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Don - The Chase Begins Again
 
Producer: Ritesh Sidhwani / Excel Entertainment
Director: Farhan Akhtar
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal, Ishaa Koppikar, Kareena Kapoor, Om Puri, Boman Irani, and Chunky Pandey
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Midival Punditz (Guest)
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Singers: Shaan, Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Mahadevan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Alisha Chinoy, and Shah Rukh Khan
Audio On: T-Series    Number of Songs: 8
Album Released on: 26 August 2006
Reviewed by: Shruti Bhasin  - Rating: 6.5 / 10
 
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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 winner.

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