'Don 2' Review

Star Cast – Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Boman Irani, Om Puri, Kunal Kapoor
Director – Farhan Akhtar
Producer – Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani and Shahrukh Khan
Music Director – Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Lyrics – Javed Akhtar
Genre – Action Thriller
Rating:

Farhan Akhtar’s magnum opus is finally out. The lavish product has been dished out for the entertainment of the viewers luxuriantly lush style. The film was being hugely awaited and the fruit of the patience is undoubtedly scrumptious. Akhtar’s sequel to his classically and lavishly made Don (2006), which was the biggest blockbuster success, is supremely high on all fronts – direction, story, screenplay, dialogues, music and the look. Don 2 is a winner all the way.

Farhan’s attempting to remake Amitabh Bachchan’s classic ‘Don’ (1978) was without any doubt the biggest decision of his career but the luminous filmmaker very intelligently churned out the venture in a style that gave the viewers the Bond look and international feel to enjoy with the swanky thriller. The response was super abundant at the box office rather was much beyond the expectations. This gave him the courage to attempt the sequel, though he went for chewing up the product after the hiatus of five years, and he now emerges with his much ambitious project.

Farhan even showed his confidence on the expected success of the movie prior to the release. Well, when one consumes himself fully into the making of some venture, the surety of the success is valid. The same is the case with the adroit filmmaker Farhan Akhtar.

Attempting sequels in Hindi cinema has become a fashion and much-used trend now. Admit, the sequels to the blockbusters normally run and give good collections to the investors. But the fact remains there attempting a sequel is more difficult than making the original since you carry a big burden to confer the audiences the same rather more entertainment with the new offering. Farhan and his team succeed again this time around.

Akhtar’s concept with Don 2 is novel and he provides the moviegoers with extra dose of entertainment and a lush thriller to enjoy with that is laced with well-delivered actions, eye-candy visuals and a story to rave big about. Don 2 has an international feel and utterly fits to the international standards. Frankly, the movie looks inspired by the Bond and Tom Cruises’ flicks when you look at the action sequences and the international locales.
The most interesting thing about Don 2 is that the viewer is not aware of what would be offered in the sequel and from here the film generates values and interest quotient for the cinemagoers. Don’s every action is different and you cannot predict at all what he would be doing in the next frame? The suspense element has been intact in the narrative considering the values of a true thriller.

The story is brilliant and the screenplay is a class in itself. There is hardly any holes seen in the script and that‘s the worth of the movie. Farhan has very masterly executed the script on the celluloid showing the world that he is a classy story-teller. He flaunts his ability to get glued the audiences to the screen putting them on the edge of the seat.
Don is a cold blooded man, he is super hazardous getting laced with a new agenda to follow this time around. Roma too is stiff to deal with. She shares turbulent rapport with Don and both are involved in a cat-mouse chase in the sequel.
The film just suffers a few hiccups such as the first half of the movie lacks some punches in terms of entertaining the viewers (but not overall, just a few times a viewer feels un-entertained) and the other weak point is that the movie lacks on emotional values as human emotions have not been given deserving space in the film.

The post interval portion is simply magical swathed with the adrenaline rush sequences to get glued with.
The reels unzip in Thailand and then the flick moves on to Malaysia. Don (Shah Rukh Khan) capitulates to the police (Om Puri and Priyanka Chopra) who send him to the jail in Malaysia. In prison, he bumps into his old enemy Vardhan (Boman Irani) with whom he schemes a plot of escaping. They do successfully. Both land into Zurich from there in Berlin. Don has the agenda of looting the currency plates. It’s not that easy thus he ropes into a hacker (Kunal Kapoor) to get this task done. Roma (Priyanka Chopra) is after Don.
Farhan Akhtar has proved that he is the man who can successfully make the lavish and stylish thrillers. His execution is supremely high on successful notes. The script is well crafted and has urban values, which is why it attracts the viewers. Don 2 is the biggest gift for those thriller seekers who love the film with international feel attached. The twists and turns in the movie further add values to the flick. The film is a big change in the routine Hindi celluloid.
Dialogues compliment the script utterly. They are the ones which would be hummed around in daily life from now onwards. The lines delivered by Shah Rukh Khan are really splendid and attention-grabbing.
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music is mellifluous and it too has the thrilling effects on the music lovers. The cinematography by Jason West is eye-pleasing – the locales of Germany, Thailand and Malaysia are breath-arresting. Editing is crispy. The special effects and visual effects are true life of the movie. The action is the hallmark of the film done by Matthias Barsch.

Shah Rukh Khan has reinvented himself in anti-heroes characters after such a long hiatus and it is a good change for him and his audiences. He has delivered the cold-blooded and dangerous DON with his usual brilliance. His star power has dragged the audiences in theater and will be doing so in the days to come. Priyanka Chopra does the meaty role of a stern cop. Boman Irani portrays the character well. Om Puri is wasted. Lara Dutta is glamorous and does fine. Kunal Kapoor looks good as well. Rest of the cast fills the bill.

Final Verdict by the Critic:
Don 2 is the brilliantly executed lavish film by Farhan Akhtar. It is undoubtedly the best movie, he has made so far in his career. With the star power of Shah Rukh Khan, Don 2 will generate bigger collections at the box office. Since two biggest occasions are to follow – Christmas and New Year, the mammoth collections would be witnessed on these events.