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 Don 2 boasts of three very important factors, and they are Farhan Akhtar, Shah Rukh Khan and the franchise itself. Let’s start off with Akhtar.
Post his terrific re-telling of the 1978 action thriller starring Amitabh Bachchan as the titular character, Farhan Akhtar became busy with production and acting assignments. Sure there was a film called Voice from the Sky in the offing, but goodness knows where the film went off to. Five years later, he’s getting back where he left off. For Shah Rukh Khan too this has to be an important film of sorts as all the effort that had gone into Ra.One might not have turned out as expected, as the admittedly ground-breaking superhero flick didn’t have the emotion or the narrative it should have had. With Don 2, there are a lot of admirers hoping the movie wouldn’t disappoint. And of course, there’s the element of suspense, skepticism and curiosity attached with the franchise. Will Farhan Akhtar be able to push the character and the story forward? Will the sequel be better than the first instalment? Will there be audience appreciation this time around? Well the lights dimmed, and I put on my 3D glasses, ready to watch something cool, or be doomed, either ways… Don 2 takes off from where it ended. Five years after the events of the first movie, the wicked, charismatic Don (Shah Rukh Khan) is the undisputed underworld king of Asia with the governments of many countries, and the underworld of many more, after him. As a part of a yet undefined plan, Don decides to turn himself over to the Interpol in Malaysia, wherein Roma (Priyanka Chopra) now works – day in and day out to find the one man who fooled her in love, and otherwise. Now in prison, Don connects with his old arch-enemy Vardhaan (Boman Irani), and helps him break out of prison. The story shifts to Berlin, where Don, along with Vardhaan, Abdul Jabbar (Nawab Shah) and Sameer Ali (Kunal Kapoor), hatch a fool-proof plan that – as the pages turn – is not as it seems. Don 2 belongs to a genre that’s rarely successful in India. If you end up looking at the box-office collections made by Sanjay Gupta’s Musafir, Anubhav Sinha’s Dus (which wavered after a mind-boggling opening) Cash, more recently Game (produced by Akhtar’s own Excel Entertainment) and Aazaan - the reason for their failures are many – a non-cohesive screenplay, a ripped-off concept, confusing direction, and somewhere, a lack of understanding. Most of the reasons though have a more generalized side – a crackling idea on paper which somewhere goes awry, all the time. When Farhan Akhtar decided to try out action as a genre, the limitation that he faced at the end of the day was the fact that he ended up remaking a thriller many people of yore would obviously be biased towards. Despite these limitations, Farhan Akhtar was highly successful with his re-interpretation, and the open-minded audience lapped it up like never before, what with the twists and the slow and gradual, yet consistent, narrative making all the difference.
Another aspect of the narrative that really struck me was the handling of the pace of the pre-intermission and post-intermission portions. While the pre-intermission portions were slow, and more European in their execution, the post-intermission reels go all out. But neither give us any time – or space – to breathe. I remember watching the over-hyped Tom Cruise baby Mission:Impossible – Ghost Protocol earlier this month and I wondered why the screenwriters decided to waste time in pointless conversation, terrible continuity and only one action sequence worth boasting about. The narrative and pace in fact reminded me of a brilliantly executed French action thriller Point Blank that I got to catch earlier this year on the big screen. When it’s slow and gradual, it’s building it all up, but when it’s fast, the movie moves at a breakneck space. Either ways, your eyes will be glued toward the screen, and more often than not, you’ll forget to breathe. Making a comeback after five long years as a director, Farhan Akhtar doesn’t seem to have lost his touch anywhere, and knows his screenplay and his characters too well to make mistakes – he knows how fragile plots can be, and he handles them with care. He is the real “Don” of the franchise, as despite making a sequel to the remake, the flavor never seems to be bland at any point in time. Kudos to the director for gripping the audience like never before! And welcome back, Farhan! Farhan’s known for making the most urbane-centric, most stylish movies – be it his productions or his first three movies as a director, he’s almost never compensated on both the style and the substance elements. Here too, while the substance is locked into make a delicious main course, we’ve got to make the main course look good! The cinematography by Jason West is terrific. It’s like each and everyone of those visuals are romancing the eyes. Camerawork is mind-blowing, especially with action sequences. Action choreography, both physical and mechanical, is wonderfully executed to make for many such edge-of-the-seat moments in the film.
The very people who have hated Shah Rukh’s performance in Ra.One are bound to lap this up like never before. Don’s meaner, faster, wittier, slicker and smarter, and Shah Rukh Khan seems to know him inside out, which shows with the confidence by which he ends up breezing through the role. The charisma factor is high, and everyone will be awed by the simplicity with which he mouths the most interesting one-liners. He stands out with a towering, memorable performance. Priyanka Chopra as Roma is limited in the first half, but comes on her own in the second. Om Puri as Vishal Malik is effective. Nawab Shah as Jabbar has an interesting performance. Boman Irani as Vardhaan does what he does best – act. Lara Dutta is charming and witty in her cameo. Kunal Kapoor has spunk and acts well too. Sahil Shroff is a disappointment. Others are efficient. Overall, Don 2 is a package. Very few franchises start off where they left things off previously, and this is fortunately one of them. With power-packed dialogues that never seem to sound cheesily one-sided (read Salman South remakes), high-octane urban action sequences, thrills and set-pieces, interesting characters and performances, and a story and narrative that really manages to take the Don enigma forward, this is one movie that ends the year on a very high note, bringing up the action thriller genre from it’s dubious image in the Hindi film industry.
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And now that he’s back, he has ensured that Don as a character is more refined and layered, thereby making him far more enjoyable. And it’s not just Don, I feel Roma, her chemistry and tension with Don, and Vardhaan have been well-used throughout the plot too. The plot. Oh, the plot. I like the fact that Farhan and his team of writers stuck to a fairly straightforward plot, but garnished it with a narrative that sometimes goes back to revisit some aspects of the plot with a new angle. And because Don is an enigma, the narrative was highly necessary.
Editing in action thrillers is another very important pointer, which if ignored, can make the whole product look awry. Fortunately, the edit is so tight the movie hardly gives you a time to relax (except for the one song). Sound design by Nakul Kamte is commendable. Transitions are smooth between scenes – and in fact it’s always the transitions that always sound hammy, but fortunately not here, never here. Background score is tense and accounts for the enhancement of each scene in the film. The music though is a slight disappointment, though some of the songs grow over you. And it is these songs that feature in the film. Very well-used are “The Don Waltz” and “Hai Yeh Maya”, while “Zara Dil Ko Thaam Lo” is one song that was needed to be featured to enhance upon the narcissism of the title character. “Dushman Mera” makes for good post-movie viewing, but I wonder why was the song not converted to 3D, as it had more scope. The 3D by the way is the best in Bollywood business, as it doesn’t go over the top in depth and keeps it simple and subtle, though the action sequences do startle you big time.