially good in his smaller but important role. The music in the movie is one of its strongest points, every song is carried out with excitement, yet the songs don't take away from the plot of the movie at all, they enhance the scenes they are complementing. One of my favorite Bollywood films of the past couple years, up there with Rang de Basanti and Kal Ho Naa Ho.

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!